Abstraction at Darkroom Gallery
Honorable Mention: Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe by Daren You
Abstraction Exhibition
Darkroom Gallery
12 Main St. Essex Jct., VT 05452-3132
Hours: Monday-Saturday 11:00-4:00 and by appt.
Exhibition runs: June 22nd-July 16th, 2017
Juror’s Statement:
“If I choose abstraction over reality, it is because I consider it the lesser chaos.
”
Often with abstract photography, the viewer is being asked to fabricate an understanding of what is being depicted. It gives them the opportunity to recall on their own experiences and sensibilities to contextualize the work. Sometimes abstract is a challenging task for both viewers and photographers alike. It raises questions like “How am I supposed to interpret this?”, “Why do I like it so much (or not)?” and sometimes “Is this even photography?” and furthermore “does it matter?”.
Abstraction was one of the reasons I was drawn to photography, inspired by its history. I look to work like Harry Callahan’s multiple exposure street style images, Man Ray’s photograms or Aaron Siskind’s found natural abstracts and see how diverse photography, abstraction specifically, has always been.
I feel like we take photography for granted, it’s so accessible and consumed in the digital age. Millions of people are engaged with it in some form every day. Abstraction breaks the monotony. The images I’m drawn to the most, have some hints to the medium itself. I’m a Photoromantic, so to me, the answer to the last question at least is “it does matter!”.
–Blue Mitchell