What Tales From The Black Box Learned Me About My Body Of Work
In December 2018 I finished my photo book Tales From The Black Box. It contains eighteen PicTales with accompanying images that previously have been published on this blog.
While honestly in the first instance not deliberately done (I basically just wanted to produce a nice photo book with some of my PicTales) I realized that the selected images are actually quite consistent in approach and execution, and can be considered to represent a good overview of my body of work.
In this post, I will explore:
What is a Body Of Work
An artist's 'body of work' can usually be defined by a collection of artwork which demonstrates an overall consistency and signature style. Although an artist's style can change over time, which also changes their body of work, it usually can be said that there are a certain consistency and cohesion in the work produced.
This consistency and cohesion can be accomplished through:
style;
subject matter;
execution of the work;
the intent of the work.
Tales From The Black Box as Body Of Work
After finishing Tales From The Black Box and reviewing the result, it dawned on me that the images and stories actually represent what I really want to accomplish with my photography and that it actually is a quite cohesive group of work. By selecting the PicTales for this book, I more or less accidentally curated my own body of work.
Style:
Although they probably not can be categorized as 'street' or 'documentary' photography, all images capture aspects of life and objects that can be encountered while 'walking around'. There is no studio work involved, no use of models, and no orchestrated set up of scenes.
Subject matter:
Most of the images tell stories about people, without actually showing people. Although present in some images, people while key to the story are more used as props than as the immediate subject matter. It is the accompanying story that explains how the image relates to people.
Execution:
All images are executed in black and white, and with 4:5 or 1:1 aspect ratios. Depending on the storyline the PicTales have only one image or a series of images. The main consistent factor, of course, is that all PicTales are images combined with stories
Intent:
All image-story combinations are intended to trigger thoughts and ideas, as mentioned in my artist's statement, and explained in the Foreword of the book:
Any photo camera is basically just a black box.
From the most simple pinhole camera to the most sophisticated digital camera: nothing more than a black box with a hole on one side to allow light to enter, and a medium on the other side to capture this light and create an image.
Of course, the technical sophistication of the camera and the medium used have a big influence on the look of the image. And with the current state of image processing technology, that look can be even more altered afterward.
I specifically use the word 'look' of the image, and not 'quality'. When we talk about quality, we are conducting a technical assessment of the image. For me, however, the look of an image is far more interesting because it translates directly into emotion: the emotional response from the viewer to the image.
The role of the photographer is to show what we can not see: to show a different point of view, to share a specific feeling with the viewer, to extract a specific response from the viewer.
While it is possible to enjoy photographic images based on their look only, adding a story to an image allows the photographer to direct and change the viewer's emotional response. Image and story then become mutually dependent: the story will be stronger because of the image, the emotional impact of the image will change because of the story.
Consequences for my images, this website, and blog
Looking at the consistency of the images selected for Tales From The Black Box and that realizing they can be considered to represent a good overview of my body of work, I am now seeing that I am actually developing a photographic style I like and want to refine.
As I mentioned in last week's article I want to use the limitations on equipment and time available as they will be set by my relocation to South Africa, to focus on specific subjects and types of photography, and learn, learn, learn.
Now, with the insights obtained from Tales From The Black Box, I also know what photography style, subject matter, execution, and intent I want to develop further and learn more about.
This also will have an impact on this website and blog.
I need to review all images on the site and decide whether they fit into my preferred style, whether they are a consistent part of my body of work. This might result in deleting some of the current images, and possibly regrouping other.
It also will mean that I definitely need to continue writing PicTales, Haiku, and Essays in order to maintain the consistency in intent. As a consequence, the content of the blog will grow in these areas while more general art and photography articles will get less focus.
I hope you enjoyed this insight in my thoughts regarding my body of work, and how this will impact my future photography, learning, website content, and blog articles.
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