Artist Statement

Alex Lewers Artist Statement:


All photos are accurate. None of them is the truth. ~Richard Avedon

While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see.
~Dorothea Lange

Fiction: An imaginative creation or a pretence that does not represent actuality but has been invented- Online dictionary


Photography for me is a means of story-telling, a way of looking at people and places in a different light. It's a means by which we are provided the opportunity to look at ordinary objects in extraordinary ways.

As a studying journalist it has become apparent that photography holds a lot of power in constructing truth meaning and understanding. When I work with photography I am reminded that photography is neither truth nor is it completely fictional. It is an interpretation of what is before it.

In this series of photographs my subject matter is ordinary people in ordinary places. I have used a combination of black and white images with an element of colour or vies-versa. This is an attempt to combine realism with a hint of the surreal. It plays with connotations and signification of romanticism and nostalgia that are inherently associated with black and white images.

This series of work is inspired by the movie Schindlers List and the way they utilise colour to covey certain messages within the film. The added colour in the movie onto an otherwise black and white shooting draws viewers attention and is perhaps one of the single most effective story telling device of the movie. For me in my work I have tried to replicate this, using colour as a means of story telling. I feel this adds a different dimension to the work and allow the viewer to contemplate meaning within the piece and build their own narrative.

Each piece begins with a location, character or object. It is then manipulated in way that forces the viewer to consider why and from there develop a narrative. When a piece creates different stories and interpretations for different viewers then I know that my work is finished.


These photographs are all manipulated digitally through the use of Photoshop. I have used a technique where I get the original image and the duplicate that image. I then de-saturate one and depending on whether I want black and white or colour to feature I remove that element from the to layer so that the bottom layer comes through on the page.

When people see my work, I'd like them to build their own narrative. Consider the characters and objects make their own connection and come up with a story that suits the individual. This piece is not about conveying truth rather communicating a fictional representation of the real and demonstrating the reality and truth is what we make it.

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them."
Elliot Erwit

"Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world."
Arnold Newman


Display:

These images will be displayed as a series in relation to colour. For example the images would be set out as they are below but put into a block of 9 using 3 different colour schemes. Originally these were going to be displayed with music however I have decided that I want multiple people to be able to view and discuss at any one time.




Examples of my work so far:

Photos tell a thousand words

Until university I had never really considered photography more than basic appreciation of photographs on a wall. Coming into the photography world via university however opened up the different styles of photography and provided new ways for me to appreciate photography. During my crash course introduction to photography I particularly enjoyed the precise moment and often bizarre photography of Dali. However where my real interest in photography lies is in documentary photography and in particular black and white.




Dali Photography.

Not everybody trusts paintings but people believe photographs - Ansel Adams

Documentary Photography:

My first real introduction to documentary photography came in the way of Dorothea Lange’s Migrant mother photograph and other works from the Farm Security Administration commissioned photographs. The power of that particular photograph sticks with me when I think about the type of photography that I would want to produce. I think that Lange herself summed documentary photography up well by saying “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” The migrant mother photograph is one of the best known photographs of the twentieth century (Wells 2004). The photograph transcends its location and context and becomes a universal reflection of the human story.





Works from the Farm Security Administration commissioned photographs

Douglis states (2009 p. 40) that photography presents a story in an abstract way in order to express those essential human values we want our viewers to think about understand and appreciate. If a story can create empathy and let the viewer vicariously live through whatever we experienced as we made our images, all the better. If we can make pictures that trigger the imagination, our viewers may ultimately see images in their own mind's eye that go well beyond our intentions. Through my photography I am particularly interested in creating the storytelling aspect that Douglis talks about. I think this is the way to engage with viewer and get them to come back and tell people about the work that you are doing.

I am particularly interested in people and using black and white photography to tell the story. For me black and white photography connotes memory and helps tell emotion. Michael Coyne states that the potential of black and white photography should not be over looked. Black and white images can show human shapes, skin textures, subtle tones and shades of photographic meaning at times when colour would be a distraction. The tonal balance between a rich deep black and a clear clean white can embody or powerfully suggest a wide range of feelings and emotions.....One of the most compelling reasons for shooting in black and white is that without the constraints and considerations of colour you have the freedom to concentrate on the essential qualities of the person you are seeking to portray.

It also ties into my major which is journalism and media. Documentary photography is the key type of photography used. Hope says that when an experienced photographer brings compassion and understanding to a situation it can result in an “image that freezes in time its most poignant moment”. Hope further adds that photojournalism can throw light onto stories that those in power wish to keep in shadows or bring attention to a particular cause that may otherwise go un-noticed. There is also the opportunity on the lighter side to capture the absurdity of the human race.


Photography and Music:

I am also interested in the power of combining music and photography to enhance, change and manipulate the viewers viewing experience. Music is used throughout a variety of mediums especially film to generate a particular emotion or feeling from the audience. I think the same is very possible in photography.

Here are some photos that I took to tell stories. I combined them with music tell help tell their story.









There is great power in what can be achieved in photography and through my photography I would hope to create some sort of emotion from the viewer. Building towards the final assignment I will be pursuing digital photography as my means of production. I would love to pursue film photography but given my lack of experience in both photography and printing I feel like I would be better able to acheive the results I would want in my photographs through digital photography. I also depending on the subject would hope to include music with my final work as a way of enhancing viewer experience.

References:

Wells, L (2004). Photography: a critical Introduction. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge. p. 35-48.

Douglis, P. (2009). Telling Stories; editorial photography. Available: http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/202919836.html. Last accessed 16 July 2010.

Coyne, M (2005). People photography. London: Lonely Planet.