Kaitrin Acuna
At the end of McCausland's piece on Documentary Photography she states that among the medium's "...greatest objectives" is to "...acquaint us with the wide variety of human existence." I think that this is a fantastic way of phrasing it, and is absolutely what documentary strives to do. This led me to think that perhaps all photography does this. The wide variety of human existence is essentially everywhere. It's in the abstracted, formalist bowls, made by human hands. It's in the pained expressions of the FSA subjects, and in our reactions and ability to remember those image. It's in images of Wall Street, The Steerage, everything that man or woman has ever done or built. Is it possible to even have an image that does not speak to the variety of human existence?
At first I thought, perhaps landscape or nature photography escapes this. But even these moments, and our desire to find them worthy of documenting, is a distinct part of being human. The urge of those photographers to find that spot, while not made by human, has been admired by human. What we find to be beauty is incredibly subjective, and thus lends to be apart of this varied human experience.
Is there any art though, that does not "...acquaint us with the wide variety of human existence?" I believe that in dance, the movement of bodies will do this. The emotions we feel in music does this. Other visual mediums, do this in the same way that photography does. McCausland is right, perhaps documentary photography does this with more direct intention than other mediums. What other mediums do by default, documentary photography seeks to highlight and revel in. But to say this about human existence, I am now considering it to be just an eloquent way to state what is obvious about art.
2 comments:
Insightful comments on the nature of art! How do you feel about factory-made minimalist art (e.g., the metallically pristine pieces of Judd, which he refused to call "sculptures")? Indeed, minimalists resist the "human experience" by removing the artist's hand from art production. But perhaps their very reaction to handmade sculpture is a relatable "human experience"? In a way, the desire of minimalist artists to escape subjectivity only reinforces how subjective (and human based) art is.
Insightful comments on the nature of art! How do you feel about factory-made minimalist art (e.g., the metallically pristine pieces of Judd, which he refused to call "sculptures")? Indeed, minimalists resist the "human experience" by removing the artist's hand from art production. But perhaps their very reaction to handmade sculpture is a relatable "human experience"? In a way, the desire of minimalist artists to escape subjectivity only reinforces how subjective (and human based) art is.
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