The Photograph

Artist Statement

 

I am fascinated by ontological questions about the photograph - questions that probe beyond palpable answers such as those that indicate the physicality of the photograph are what interest me. I want to answer those questions that get to the heart philosophically, emotionally and existentially about what a photograph is and what a photograph does as a physical object.

 

We cannot deny the physicality of a photograph. But the physical nature of a photograph is based on conventions – photographs are square or rectangle, printed on paper. A camera produces it and sometimes a photograph is produced without a camera. All these elements are external, tangible qualities that exist regardless of the photographer’s mental state.

 

And yet, we cannot deny the intangible nature of the photograph. These intangible qualities – memories of a time gone by, emotions, desires, and hopes – exist within the photographer as creator and then within the viewer. What’s more, in that moment of creation whatever existed is simultaneously destroyed and cannot be retained by the creation itself.

 

This body of work calls the viewer to examine the indefinable nature of the photograph. The images are ordered so as to let a story unfold or develop before the viewer’s eyes. However, the viewer is free to attach his or her own thoughts, feelings, and narrative to the exhibit as they go.