November 2008: Which “meaning” matters?
As a photographer I am often asked ”What am I supposed to see in your photographs?” and “What do your photographs mean/say”? Although these are good questions I am not sure how to answer them.
On the most basic level photographs describe something. They describe what the photographer has pointed the camera at, whether a rock, a standing stone or a kitchen. The problem, as I see it, is that everything in the world has been photographed at one time or another, in one form or another. In my own photographs I am trying to go beyond simply describing what I see to showing it in the unique way that I see. This is often subtle but I hope worth the look.
When I am making an image, I am looking at the subject at a specific time in space, in a specific type of light. This will be different than when you might be photographing this same subject. Take, for example, the cover image of ODIN STONE, Sunset, Standing Stones of Stenness. This is one of four stones in the circle at Stenness. Over the years I have photographed these stones many times in various types of light but I chose to present this image this way for the book because I wanted a cover that was dramatic and perhaps iconic. The sun is setting behind the standing stone – therefore I broke one of George Eastman’s basic rules, “Don’t shoot into the sun”. However, by shooting into the sunset and using a wide angle lens I was able to make the stone far more dramatic, the horizon feel vast, and the entire energy of the image look like it is exploding out of this stone.
What do I expect you to see in this image? – On the surface, simply the sun setting behind the standing stone. I hope that a deeper look leads you to sense the feeling I am trying to convey in this image – a feeling of vastness, of archeological importance and of the energy of the place. I wonder “How many times has the sun set behind this particular stone? Was it erected to indicate a particular moment in the season? Does its curved top have a specific purpose? Is this stone the inspiration for the megalith in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey?” It’s been so long since I read the book by Arthur Clarke I don’t remember if the megalith is actually a symbol in the book or just a literary device created for the film by Kubrick. For me it is the enduring symbol of 2001:A Space Odyssey, more than Hal or the floating space station. Standing before this stone, illuminated from behind, brought back vivid memories of the movie. When I first saw the movie I thought 2001 was so far in the future and now it’s so far in the past, but this megalith still endures as a symbol.
As I make a photograph, questions are always running through my head. “Who, What, and Why” being the most common. Plate 22, Wall, Broch of Burroughston, on the surface is simply a photograph of a Neolithic stonewall in a broch (a stone fortress, usually circular). This is a simple straightforward description. Yet in the center of this wall of flat stones is a round stone. Why is it there? Who put it there? Was it decorative when it was built or did it just happen to fit. Was it put there as a talisman? Other stones in the wall are clearly placed to form a solid interlocked wall. Why this round stone? Did the archeologist who investigated the site rebuild the wall and put the round stone there? This particular image was made with a pinhole lens on my 5×12 camera. I wanted to use the lens to try to create a sense of mystery. Maybe the technique of infinite depth of field but no point of focus (the nature of a pinhole lens) would help create this sense of wonder. When Plate 22 is paired with Plate 21, Orkney Library and Archive, Kirkwall, Orkney, the idea of round stones is echoed. Why are these big round stones sitting in front of the Orkney Library? They are obviously deliberate because it is a newly designed building, but did the architects know of the round stone in the wall at the Broch of Burroughston? Are round stones symbolically important to Orcadians? Or did I notice something that no one else did? I invited you to look at the comparison as well.
What do I want you to see in my photographs? Look closely the object or objects photographed. Next, follow the maze of question these objects lead you through. Finally, comparing all you already hold in your own experience of symbols, see how these objects work into your personal set. Don’t worry about what these objects mean as symbols to me or to anyone else but see if and how they resonate for you. Not every image will resonate, but if you look closely enough and listen to your inner voice you may find that some of my images do raise questions, and evoke an emotion or memory for you. If it does, then remember, what it means to you is far more important than what I might want it to mean to you.