Reading Task: Something and Nothing

From reading the chapter ‘Something and Nothing’ from the book ‘The photograph as contemporary art’, I was drawn to the sentence that stated that there is “no such thing as a unphotographed or unphotographable subject”. After thinking about this in more detail, and from reviewing the images’ and photographers’ further that supported the particular chapter, I came to agree with this notion. However, I believe, in order to make this specific thought process justified, the photographer must have an informed reason, or strategy, as to why a particular subject – regardless of perceived interests – is to be photographed.

Like any artist – though I use that term lightly when applying it to photography, as though anyone can pick up a camera, not everyone is a photographer – all work created is ultimately a form of expression. When an object, or certain environment is photographed that may be considered uninteresting by the viewer, due to its banal subject matter, we are actually being presented with the photographer’s interpretation on a particular theme that we aren’t accustomed to seeing. To successfully create images’ like this, without the intended meaning being jeopardised, is incredibly difficult, and it really does take a talented photographer, with an eye that most of us don’t have, in order to achieve this.

Unfortunately, these photographs’ usually don’t get the recognition, or appreciation that they deserve. They are often the ones that feature in galleries, or books that receive a glimpse by the viewer, and are then forgotten about just as quickly. Though, they may be visually interesting, the meaning behind them can often be obscure, resulting in an image that is hard to interpret, and fundamentally, to understand. The majority of people don’t have an education, or a strong understanding about the language of photography, and that can be a problem. When it comes to art in particular, if one can’t relate the piece in question, they often deem it as not being particularly good, and unforgettable. As the book quite rightly so states “they are ordinary, so we ignore them as art”.

References

Cotton, C. (2014). The photograph as contemporary art. 3^rd edn. London: Thames and Hudson