This is the last week of class and, once again, I am quite happy that the primary bulk of the work is finished. I am really glad that I have the ability to be reflective in this class.
The most interesting thing I gathered from “The Eye is a Door” this week is the ways in which photographers use their cameras. I know that there are all sorts of philosophies on the practice of photography as an art, but learning how differently some photographers use their cameras was fascinating.
That part of the reading for the week has definitely encouraged me to pursue my own personal “theory of practice” as Larry Susskind would put it. How and why do I use my camera? Do I study light? Do I use it to tell stories? Do I use it to explain situations or to tell others what I think of a situation? Am I transparent with my work or am I manipulative? These are all questions I am being faced with as a result of the conversations and readings and work this term.
I think I would like to use my camera as a means of telling a story from maybe a different perspective. Maybe I can use objects that people are familiar with already to tell them a story about a place or a situation that they did not expect. For example, if I had an exhibit about the places in the Common that many locals were familiar with, but then I included pictures of the homeless people living there, maybe they would think differently about it. Eventually, I think I’d like to use my camera as a tool of storytelling about the developing world. How is that development happening, is it happening the way it should (subjective at that is), and what are its effects (both on the people and the place)? The more I think about it, the more excited I am about the future of my photographic exploits. I know that I’m not as proficient as I’d like to be yet, but I can’t wait to have more time to experiment and learn and practice.
As I read about art in the paper by Christopher Frayling, I am saddened by the profiling of the ‘research scientist.’ Well, I guess sadness isn’t the correct expression of the emotion… Maybe it’s just the fact that I realize I am so far from interested in that type of research… Or maybe it’s the fact that my view on scientists has been skewed by what he goes on to say is the effectively lunaticisation of the scientist by the media… Either way, I think that I may fundamentally reject the notion in my own personal practice of the completely objective attempt at photography. Even the very fact that you are choosing to photograph something rather another thing is subject, in my opinion. It seems almost silly to not use photography to tell a story, especially since we as people respond so strongly to them.
Looking at just my project from this term, I have learned a bit about how people respond to ideas via language versus image. Talking to some friends about my photography and then showing them the project has had very different effects. My work seems to be much more emotionally drawing than my prose/explanation of the same subject. I think I can and should use that potential tendency in my pieces. In general I usually have a strong tendency towards humor so maybe that will come out in a future project.
Overall, this class has been excellent and I would recommend it to anyone interesting in studying place or expanding their understanding of photography as a tool for doing pretty much anything. Though this class stresses it as a tool of inquiry, it opens the door (or the eye if you will) to a whole world of possibilities with the camera.