Admittedly there are only rare occasions where conceptual photography does really work for me. All too often it leaves a fade taste in my mouth, I find it less interesting as the concept so much overshadows the images themselves. But this is not always the case, and I do well remember my fascination from probably 20 years ago for the images of John Pfahl – the link is to google images, which may serve as a start. I only recently ordered a copy of Pfahl’s “Altered Landscapes” to learn a bit more about his work.
And Scott Hocking‘s images shown in the Biennale last year also resonated with my feeling for images, and as I started a bit to understand his way of seeing and transferring, I just thought it might be interesting to some of you, too.
I’m a big fan of conceptual photography though like all genres there is some good and there is some bad. Pfahl work is among the good and I’ve tried to emulate him on a few occasions. Sadly my conceptual work rarely works out as I imagine it or as I see it in the mind’s eye but I keep trying. In the meantime I stick to what I know 🙂
Learning to see, also to see and acknowledge different approaches, is probably the lesson photography teaches most of us. And what I refuse today might well become palatable after some time.
But up to now I am certainly more in the traditional camp – using photography’s capacity to perfectly record and my ability to compose. Quite straightforward, not too much postprocessing involved, and maybe not too much progress to be made. But me, it still challenges.