New York City 1/13, Ashley Gilbertson
New York City 13/13, Ashley Gilbertson
To create some kind of meaning in a picture a photographer has two tools: showing and hiding. Showing has it’s own complexities and mysteries but is the one that is generally understood, but in the two photos above by the excellent Australian photographer Ashley Gilbertson we see obvious but effective examples of the latter.
He hides things that he himself saw in these situations by using opposing values of the one method, exposure. The details he does not want us to see are ignored by his camera leaving only the etchings of his intent. It is a photographer twisting reality to fit his conceptual arguments. But what I like about these photographs is that it doesn’t break the necessary link between the real and the conceptual as so much bad, shallow art does. Our ideas at most can only be worth what our experiences are.
What else is interesting is the difference in depths between the two pictures. The darker one is totally concentrated on revealing the layers that make up the photo, the strongest being the man and the smoke which has been lit up by sunlight. The lighter photo is all about dispelling distance and perspective. The tiny couple are fairies, ethereal, without human context, detached from the fallen man or woman at the bottom of the picture. Both pictures create mystery from keeping things hidden.
Posted 2 years ago
