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Thread: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

  1. #101

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    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    <<We need to be careful about giving much weight to authorial intent.>>

    I'm not all that worried. So much of this seems a word game to me. From my view (as an artist, not a philosopher or sociologist) you have "intent" (the meaning intended) and then you have all the other meanings that accrue to a work--all those meanings that are attached to a work.

    Credibility isn't a big deal to me either. In my own work I find that there are different layers that I talk about. In the recent Waves project I can talk about the physical colors and how they emerged from the simple, almost trivial process. People respond well to that sort of discussion. I can also talk about it's connection to the Equivalents (but that leaves the average person confused). I can also talk about the Thatcher illusion and it relation to the work, which appeals to certain other people. I can talk about the relation of this work to thinking like that which led to the SFMOMA "Is Photography Over" conference. I can talk about other aspects of the work, other approaches to "get into" it and each are valid, and yet I've never really talk about the core of the whole thing. Not an evasion so much as a conviction that I've I've done my job well that core is impossible to talk about intelligently as it is visual in nature. It is a visual medium, after all, not just photographs illustrating theoretical constructs!

    Stieglitz's differing versions of the Equivalents? Not surprising in the least. He spent many years on this--made something well over 200 pictures. His version of what he was doing and why no doubt changed over that time, no doubt he was working out the ideas out loud in real-time, trying them out on people. An artist is both the creator of a work (with the intended meaning) and a viewer of the work (with the accrued meaning). It's a mess to figure out. Stielglitz is unusual in that he is really famous and that this process was recorded to a degree.

    I'm perfectly happy with authorial intent, even if it changes over time, even if it isn't that clear to the artist in the first place. Even if they are liars. I think intent is avery different beast than what comes next, the thoughts of strangers to the work, even if they are expert in the field. No one will ever know my work like I do. I'm too busy producing the work to leave a detailed history of it--all those words! I think most god artists are the same.

    The meaning an author intends in a work and the meaning others place upon a work are not different points on the same spectrum. They are different things altogether. It's like being a lowly foot soldier in a great battle versus being a historian of that battle. They are both deeply interested in the battle. Their lives are dedicated to that same battle but in ways so different as to defy any common categorization.

    --Darin

  2. #102

    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    Quote Originally Posted by Struan Gray View Post
    I think this is a perpetual tension in portraiture too, not just rocks, trees and apples.


    David: I can't say I've ever had much time for animism per se, either as a motivation or as an interpretive tool. It's too open to proof by gnostic proclamation. But I do like photographs which subtly hint that there may be more going on in the world than meets the eye. I'm fond of the word 'fey' - fairies again - as it suggests a pre-romantic, conception of the landscape which avoids the usual sublime and picturesque catagorisations. To me, Fay Godwin was a master of this:

    http://www.faygodwin.com/landmarks/i...s/l6(p58).html
    I partly agree, particularly when the interpretation is 'forced'. (Although you should have seen the image that appeared on my toast this morning ). When done well, is there not a connection to something that underpins our consciousness, and perception of the natural world?

    Thanks for the link to Fay Godwin's photographs. I like the quiet, unforced surrealism, all the more powerful for that.

  3. #103

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    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    Equivalence and the power of seeing.
    ...this man was making his house, I ask if it was possible to make a portrait of himself.
    He came down from the roof and choosing a comfortable place, he took a sit, completely relax, over the "adobes"...
    Have not think about "equivalence" at that moment, but the atmosphere and contact with this sitter was good.
    Every time I come to this photograph, there is an strange feeling of something I know without words.
    Perhaps, the picture of the walls alone, without this person, could be an interesting scene.
    But finally, man and wall in this example, offers me a complete story.
    This man was seeing.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Man&Wall.jpg  

  4. #104

    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    Miguel - that's a great image! The tonality and texture of the mud bricks is as much foreground as background.

  5. #105
    austin granger's Avatar
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    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    I can't seem to stay away from this thread. Fantastic picture Miguel! I liked the earlier one of the field a lot as well.

    Gash, Oregon by austin granger, on Flickr

    Shrouded, Portland by austin granger, on Flickr

    No one seems to think the shrouded building picture is as good as I do, but they're wrong. :-) In any case though, I think it is at least an example of using composition to try and push an image into "equivalent" territory. I hate to tell people how they should look at my pictures, but I will say that the "DO NOT ENTER" at lower left and the blank white piece of sky at upper right are there for a reason.

  6. #106

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    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    photogravures show objects in my environment or history and may find their meanings in the imagination of the beholder.

    Any resemblance to real existing dreams or fear might be entirely coincidental.
    hfa

  7. #107
    austin granger's Avatar
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    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    I find your picture terrifying Herdrik, which I mean as a compliment. It has real power. For me, the way it fluctuates between abstraction and representation adds to the effect, making it indeed very dreamlike. I can't stop looking at it!

  8. #108

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    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    Quote Originally Posted by DennisD View Post
    I've often times felt an image has a "what else it is" characteristic. Perhaps it's clear at the moment I'm composing or, in other cases, it might become clear only after the passage of time.

    However, that "equivalent" may be something very personal that I would not expect another person to comprehend or relate to. For that reason, I don't suggest thoughts or interject personal feelings when presenting a photograph (unless necessary for some reason). Usually a straightforward title or identification is all I provide.

    The viewer may never see what I see in my image, aside from the literal. However, I hope some images will evoke an emotional response such that the viewer relates to the image meaningfully or personally on whatever level possible - should he or she wish to delve deeper.



    cool image!!

  9. #109

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    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    Although all of this is a bit confusing to me at times, I like the way this thread is about aspects of photography that are much deeper than lenses, films and developers, etc.

    I was just listening to something on NPR about Jimi Hendrix that might be relevant:

    "To me, Jimi is a consummate artist," Ridley tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "He wasn't so much about going out and trying to please a crowd, but trying to create something that brought people to his vision for music, his vision for life, the way he expressed things."

    Here's the link for those who are interested:

    http://www.npr.org/2014/09/23/350888...s-pivotal-year

  10. #110
    Jac@stafford.net's Avatar
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    Re: Equivalence: The Perennial Trend

    Just an aside: this thread has brought out some exceptionally insightful views that if I were still in higher education I would present as a model of dialog. I will submit the URL to the remaining two professors . I doubt they will take it up. I feel it is the best thread on the subject I have ever experienced, and I am one old scholar.

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