Scroll down to see what “PhotoKama” means. Click on the above links to immerse yourself.
Sight. Sound. Scent. Taste. Touch. Memory. Intuition.
I’m trying to create images that are not simply visually intriguing, but also impact the viewer both intellectually & emotionally. I want viewers to have a visceral reaction that causes them to stop & contemplate what they see.
Everything is contemplative.
“The role of art is to give food for thought, to act as a stimulant, to entice the onlooker to inspect things, people, emotions, from a new point of view.” (Jim Ede)
Photography is a medium with which to explore both the physical world and the realms of ideas. What do you see? What do you want to see?
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“We don’t see the world as it is. We see the world as we are.” (Anaïs Nin)
“Your assumptions are your window to the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” (Isaac Asimov)
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The word “photography” means “writing with light.” Light allows us to see, both literally and metaphorically.
Kama, (Sanskrit: “Love,” “Desire,” “Pleasure”): In the mythology of India the god Kama is the god of love and pleasure. During the Vedic age (2nd millennium–7th century bce), the god Kama personified cosmic desire & the creative impulse, and he was called the firstborn of the primeval Chaos that makes all creation possible. (Britannica.com)
PhotoKama is to See the world afresh, to explore the past, to learn, to seek out new possibilities and create new visual futures. Thus PhotoKama is my visual representation of love of the world and everything in it… well almost everything.
Chaos… intellectual pleasure… visual thought… moments of clarity & of ambiguity… Life.
Some of these images are solely documents of what & how the world can be seen.
Moments of beauty. Moments of learning. Moments of life.
Moments of clarity. Moments of confusion.
My composites are intended to disrupt the traditional Photographic and Art Historical narratives. There is beauty and humanity within the traditional narratives. Yet we live in an age of disruption: socially, technologically, artistically, politically and of nearly every other formerly stable & reliable characteristic of modern culture. There is also beauty and humanity within the disruptive process. In fact it is relatively well known that chaos fosters creativity and often inspires new beginnings. Photography and all the other arts need some chaos. The functions of the arts need to be rethought & explored & expanded. New visions require disruption.
Respect the old & the traditional, but throw a wrench at them too.
Reading Dreams (2017)