S H Bean ~ Photographer

"…within the same space the real and the abstract"

Posts tagged ‘S H Bean’

Flux and Ambiguity

There is a bourgeois concept that photographs are said to be epistemically superior to other types of representations.  For me as a Photographer this is far from clear and the aim of the Restricted Light Project is to reduce the sense of nearness and proximity to the Object and at the same time develop a sense of nearness and proximity to the Photographer’s Eye. These objects are there in the environment, but they are in a state of visual flux, so I am exploring alternatives, to see if there is an approach that I can develop,  in which one could question this superiority. In a sense to add flux and ambiguity, and remove certainty.

Because in a painting we cannot say “this is what the Artists saw” something we can do in a Photograph. For in Photography the image must be framed, focused and exposed using the Photographer’s Eye and perception. The Restricted Light Project inverts Andre Bazin’s contention “the image acts upon us through its origin in the being of the model/object” to “the Image acts upon us through its origin to the Photographer’s eye”

‘No truth or Falsity’

Berkeley argued that visual cues, such as the perceived extension or ‘confusion’ of an object, can only be used to indirectly judge objects.

Our vision is very limited, we only see a minute part of the world in which we live in. The perceptual system of the brain enables us to see the world as visually stable, even though the sensory information (ie: color and intensity of light) are typically rapidly changing. A sheet of white paper will, within reason, eventually look white under any lighting conditions. So for me, as a Photographer when I perceive an object there is no guarantee of visual consistency or permanence.

‘No Truth or Falsity’

I ask myself this question:

An object, a simple rock, is perceived by me to be in time and in space, and I decide to take a series of Photographs over 24 hours.

Now all the images are hanging on a wall in front of me: on what basis do I to decide which of the images guarantees accuracy, consistency or permanence of the object?

No one image does that, or is correct and therefore I am constrained to rely exclusively on how my experience, my perception allows me to extracts a shape that I find visually stable, but only for me. In my work there is no truth or falsity.

On Shadows and The Invisible Landscape

My approach has been to create a sense of dislocation between the Shadow and the Landscape, between an object’s Shadow and the Space it inhabits. The Shadows in this new body of work should be seen as phenomena, albeit transient in their own right, as there is nothing consistent in the way we see Shadows, or the relationship of the Shadow to it’s environment. As Shadow length and shape will change over the day or time of year.
There is nothing consistent in the Shadow in relation to it’s density, as it’s darkness is predicated on a multitude of factors such as humidity, cloud cover and altitude, nor even to its colour. Not to mention light or shade from any nearby objects.

‘Only the painter is entitled to look at everything without being obliged to appraise what he sees’. Merleau-Ponty.

‘No Truth or Falsity’

These are Landscapes which can only be perceived, not be seen. The works shown here are part of a much larger body of work, part of an on-going project that started three years ago (2011) and is still in progress.

As a Photographer Landscapes are in a continual state of visual flux, and this flux and changing of light and shadow on these Landscapes represents a direct and continuous assault on the Photographers visual system and perception. This can only be a source of tension and ambiguity.

The Invisible Landscape – in the news

From the album: Timeline Photos
Quote by Tony O’Brien RightBrain (“RightBrain.ie” info@rightbrain.ie)
This is an example of some new work by artist Stephen Bean which will be part of a exhibition later this year (details to follow closer to the time). This conceptual fine art landscape photography is a project to depict the high-altitude volcanic terrain of Tenerife where the sharpness of the light is quite incredible. Some of Stephen’s work is available on his website https://shbeanphotographer.com/ but as is often the case with work of this magnitude, it has to be experienced in print form as the internet will never do it justice.
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