(always) Learning to See ...

REFLECTION on the contract between the viewer and publisher of photographic work.

Effort is required by both the Publisher of the work and the Viewer in order for there to be a productive engagement. This reflection was inspired by viewing the excellent work of Amy Stein (‘Stranded’) and Sohrab Hura (‘Life is Elsewhere’) and hearing their floor talks at the Perth Centre of Photography. These works, and much of what is currently on view at FotoFreo could be described as Contemporary Photography.           

With many contemporary photography exhibitions there are little of the immediate rewards that may be there with Fine Art, Nature or even Photo Journalism. The work may not have an immediately picturesque aesthetic, may lack rich colour, not be sharp enough for rewarding close observation, and its presentation may be spartan.  There are also no cute animals, famous people or nudes (gratuitous or otherwise). When one looks for help accessing the work through what is written one is just as likely to find works title ‘untitled 1,2 etc and the accompanying postmodernese text is as accessible as legalese or Latin. On top of these challenges the location may be poorly signposted and out of the way, opening hours variable due to the voluntary staffing and the venue rather grotty. Yet the Publisher of the work is seeking an audience!

In the case of Amy Stein’s work I had the advantage that I have followed her blog for some time and so was motivated to sit with the work and tolerate the lack of instantaneous reward. Amy Stein is highly considered, as well as politically and creatively mature and this sure  ‘informs’ her work.

‘Stranded’ comprises a number of images of people whose cars have broken down by the road in the USA. As the written introduction says…   ‘Stranded is a meditation on the despondence of the American psyche as this collapse of certainty (..failed response to Katrina and the subsequent GFC)  left the country stuck in an unfamiliar space between distress and relief.’ The drivers photographed are facing an uncertain and likely costly future, they are in distress and suspicious. An elegant and articulate metaphor for the society at large.

The introduction says it is a meditation. There is a clue for the viewer thoughtfully provided by Amy, the work is a meditation and like meditation you have to work hard to free your mind from the irritations and intrusions, to make a space for the work to engage you and for you to engage back. And like a good meditation session this work can reward with magical clarity. The images of random strangers can open up into stills from a movie that runs forward and backward before your eyes. The complex emotional experience is visible. You can be left with hours of productive reflection and creative stimulation. I think this work begins to truly transcend the limited form of the portrait.

To quote again .. ‘the car serves as both figurative symbol of American destiny and the personal breakdowns on the road to that promise’  Look back at the image above and the fantastically expressive ‘attitudes’ of the two stranded cheerleaders. Other images are equally or even more articulate about the stranded-ness of other quite different Americans.  The work is as relevant to us Aussies as it is to Americans as we struggle with Kevin Rudds failure to deliver all our wishes  ‘right now’ without glitches and are tempted by the next poll driven arch conservative.

I will stop for now and will finish this Reflection in a follow up piece focusing on the Publishers contribution to the engagement process. FotoFreo is likely to provide many more rewards so Perth folk get out now. Both works are viewable at the Perth Centre of Photography Sat & Sunday 12-4 March 19-April 18 (and possibly Thursday-Friday 12-5) 91 Brisbane St, Perth. For those not in Perth here is the link to the work on her site.