Many years ago, Alka-Seltzer ran a series of television ads for their indigestion remedy with the punchline ‘I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.’ Replace that with, I can’t believe that I viewed the entire museum. It’s like a kind of indigestion of art. Yes, you can attempt to see too much. But what are you left with?
The internet and even Instagram are good places to research and discover art and photography. But viewing is best done offline. Art and photography have a degree of nuance. Like poetry, it invites us to dwell on it and to find our own story in it or a definition of what it means to us.
I would like to provide encouragement to you to jump in head first and dare to find yourself looking at an image and learning to become confident in the process of expressing what an image means to you. Over time it will get easier. The beauty of it is, there are many methods of seeing and describing what an image means.
Continuing the voluntary assignment from the last issue, spend some quality time with a photo that attracts your vision. Think about what it means to you and what you like or don’t like and what you think it means. These are the beginning steps to coming to an understanding of and appreciation for photography.
Your comments about this article and assignment are always welcome. Stay curious and engaged in the dialogue!
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