The Story In A Face 1
Recently I was at a gallery that was showing some of my work and I was walking around listening to the conversations. One of the great things about trying to keep my anonymity is the ability to walk about and hear the candid conversations about my images.
For me an image is most effective when it makes room for the viewer to be part of the story. If an image evokes an emotion or invites the viewer to savor some aspect, brings back a long lost memory, or opens a door to a new perspective then the image “works”.
This blog post was inspired by just such a conversation I overheard at this showing. Two people were very animated by one of my images (the one shown above) and were debating what “was really happening” to the person in my image. Both people did not know who I was so they were speaking very openly about the image and their reaction to it. This image worked because it caused them to invest in it, both in quite different ways.
Their animated debate reminded me of a poem by one of my favorite Poets.
“Introduction to Poetry”
“I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide”
“or press an ear against its hive.”
“I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,”
“or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.”
“I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.”
“But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.”
“They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.”
― BILLY COLLINS
If you are in the SOHO area of New York During December you can see some of my work at Umbrella Arts Gallery
I look forward to seeing you out there…. or hearing your comments.
Julian Ray
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If you like what you see. Don’t like what you see. Want to offer a critique. Have a story or an image (or more) on the same subject that you would like to share, please do. I would enjoy hearing form you.
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