Abstract Photography

Loupe, the Journal of the Boston Photographic Resource Center, had an excellent article recently on abstraction in photography (Feb 2013, pp 24-28).  It was a good overview of the history of abstract art in photography and why photographers employ it in their work.  Photography can be a medium of exact reproduction, but it doesn’t have to be.  By forgoing the literal, creative opportunities become wide open.

I have previously employed abstraction in a largely instinctual way.  But the article got me thinking about why abstraction works.  Abstraction is important in my art, especially when photographing the nude.  I find myself less and less interested in the literal image when working with nude models- there has simply been so much done in that genre that I am uninterested in recreating. Right now I am exploring ideas of self image and memory and how they relate to what we see in the mirror.  In abstracting the body, either by isolating curves, forms and shapes or by using distorting surfaces I can present an image suggestive of my idea without the distractions of the literal form.  The image can then evoke something from the viewer, without shouting out the main premiss.

I have been carrying my fascination with abstraction into other subjects.  Right now these are just studies of light, color and shape that present the question “what is that?”  They are fun little projects that keep my eye sharp and who knows, one may end up being the start of my next project.