George Baker is calling upon photography to expand upon its conscious ideals on what is photography. Baker thinks that the concern of photography being in crisis is not a negative connotation but one that can bring it back into importance of Art. In this mindset Baker is going against Michael Fried by Fried’s negative assumption of the objecthood and theatrical approach in this medium. Baker wants to draw upon all aspects that this medium can indulge in from stasis, non-stasis, narrative and non-narrative. With this the crisis becomes the reform.
Two negative affiliates that is commonly discussed in this medium, analog vs. digital, and the wide affiliation among the mediums users with the availability to everyone, have, in my mind, become the main expanses in this field. Kodak’s Brownie has given the medium to everyone with the meaning that everyone can take photographs. This has expanded the viewpoint of the field to those beyond the dominating professions that seems to exist. Even with these photographers who are not intending to pursue this field in the professional level they are still being able to interact with this field in their own personal expansions. This draws upon a newer and more widespread affect that occurs solely in this medium. The continuous debate of analog vs. digital is also an expansion of this field in that with the invention of the scanner we are now incorporating both analog and digital into one.
Baker examines several contemporary photographers that expand the medium not only through subject matter, but also in output layouts. Jeff wall puts his tableaux imagery not for the wall but in the wall. These images now become not only images but physical implants into the structure as in a way become windows that show what is on the other side of the hanging surface. Also artists are presenting their images one step past walls by presenting their work not on the wall but merely using light to reveal an image as it appears to be on the wall but is instead just a projection of an image in a box that is being seen on the wall.
The two photographers I have decided to discuss are Sugimoto (Sea Scapes) and Hido (House Hunting). Sugimoto with his project Sea Scapes can be placed between narrative and stasis, but possibly between stasis and non-stasis as well. The reason for his works to be either or is a matter of personal taste. I can see these Sea Scapes as being between a narrative of the various environments as well as a visual document of an undocumentable time and place: stagnant. It can also be between stasis and non-stasis because like the stagnant nature of the work they are long exposures and therefore through the exposure the environments are in an active state. Sugimoto has expanded this field by involving the existence of time in his images and unifying all places in the world into one similar place.
Hido’s work would be considered to be the same as Sugimoto in the manner that he is putting out of context the subject he is photographing, non-stasis, and also showing the inactive-ness of the subject. We are given a narrative through his project of these environments, but from image to image we are seeing similar subjects as they exist as being lost in time and motionless. Hido can be seen as extending this field by taking out of context what the subject is and it’s intentions. He presents objects that reveal the usage of humanity but shows the discern that exists between the subject and it’s owner. Both Hido and Sugimoto are, in a way, connecting the practices of cinematography and photography as well as painting and sculpture in the manner of deconstruction of the subject.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMKm-PpD8Aw&list=QL&playnext=1
This is a trailer for "Funny Face" a movie with the visual inspiration of Richard Avedon. Avedon helped work on the movie, but it was with his vision and sight with which this movie was filmed.
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