Monday, April 6, 2020
by ag
(Click on image to enlarge.)
Very curious to hear how others respond to this and what meaning, if any, it might hold for you. I have one idea but I’m not sure if I’m reading something into it that isn’t there. Hence the title, Enigma.
Pixetera 
I see a concept unique to each viewer. A representation of an idea rather than a documented portrait. Difficult (for me, anyway) to pull off successfully. Well done, Alan.
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Any interest in sharing what idea or concept you see in this photo? I’ll reveal mine once others have weighed in.
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It’s hard for me to put into words (that’s why I photograph) but I see the sun in the face which (to me) symbolizes a part of the cosmos that is in all of us. I don’t know how to put it because I’m usually a person of few words (you may have noticed). I’ve always felt that we are all part of something bigger and I’m not talking about religion because I’m not religious.
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Thanks so much Ken for your response. Looks like we’re on similar pages.
I see the light as shining forth from a transcendent self that is our true nature. In this image, it’s as if our faces/physical bodies are like masks/costumes behind which lies pure, formless energy.
At least that’s what I’d like to believe.
Some people find the photo scary or dark, as if there was some malevolent force coming out from the subject. For me, the only evil present may be the cliché aspect of equating light with a higher consciousness :)
Literally speaking, this is a photo of a hanging print in which the reflection of a light fixture was lined up with the subject’s eye. That’s it: any meaning I might attach to it now was not part of my original intent.
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Regarding the last part of your comment, Alan, I don’t think photography requires a literal translation of the subject matter. That is basically what we try to do at the Museum (a literal, true representation of a subject) so that there is a common idea of what the subject is and looks like. But photography, as an art form, has no limitations. Limitations put on artists would possibly be disastrous.
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I agree up to a point Ken, but I’m afraid I don’t see how the concept of limitations enters into this discussion. My point in sharing the backstory was only to describe the photo’s starting point, not that I would ever expect it to be viewed in such a literal way.
In one sense, some photography is like a magic act in which a viewer thinks they’re looking at one thing when the reality is altogether different.
Any art work, by its very nature, works within a range of limitations, I believe. I would further argue that restrictions — apart from censorship of course — are the arena in which artistic creativity takes place. To me, complete freedom — whatever that may be — is a bigger danger to the artist.
But maybe we’re talking about two different things here.
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Maybe. I don’t know. I usually don’t like to discuss art with anyone because I don’t really have much to say on the subject. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. I love music but I don’t talk about it. I love hot dogs but I don’t talk about that, either. There are plenty of artists that let the work do the talking for them.
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You raised an interesting issue that I thought was worth a response, Ken. So sorry you feel the need to bow out.
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