Can A Space be a Subject

This photo has been criticized elsewhere




for not having a subject. I believe the subject is the door, the space by which we see the green.

doug anderson said:

This photo has been criticized elsewhere for not having a subject. I believe the subject is the door, the space by which we see the green.

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Well Doug,

It could only be criticized for not being honored by centering it in white space as on the wall of a fine gallery. So that I corrected for you. Part of my tidying up!




Space is a valid subject for humanity and all other living things. That's what we fight for, breathing room! We have spaces dedicated for everything from cooking, dancing, training soldiers to storing water. It's this mega subject that is the theme of our planned OPF exhibit, that all are asked to contribute too.

Your picture immediately provides a sense of fresh air and openness and a healthy space to explore. It encourages and enquires of us to find from our own imagination, what might be discovered there. That's a generous gift a good artist does for us: leaves room for the viewers experience to be unique and open-ended. It's a good picture and I'd be delighted to include a set like that in our planned collection. now you are others here, will have to find siblings to flesh out the ideas your picture touches on.

There's a lot more one could look into: the light, the amount of detail in shadows, the distance outside viewable and atmospherics and drama, positive or negative.

Thanks so much for sharing this one, seemingly simple image, so significant and potentially valuable for us all as a spark and stimulus for more on the idea of space.

Asher

Excellent, Asher, how do I apply for the exhibition?

doug anderson said:

Excellent, Asher, how do I apply for the exhibition?

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Just post your sets of offered images here and be on the lookout for other OPF photographer's work you remember seeing and send them a PM of encouragement. All images remain © of the respective photographers with licence to use them in PR material for the exhibit.

Asher

doug anderson said:

This photo has been criticized elsewhere for not having a subject.

Click to expand...

I would say that these "critics" just demonstrated their ignorance, don't you think so? It is actually a very pleasing picture.

Thanks, Jerome!

Philistines and fools, each and every one of them, Doug. How can a photo not have a subject? Der!
Its not a world beater, but its pleasant enough. Fits the bill nicely for what it is intended.

FWIW, I agree with Jerome and Tom. There is a subject here and it is joy. Sprinkled with with a dash of spring, freshness and hope.

doug anderson said:

This photo has been criticized elsewhere

for not having a subject. I believe the subject is the door, the space by which we see the green.

Click to expand...

Α space cannot be a subject... but a subject can be in space!

Not so long ago, like many on this forum, I suspect, I was scanning in all my transparencies and negs. My darkroom is boxed in the garage and, at 75, I have no intention of ever un-boxing it all. So I needed to decide which trans/negs to scan before packing away for posterity and which to simply dump.

My criteria were.

As a piece of artwork...
It should, somehow, SAY something
OR
It should ask some QUESTION of the viewer
OR
It can SHOW something unusual in its own right.

If not art, it can constitute a simple record of fact

(I think these criteria would include Don McCullen's war photography, Cartier-Bresson's captured moments, Ansel Adams' landscapes... and I think, your space. )

Unfortunately, when I was scanning all my film stuff, most of it satisfied none of the criteria and was junked. Very few satisfied the 'artwork' criteria and the rest were Photos of people and thus simply records. I found most photos of places were junked; if I had a photo of some trees and a lake in Africa - but not an artwork...junk.

I wonder how many others (non-professional) find a resonance with their own experience?

PS. DOUG - imho your space simply asks questions, whilst making a statement about framing.