In the previous post in this series I presented the idea that calendar art is a worthy first goal for serious photographers. (Read Taking Your Photography to the Next Level.) And aside from the fact that the subject matter of calendar art may be fairly run of the mill, the technical and aesthetic qualities are generally excellent.
In that post I ended with this thought:
Calendar art is about the subject of the photograph. The photographer is transparent. In fine art photography the influence of the artist becomes more apparent.
There are several things that I believe fine art photography isn’t necessarily limited to. Fine art photography is not just about the subject. What I mean is you don’t have to photograph doors and windows to create fine art photographs. You don’t have to make your photographs austere. They don’t have to be intellectual and unemotional. They don’t have to be something no one has ever done before.
I’m not saying that fine art photography excludes these things. What I am suggesting is that fine art photography includes all of these and much, much more.
Let’s get back to the idea of taking your photography to the next level. Once you’ve mastered the technical and aesthetic excellence of calendar art there is still a long ways to go to approach the best works of the masters or even their ‘mundane’ works. But instead of identifying levels between calendar art and the best of the masters, I want to talk about dimensions. I prefer to think about this in terms of dimensions because becoming an artist is not like climbing a ladder. It is really a journey of self discovery and revelation. Every artist’s path is going to be unique and I don’t think it occurs linearly. So, let’s talk about the dimensions of fine art.
The quote from the last post suggests that in fine art the artist is not transparent but becomes more and more apparent. The dimensions, then, relate to the artist becoming more aware of himself or herself, more in tune with what they are about and more capable of revealing themselves and their subjects through their art.
“Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer”
The first dimension I’d like to talk about is tied to what we’ve already described – Creative Vocabulary. What’s that? It’s the skills you have as a photographer. Included in this are the tools and techniques you use both in the field and in the darkroom (digital or chemical). In the process of bringing your photography up to the calendar art standard you developed an extensive creative vocabulary. But that’s not the end of it. Your creative vocabulary will continue to grow as you grow as an artist. And just as we are able to express ourselves more fully as our verbal vocabulary grows, the same happens with the creative vocabulary.
“Art is the colors and textures of your imagination. ~Meghan, Los Cerros Middle School, 1999”
Another dimension is your Personal Style. There are many factors that contribute to personal style. They begin with who you are, your life experiences, your hopes and dreams, your view on life. Who you are affects how you see the world and in turn what and how you photograph. You are unique, your view of the world is unique and therefore your photographs are unique.
It’s important to understand that you may not know what your personal style is or that you even have one. In fact, you may have never thought about it before. When wondering if you have a personal style and what it might be, it’s not uncommon to feel like you’re looking at a blank wall. And once you start down the road of discovering your personal style it may very well reveal itself to you very slowly. The process of discovery could take months and even years. (I speak from personal experience.)
How can you go about discovering your personal style? I think perhaps the best way is to sit down with a dozen or so of your best photographs and start jotting down the adjectives or short phrases that describe them. Maybe they’re dramatic or possibly static, bold or subtle, crude or refined, literal or symbolic, intense or tranquil – the list goes on. Don ‘t rush this process; don’t expect to get it done in just one sitting. Let it unfold. If you’ve never looked at your photographs this way before it may not come easily. But over time you will be able to describe your work. And as you see patterns and commonalities emerge, you will get a sense of your style. As your awareness grows you will be able to nurture it so that your style manifests itself more strongly in your photographs.
“The artist is the opposite of the politically minded individual, the opposite of the reformer, the opposite of the idealist. The artist does not tinker with the universe, he recreates it out of his own experience and understanding of life. ~Henry Miller”
Another dimension of fine art is Interpretation. You can make the point that art is not the factual rendering of the world but the artist’s interpretation of the world, of reality. I heard it put this way once, “Craft is documentation; art is interpretation.” When we as photographers give ourselves the freedom to start sharing our interpretation of the world, we become artists.
I often ask people, “When you experience a work of art, does it tell you more about the subject or the artist?” My answer is, “Both.” Great art shows us realities and insights that the artist sees but we easily miss. It is the unique vision and interpretation of the artist that discovers the unseen or casts a revealing light on the commonplace.
“The artist gazes upon a reality and creates his own impression. The viewer gazes upon the impression and creates his own reality. ~Robert Brault”
The final dimension, Communication, brings us full circle. The whole purpose of art is to communicate with our audiences. We communicate our vision and interpretation of reality, our personal style. All we have and want to say about life and the world around us can be communicated through our art. And it is our Creative Vocabulary and the Interpretive Decisions we make that allows this to happen.
One of the things about art that is so wonderful is that the communication is happening on both sides of the work. The viewers bring themselves to the experience in all their individuality and variety. And, as Brault says above, they create their own interpretations, their own realities from the encounter.
I hope these posts help you get a sense of where you are and where you might choose to take yourself as a photographer and an artist. I realize they are long on the concepts and short on practical specifics. But a worthwhile starting point is knowing where you are and where you fit within this framework. And hopefully you can glean enough to get some ideas of what you might want to work on next. Just remember, it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.
“Art is your personal diary where you may color your thoughts and emotions on a page. ~Sara, Los Cerros Middle School, 1999”
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Great article Ralph. This is very thoughtful and relevant.