Portraits of Emotion; Artist's Statement.

Here is my preliminary artist's statement for my thesis project. I will begin shooting shortly and will post pictures through the process.


We, as humans, are intrinsically emotional beings and there are many ways in which we can manifest these feelings. These emotions can manifest themselves on stage: in the form of song, dance or theatrical performance. They can also manifest themselves in artwork through mediums such as photography, painting, and drawing. My focus, in this case, is photography. There is something intrinsically emotional about the creation of personal artworks. Something as simple as the tonality or lighting in a piece can influence the way a piece effects the viewer. I have found myself drawn to the lighting in Slumdog Millionaire, a movie, and Spring Awakening, a musical.
I feel that art needs to have invested emotion to have any truth or substance. This emotion can be achieved through lighting and the texture that the lighting setup lends to the composition. Both Slumdog Millionaire and Spring Awakening are very emotionally charged productions. It is very obvious that light is effectively used to highlight the emotional aspects of the emotional highs and lows that drive the plot. Still images from these productions show the amazing textural detail that appears through the use of lighting design.
I have always tried to bring a heightened sense of emotion into my photographs. There are many things that can lend said emotion to the composition of the photograph. I plan on exploring the effects that lighting and background texture have on the emotion of the composition. I plan on using camera angles, lighting set ups, lighting experimentation, exposures and manipulation of the available studio space to help enhance the emotionality of my photographs. All of these aspects will be key in achieving the photographs I want. Along with in-studio experimentation, I will also be experimenting with modes of image capture. I plan on shooting in 35mm color and black-and-white film and digital. I would also like to experiment with my printing process. Photoshop seems to lend a sense of fluidity to the printing process that tradition darkroom printing lacks. As a photographer, however, I feel that traditional darkroom techniques create a stronger connection to the final prints because there is more time and effort invested.
I would like these photographs to have a very effervescent, ethereal air to them. Through my photographs I want to explore the emotionality that background texture and lighting lend to the composition.
Humans are intrinsically emotional creatures, as I have previously stated. However, they are not the only "subject" that can show emotion. Just because my "subject" is a rock, does not mean that it will be seen as a rock in my composition. Everything in this world has a transcendental nature; we may not see it in passing during our everyday life. But, when we take the time to more closely inspect and reflect upon these items we can see and feel the emotions that they exude. It is because of this reason that I would like to broaden my range of subject. It is the context in which we see things that clues us into what we see and feel. When discussing this project with a close friend I was told, "A photograph of a rock skipping across a pond is very different emotionally than a photo of a rock being hurled at someone."
I tend to focus on people because my friends play a very large role in my life. I would still like to photograph people, but I do not, by any means, want my final prints to be "portraiture." These 20 images should abandon the constraints of a stereotypical "portrait" or "still life." They need to come alive, and breathe, with the anticipation of emotion and life. I want these images to reach out to their viewers and affect them. Photography without emotion is not an artistic statement, it is merely a picture of something.