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What’s Down There?

Posted on June 4, 2016

by Eliot Crowley

5

Eliot Crowley "What's Down There?" 6/4/16

Eliot Crowley “What’s Down There?” 6/4/16

To create a narrative is my favorite kind of photography. However as a photographer I must always be concerned with the viewer and how the viewer will interpret my work. I bring my own sensibilities to my photographs, meaning what ever I have experienced is part of my frame of reference, and that goes into the photograph. The viewer has their own experiences. He or she might be from a different state where they use the word “pop” for soda while I use the word soda or even soft drink. Farther reaching differences can be assumed here. If my references are too vague for most viewers it becomes like an inside joke, and only works with those who are in the know. To broaden my reach of audience, I have to use symbolism that is more universal. I won’t reach everybody. But my intent is to keep my narrative understandable, brief, and open enough for the viewer to interpret on their own. That’s a job of a photographer. Its not to just make pretty pictures.

5 Comments for What’s Down There?

Eliot Crowely

David, thanks for asking. I believe to be called an artist, I must make work, show it to people who are in a position to know what it is, take the criticism and do it again, and again. A viewer is an integral part of the process, of my photography. If I make a photograph and never show it to someone it only effects me. When I show it to someone their interpretation of what they see will be different from what I thought. It will always be like that. I bring my own sensibilities and knowledge to my side of the equation of making a photograph while the viewer brings their experiences. Inherently they will be different. For me, without a viewer, there isn’t a photograph. Without a viewer there is no painting. Without a viewer there is no movie. Without a viewer there is no statue. Without a viewer there is no theatre. Without someone else’s experience being effected by the piece of art, it is useless rumination.

Imagine if you will, that you only speak Chinese. Any words in English that appear in a photo won’t be understood by you. You may have no interest in that photograph because you can’t read the words. Say, those words are the clue to the meaning of the photograph. It will be completely lost on you. Say a photograph has no words but symbols that are universal, like a dog, a man in a coat and a hat, inside of a building, each character is looking a different way. All this symbolism could be understood and interpreted by a Chinese only speaking person. How they interpret it will be the mystery. Wouldn’t it be nice to know what they thought? If only I could speak Chinese. To make universal photographs I must use universal symbolism.

If I’m not going to show anybody the photo and it is only for me, none of this matters. I want my work to matter. That’s why I am concerned about the viewer.

David B. Moore

Communicating a story to another human is a noble idea. I don’t feel my ideas are that profound for a group of people to gravitate to, I mean I’m not curing cancer. I make images for me and if someone relates to it, that is icing on the cake! I make the cake for my nourishment. I do share the images in hopes that a few will appreciate it, or my efforts, but their appreciation or opinion of it should not matter or have influence on me. I’m not going out the next day to reshoot a personal shot for anyone but me. Of course all criticism is heard and filtered into ones thinking, that can’t be avoided. Just as with compliments and photographers I admire, I must also put them out of my grey matter and forget them. I don’t shoot for my brand but for my heart.

Suppose I’m an old grumpy guy that tries to takes images like I take prozac, every day if I remember.

To be continued…

david b moore

Why should an artist concern them selfs with the viewers interpretation to the work?

Russ Widstrand

Love the directional interplay between the dog and the human figure.

Eliot Crowely

Thanks Russ. Working with dogs is a challenge. Getting them to do exactly what you want is more a matter of waiting for them to be in the right place at the right time. I had no wrangler on this which made it even more difficult. The interplay you mention is exactly why this one was chosen. Lots of others where the dog was not in the right place at the right time.