reading #6

John Szarkowski makes several interesting points in the introduction to his book, Photographer’s Eye. I particularly liked his take on the photographic frame and how the frame is selected and not conceived. The choice of what to include or exclude is a key element in the meaning of a photograph. He argues that reality extends out in four directions and therefore photographs are not merely realistic representations. This way of thinking of photographs, even ones traditionally considered representational, is quite intriguing. It puts an emphasis on the decisions of the photographer as a creator rather than as a documenter.

            Another part of image making has to do with time. I’ve always been an admirer of Cartier-Bresson who coined the decisive moment. So much of photography relies on time. The time the photographer decides to press the shutter and capture the image, but also how much time is recorded. Each image was made in the present but as soon as it’s made it becomes a part of the past. The image becomes the remembered reality of the present in which it was made.

            Lastly, I found his argument that “an artist is a man who seeks new structures in which to order and simplify his sense of the reality of life,” to be his most compelling point. This has always been the way I’ve used photography: to make sense of my reality. It’s ironic that he uses this as a basis for an artist since I still struggle with calling myself that even at the end of four years at a fine art school.