Fine Art Photography and Heart
Untitled
from the 'Two Titles' series
Over the last two weeks I’ve looked back over hundreds of my fine art images and it’s clear there are two different types – ‘head’ ones and ‘heart’ ones. It’s a distinction that I noted in my series ‘Two Titles’ in which I present one set of images with two different interpretations. But, at the time, I didn't think further about this head/heart division or go on to consider any wider implications.
The photographs – including the ones on this page – were all taken from inside Salt’s Mill, looking through dirty, nearly-opaque windows to an almost invisible world outside. (See them HERE … )
In the first interpretation (the head-driven version) I’m demonstrating an intellectual curiosity and cerebral understanding of the past; in the second (heart-driven) I’m sharing a different story, something more emotional, emotive, intimate – the impact and isolation of medical trauma.
And looking at the series now, I can see my old engineering persona in the ‘head’ interpretations, the same persona which ‘supervises’ many of my fine art images. I’m aware I'm operating inside my comfort zone – I’m an observer, slightly distant; the images I produce are safe, clear, slightly didactic, (usually) unambiguous. And, as I consider this way of working, I feel disappointed; the style seems cold, unemotional, un-ambitious, decidedly un-artistic!
But, the more I consider it, the more I know there's a need for this approach – a time and a place – because it gives me stability; it helps me to reconnect with an earlier, more confident and more certain time in my life. And there are occasions when this is a lifeline – a benefit indeed.
Untitled
from the 'Two Titles' series
In contrast, I participate fully in the story of my heart-images. There’s no comfortable role here as a distanced observer; I’m intimately involved, well outside my comfort zone, feeling raw and exposed.
But I benefit from this style of working as well – this time from the creativity, the freedom and the self-expression. I’m driven on by the authenticity of the images I’m producing.
And I think there's a feel-good factor that I'm starting to understand what it means to be an artist.
So now, if you ask me about fine art photography and what it's ever done for me, I can clearly tell you what it means to me and how I benefit from it.
And I'm certain I'll benefit even more, now I’ve made all this explicit.