Attended this talk by Mauricio Alejo at Objectifs this morning. The audience was mainly middle-aged, lots of women and expats, no familiar faces. Did any CS-ers go? I think there were probably more artists and art-lovers than photographers. Chicks really dig art.
The focus of the photographs was a refreshing change from CS. Not much discussion about sharpness, rule of thirds or messy hair. Indeed, there were many pixellated and blurred photos.
Mauricio talked about how photography had evolved from its documentary roots, where the aim was to try to capture reality, to the focus of contemporary photography, which is about the photography itself.
For instance, he likened pixellated photos to the Impressionists, who had also broken free of the traditional ways of painting. And just like Impressionist pictures, when you look at a pixellated photo close-up, all you see are the pixels, but when you look at it as a whole, you can see the picture.
It was a refreshing talk and a nice way to spend the morning. While I still don't really like to expend too much effort trying to decode what message the artist is trying to give me with his strange picture, at least I now understand their motivation and their methods.
The focus of the photographs was a refreshing change from CS. Not much discussion about sharpness, rule of thirds or messy hair. Indeed, there were many pixellated and blurred photos.
Mauricio talked about how photography had evolved from its documentary roots, where the aim was to try to capture reality, to the focus of contemporary photography, which is about the photography itself.
For instance, he likened pixellated photos to the Impressionists, who had also broken free of the traditional ways of painting. And just like Impressionist pictures, when you look at a pixellated photo close-up, all you see are the pixels, but when you look at it as a whole, you can see the picture.
It was a refreshing talk and a nice way to spend the morning. While I still don't really like to expend too much effort trying to decode what message the artist is trying to give me with his strange picture, at least I now understand their motivation and their methods.
