Display Issues
It's rare that I take photographs that I really like. I take dozens that I think are cool, or are relatively interesting, or that I think might even be approaching good. But ones that I like? That's a different beast altogether. Lately, I've been trying to figure out why.
The best I've come up with is that it's because I am too fully aware of the potential behind each shot and because I'm too obsessed with my own shortcomings (as observed and described by me for me against me).
Last month, as I stumbled through downtown Osaka - an experience I highly recommend - I happened upon a small gallery hosting an exhibition of Daido Moriyama's work. I was stoked. Moriyama is easily my favorite photographer. His work in the 60s and 70s was groundbreaking; he found his aesthetic early on - get in close, using a medium lens and high-grain black and white film, and document everything exactly as you see it. Then, you're back inside and looking at the rolls and rolls of film you've shot, do you edit. And when you edit, be ruthless and single-minded.
But, the thing is, even though I know that any photo that's ended up in one of Moriyama's exhibitions was carefully chosen from dozens, if not hundreds, of shots, I never see those off shots. I only know what is presented before me.
With my own photos though, I know what I'm presenting. I also know every missed shot, every missed moment, every failure to connect with either the subject or the audience, every blown exposure, every time I've failed to do whatever it took to get the exact perfect shot in that exact, perfect moment. It's all right there in my head.
It is one of the many, many reasons I'm glad I started this project again because alongside forcing myself to get outside and actually shoot, I'm forcing myself to do the edits, to choose the best shot and to actually present them to an audience. It's harder than it sounds, maybe.
But also, one of the things Moriyama is best known for is his unconventional presentation style. Most often his work is presented as photography so often is - large prints on canvas or inside a frame. But sometimes, Moriyama presents his work as a series of posters stacked on top of each other or as a bunch of collages or with parts of them painted out. Honestly, his presentation practices are almost as groundbreaking as his photos.
I'd like to do something like that.
I'm still struggling to put together the book from the first series of 91 Days that I did last year. I keep going back and forth between styles and formats - do I include all the essays, do I include only the photos, do I include all the photos or only the best 100, do I size them up for a large book or scale them down for a pocket sized book...the questions go on. And all the while I keep asking myself, is any of this any good?
I dunno. It's not really for me to decide, if I'm being truly honest. I mean, ideally, in a perfect world, people would love my work so much that they buy limited edition prints for thousands of dollars and hang them up in their houses. But I don't see that happening. So I'm wondering if I should be Moriyama-esque in my presentation, if I should eschew the books and the prints and instead make art out of my photos. I don't really know what that looks like, yet. But I'm kind of eager to find out.