Josef Sudek

While I do not agree with the whole of this quote I thought it was written very well and I took something from it...

"Sudek has come closer than any other photographer to catching this illusive goal. His devices for this effect are simple and highly poetic: the dust he raised in a frenzy when the light was just right, a gossamer curtain draped over a chair back, the mist from a garden sprinkler, even the ambient moisture in the atmosphere when the air is near dew point. The eye is usually accustomed to seeing not light but the surfaces it defines; when light is reflected from amorphous materials, however, perception of materiality shifts to light itself. Sudek looked for such materials everywhere. And then he usually balanced the ethereal luminescence with the contra-bass of his deep shadow tonalities. The effect is enchanting, and strongly conveys the human element which is the true content of his photographs. For, throughout all his photography, there is one dominant mood, one consistent viewpoint, and one overriding philosophy. The mood is melancholy and the point of view is romanticism. And overriding all this is a philosphic detachment, an attitude he shares with Spinoza. The attitude of detachment that characterizes Sudek’s art accounts for both its strength and weakness: the strength which lies in the ideal of utter tranquility and the weakness which is found in the paucity of human intimacy. Some commentators find Sudek’s photos mysterious but I think this is a mistake: the air of mystery vanishes once we see in Sudek’s photography a person’s private salvation from despair.”

Charles Sawyer 1

This line stuck out to me most: The eye is usually accustomed to seeing not light but the surfaces it defines; when light is reflected from amorphous materials, however, perception of materiality shifts to light itself. Sudek looked for such materials everywhere.

In the prison, this is how I try to approach the space, searching for light that defines the space, rather than looking for the materials that reflect the light and limit the space. In Chris' most recent post he commented on natural lighting and how strong it can be. I think this is what I am enamored with when I go to the prison, it is a beautifully lit space. Even with the industrial lights, it is glorious.

What is important when taking photos is that we have the ability to see things in a new "light," quite literally. I think that often for me I am too comfortable with just seeing things in documentary form, but to see the shapes and colors that a simple sun-lit window can cast is amazing. I try to see these things in the prison because it's what most people can easily miss.

In terms of light do we actually see the light situation within frame, or do we comprehend it at a simple form and try to make something of it? Simply, do we force ourselves to see the light and how it interacts with what is in the frame/muted or bold?