In the beginning blog started : 9/9/19
Author : Curtis Salonick
Meaning of title : One or more of these realities will have an effect on your life. Of the three, the indisputable one is that defined by our sexuality, encapsulated by physical being, it is the force that creates life.
This blog represents what I have come to know as truth over my 67 years of life. In human terms truth is difficult to pin down, since our understanding of truth is limited by our physical boundaries and so is open to revision.
I shall begin with photographs role as art, a role often missed understood based solely on the existence of an image. Not considering how the image was realized. In photography the image is recorded and not created, as in the traditional arts. This dependency on an external devise most often referred to as a camera, that has the ability to record an entire scene with the push of a button, is what separates photography from the more traditional arts such as painting, drawing, and sculpture. Where the hands of the artesian plays a direct role in the application of materials to create a new reality. While in photography the hands of the photographer play more of a supporting role in the operation of the camera, used to record and existing reality.
Photography when practiced in its most accepted role can be defined as Narrative depiction of a time and place recorded in real time. In this scenario the elements found in the scene are not exclusive to the photographer as they have not been arranged or introduced to the scene. Here the influence of the photographer is primarily found in composition and in functioning of the camera.
However this Narrative classification of photography does not mean that it can not be transitioned to a more creative interpretation of itself. But to do so the photographer must go beyond the superficial changes that only affect the appearance of the image such as distortion, colorizing, or adding of texture as they do not address the originality of its content. In order to accomplish real change the photographer must make a physical change to the reality of the scene with the introduction of content, that expresses a purposeful intent. This can be achieved either prier to the scene being recorded or in post-production. In the physical world this could involve the building of a set and adding props. Here the scene photographed is not the art but a representation of the art. Since the scene it self is the art and remains so, unlit the scene it self has been dismantled at which time the photograph takes on more significant role as the art. If however prier to it being dismantled another should photograph it having not contributed to its conceptual realization, the classification of their image remains a Narrative depiction. While the real world changes made to the image are limited. The changes made in post-production can go much further, going as far as creating original making it the art itself.
In conclusion photography represents a unique visual platform and is not dependent on the classification of art to be considered significant in its own right.
Curtis Salonick 