Man ray’s quote

When analyzing Man ray’s quote I chose to draw on the concept of art evoking emotion. Looking at the art of photography but also what may lie beneath a photograph to suggest its true message.

Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in unity with the creative vision of the photographer as an artist. Fine art photography provides a visual support for stories that are captured for eternity.

The aesthetics of photography is a matter that continues to be discussed. Many artists argued that photography is simply just the mechanical reproduction of an image. If photography is authentically art, then photography in the context of art would need redefining, such as determining what component of a photograph makes it beautiful to the viewer.

According to Paul Anderson, in his book, The Fine Art of Photography, photography is “any medium of expression which permits one person to convey to another an abstract idea of emotion” (15). However, Anderson only offers us one definition of the concept out of the many possible definitions; the art realm is inherently subjective, therefore one definition is not necessarily more valid than its opposing definition.

In Arguing About Art, art philosopher Roger Scruton states “because of its causal and mechanical nature, a photograph can express no thoughts about its subject,” I tend to disagree. A photograph can represent abstract ideas despite the fact that the camera only captures concrete reality.

A famous quote from Ansel Adams who said “ There is nothing more boring that a technically perfect rendering of a fuzzy visual concept”. In other words, an artistic photograph is created when technique is used to express a vision and an emotion. And this is what I believe exemplified Man Ray quote

Photography allows us to express our feeling and emotions, but to do so we need to master the scientific part of the medium. Unlike a painter, who is in direct contact with his subject and his canvas, a photographer is separated from his subject by the camera.

Show work

Drawing on modern contemporary photography I chose to analyze in context Tamara Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein is a 20 years old living in Huston, Texas.

Being such a young photographer I discovered Tamara Lichtenstein’s photos thru a blog I follow. I admired the way she captures the human silhouette and evolves it around her style, which draws heavily on the current popular analog aesthetic made popular by names such as Terry Richardson or Ryan Micginley. Tamara may not be a professional photographer, but these days that doesn't much matter.

We can have all these definitions on what is good and bad art but ultimately there is no real consensus in what is regarded as art, it’s ones individual perception.

Tamara Lichtenstein captures a photograph as life as it is distilled and preserved for eternity. Her photographs are expressive, a fleeting moment in nature, an abstract shape. Her photographs convey, in a way no words can, a sense of the mystery and beauty, life and nature.

To get an insight into what goes through Tamara Lichtenstein’s head when it comes to photography and drawing out the sense of inspiration I found and interview that discussed the issue. The interview was conducted by CFYE

Lichtenstein was question where she gets her inspiration from. She answered “Anything and everything! Inspiration is constantly flooding my mind. There’s always something intriguing going on in this world. Everyone looks completely different, especially when it’s in a different environment, so there are always countless ideas in my head. Inspiration is never forced, it just happens.

And finally she was questioned, “What does photography mean to you?” she replied “Everything. Without it, I feel that I would go crazy. My mind has too many things going on. Photography has been the only form of expression I truly love. This kind of love never dies. It’s who I am.”

In concluding it’s evident that the art of photography isn’t just an image that is mechanically reproduced for a purpose rather that every photograph represents something different to each one’s individual perception. Photographs tell a story of life and in reference to Man Ray’s quote a story can have no grounding if it does not contain any sense of inspiration. Technique may allow you to persuade a perfect image but it’s the inspiration, which creates the visual story of mystery, beauty and most of all expression.