Thoughts on deconstructing the photographic image.

The majority of photographic images one views on a daily basis is for the most part self explanatory. It serves as a conveyor of information. Journalism that we watch on the daily news every evening, advertising attempting to sell on on a product and so on. Other forms serve the scientific community, documents various events like family, weddings, travel and other snapshots that become records of our past lives.

Fine art photography, that which serves no utilitarian purpose, attempts to go one step beyond that which is depicted. As Minor White put it "Vision without association - pristine vision." Alfred Steglitz photographed clouds and titled them "equivalents." Minor states "When a photograph functions as an Equivalent we can say that at that moment, and for that person the photograph acts as a symbol or plays the role of a metaphor for something that is beyond the subject photographed." He goes on to say "One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are."

So what else can they be? Here I'll use an example of one of my own photographs. I usually tend to leave most of my work untitled but this particular photograph I titled "Trinity."

Attempting to deconstruct this image one immediately can see there are three focal points or subjects in this image. The iron cross, the Citroen or CV2 as it is commonly called and the fire hydrant.

The iron cross can be construed as a symbol for Christianity. The CV2 a means of modern transportation. And the fire hydrant a means of salvation. Without the fire hydrant's presence we could possibly be consumed by fire.

The term trinity in the Catholic faith refers to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In their order of appearance and size they can be construed as the Father (God), the largest, the CV2 (Jesus, the Son), our means of salvation and transportation to heaven and fire hydrant (the Holy Spirit), the fiery means to kindle our passion to reach heaven.

Or they could lack any of these meanings and be just what they appear to be. Three objects aligned against the wall of a small church in a French church's courtyard. The interpretation for the most part is left to the viewer. Did I see these objects with the symbolism as described above when they caught my attention? I'll leave that to your imagination.

Suggested reading:
On Looking at Photographs. 
Text by Bill Jay and David Hurn. 
LensWork Publishing, Portland, 1999. 96 pp., 6½x9½". 
Following their highly successful first collaboration, On Being a Photographer, this volume presents Hurn and Jay's discussions about the medium itself. Topics include photographing and the act of looking at photographs, along with more closely focused examinations of content and meaning, the rarity of true merit, the place of art in photography, and the role of morality.