Hello Idiots. Today le us talk about something that probably most of your photography is lacking: context! This is the most distinguishable part of being a pro and a noob. A noob will only show you pictures they think are pretty, but not all pretty photos have the capacity to rock the art world. A professional adds meaning to their photos. This is when they analyze the artistic aspects of the photos and have the meaning of their art dissected to show what makes it up. This should sound familiar because this is how every piece of art is viewed. I will give you some examples of this by looking at other’s work.
This is one of my photos from last year. In this we see a man walking with a n axe. Our view of him is obstructed by chicken wire and there is no clear way to see his face. This is part of a body of work about masculinity. With this overarching context, we can start putting together a deeper meaning to the photo. Is being a man about being violent. Does the fact his face doesn’t show offer a view of the standard for men, that no matter the person there is an expected violence men have.
In this photo we have two men holding each other. But there is a hesitation with the hand. It doesn’t look sure of its motives. It hovers of the other mans arm unsure of how to really embrace him, or whether they want to. With the context given we can start filling in the blanks for the meaning of a photograph. Not every artist will give the full context, some want you to be immersed in it and go away with a sense of the art speaking for itself. Photography like other art can be established if the artist choses their preferred method of encoding the pieces.
The man wears robes and is holding his arms out like he is victorious. It feels religious almost by the way he holds his body in a cross and the way our view is from the ground and he reigns high above us. The beams on the ceiling all intersect at him. The stage lights give context about the location of where the subject is. Is the picture about winning, or just seeming like he did?
Do you see how we dived further into each photos? And normally it goes a lot deeper, but because I don't want to share the whole body we only looked at the few photos and how we could go further into them to make them more important.
To make it easier here are some links to the interpretation of photographs!
The next photo you take try to give it context? What is the Why, What, Where, and Who? Tune in next week for some specially made content!