abstract photography Archives - Thoughts on the Art of Fine Art Photography

Photographs deceive, but in a good way

There is deception in art, it’s a given. Even photographic art is never an accurate record of reality, even though some of us accept it as such.

But in the case of art, deception is not evil; quite the contrary. Accepting the deception leads us to ask questions, which (eventually) may lead us to a story worth remembering. And that’s a good thing.

More than any other medium of visual art, photographs can objectively inform us. That is, they represent an actual experience, a real moment in time involving real subjects, that paintings and other forms of visual art simply can not.

Not all photographs inform us. Some styles of photography create such obvious deceptions that the first question we ask is “..how did the photographer do that?” The deception is too obvious to be believed. In fact, informing us is not the purpose of such photographs, so they don’t fit within this discussion. It’s sometimes fun to see how photographers ‘photoshop’ natural subjects (like the “multicolored” Giant Squirrel of India) to create internet sensations… yea,… right.

But real photographs, photographs that represent actual objects and the relationships among them, can indeed inform us. Further, they can also evoke stories of real characters and help us develop our own set of personal experiences. Example: Most of us “know” the Golden Gate Bridge, even if we’ve never been to San Francisco.

Still, if you only know the Golden Gate Bridge (or any subject for that matter) through photographs, there’s still plenty you don’t know about it: its actual size/scale, its actual color, its movements, or the actual texture of its painted steel. What you know is incomplete and therefore deceptive.

When confronted with incomplete information, our brains automatically kick into an analytical mode to try to understand the missing pieces. You can’t help it. This is what our brains do naturally, and the more curious one is, the more the brain will question, and eventually fill in the gaps with imaginary information– deceptive information. This phenomenon is the essence of deception in art.

I had an experience this past week that made me think about how important this whole idea of photographic deception is to our enjoyment of photographic art. I want to share it with you.

My experience relates to a photograph of an old sycamore tree along a local creek that I took a couple years ago. “Gran’s Lap” is a straight photograph (albeit an expressive photograph). It clearly shows how she’s suffered from many years of erosion as the spring floods repeatedly wash over her roots. And yet, she still clings on and is thriving. That’s one story, at least my story. Yours may be different.

Before reading on, try to develop in your own mind some sense of the scale of the tree and her bared roots. You likely have no preconceived idea of her actual size, you only have what is framed. There are no wrong or right answers, only what your imagination will lead you to conclude. The title I’ve given you may even bias your imagination, who knows?

Picture yourself sitting down on Gran’s Lap for a quick rest along your hike. (I’ll wait).

So, now that you’re there, is the ‘lap’ big enough for your toosh without falling into the creek? Or is there plenty of room to share?

Over the months since I took this picture, my own memory recalls that Gran’s Lap was just big enough for me to sit comfortably and enjoy the sounds of the creek. Oh, I should tell you that I’m not a very big guy, because what I say next might lead you to think I’m gargantuan.

This weekend, warming weather encouraged me to take my 7 year old grandson James on a hike along the creek. We visited the old sycamore. I’m not sure why, but when seeing this tree this weekend, I was amazed how large it was. In my memory–probably biased by the photograph I took–it was much smaller. To give you an idea, here’s the same tree with James sitting on it, as shot with my iPhone.

My surprise by the actual size of ‘Gran’s Lap’ got me thinking how photographs can be very deceptive to our eyes. Even so called “straight” photographs can’t be believed.

All photographs are deceptive to an extent, aren’t they? There is always some important context missing, because photographs can’t possibly include everything our eyes see as they sweep across the entire field of view and as our brains interpret scale, depth, color, and movement to give us the most complete picture of everything we see.

Photographs can inform us only to a certain extent. Often they only give us enough information to make us question. And the questioning starts because photographs (especially good photographs) first and foremost deceive us, and make us ask “what is this photograph about?” Then our imaginations take over to fill in the answers, and the next thing you know, there’s a story that emerges.

Not every photograph you see will cause you to stop and question what the photograph is about. But sometimes, the subjects or compositions or colors or textures that a photograph may show you is only the start to your enjoying it. When you see such photographs, let your imagination take over and explore the deception, and you’ll become the wiser for it!

What do you think about deception in art? Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

J. Riley Stewart

April, 2019

Art, science

Florence Nightingale, Art, and Healing

What does art have to do with health?

A lot has been written about the health benefits of art. But there’s a much more common implication in that knowledge than the benefits of art hanging on hospital walls.

For many of us, this time of year can be really stressful. Did you know that art can reduce stress and improve health? Florence Nightingale did. In fact, she was one of the first to recognize the health benefits of art.

We know that art moves us emotionally. That’s its only purpose, really. But why do some of us respond to a piece of art in a positive way while others respond to the same artwork in a negative way? Is it the artwork that makes us respond so differently, or is it something in us? The short answer is “yes.”

Let’s start with a story. Two boys are standing at a busy intersection with cars and busses zooming by. One of them stands at the curb edge, toes literally hanging over the curb, relishing the rush of turbulence as the vehicles pass. The other is standing away from the curb, placing hands over his eyes, eagerly waiting for the traffic light to demand that the chaos cease.

Such it is in life: some of us relish stress/adventure; some of us hate it and will avoid it at all costs. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle of the range, but it’s safe to say that most of us treat excessive stress as something we’d rather avoid than embrace. It’s not healthy to be stressed out all the time.

I worked in the healthcare industry for over 40 years, so I have a fair sense for the misery of disease and the relief in healing. For years I’ve been intrigued by the research into the effects of art therapy (the act of making art) and art intervention (the act of viewing art) to speed recovery in patients suffering from a wide range of temporary illnesses and severe stress.

The beginnings of modern art-related healthcare goes back to Florence Nightingale. She is credited with the movement that led to placing artwork in hospitals as a way to improve healing. Nightingale wrote in her 1860 Notes for Nursing that “the beneficial effects of art was not only on the mind, but on the body as well.” Her beliefs have since been proven time and again in a number of scientific studies.

One of those studies is something we see every day in our modern hospitals and medical clinics. What do you remember about your last visit to the doctor’s office? Do you remember the color of the walls and carpet, or do you remember the abundance of art on the walls? Most likely, it’s the art you remember.

We decorate our hospitals and clinics with art for a reason. Research shows that art improves not only mental but also physical well-being. It reduces length of hospital stays, reduces the need for certain medications, reduces blood pressure, improves patients’ satisfaction with their treatment, and reduces the cost of healthcare. Being sick is very stressful, and art helps reduce the stress, which helps restores health.

Not all art is beneficial in reducing stress. Some art actually enhances stress.

Different art styles and subjects generally evoke different feelings. A 2003 medical study showed that art having easily recognizable subjects from nature tended to restore health in patients faster. Art depicting calm or slowly moving water, verdant foliage, flowers, open landscapes, warming park-like scenes, non threatening animals like birds and pastorals, and natural scenes having nostalgic cultural artifacts are common restorative styles of art.

small cabin in the great smoky mountains in autumn — “Carter Shields Cabin” – from the Quiet of Appalachia Collection. A nostalgic homestead at the edge of a verdant forest and bathed in warming light.

Restorative subjects may appeal to those of us who are more like the kid standing well away from the busy curb, or who want to use art to create a calming, stress-free space or to realize the health benefits of art.

Just as some art calms and restores us, there are other styles of art that do just the opposite. Patients exposed to non-representational images and images having negative icons responded negatively to treatment. Specifically, art that is ambiguous, surreal, or abstract tends to evoke strongly negative emotions in people already experiencing stress or illness. Abstract art triggers the analytical/computational parts of our brains, and people who are already stressed out tend to interpret such images as potentially dangerous or harmful, not helpful, to their states of health and mood.

Certain iconic shapes, forms, and tones can evoke fear, apprehension, and suspicion even if highly representational and realistic. For instance, images containing visual negative icons like dark, razor-sharp or jagged edges, or subjects that represent dangerous situations such as rapidly moving water, or fire, or cold icy scenes are often interpreted as ominous and even hair raising.

People whose nature it is to be more like the boy with his toes hanging over the edge of the curb, or those wishing to raise the level of excitement and tension in their favorite space might prefer artwork that is more abstract or visually ominous in style.

"Blackwater Falls at Full Force" by J. Riley Stewart. — “Blackwater Falls at Full Force” by J. Riley Stewart. Torrential waters, deep shadows, and a heavy sense of gravity can evoke a sense of adventure and excitement.

As a final point, researchers claim that people very often react to the same art differently depending on their current mood or underlying nature. We can expect stressed or stress-averse people to respond very positively to restorative, calming styles of art and react negatively to abstract and visually ominous art.

Is your art working with you, or against you?

So, are our responses to art due to the art itself or are they due to something in us? The answer is yes, it is both. Art is the original “interactive media,” and we should expect our responses to a certain style of art to change as our moods and health change.

What we now know about the health benefits of art and how it affects our moods provides a compelling reason to consider how art might affect us in our own living and working spaces, doesn’t it? How do you feel about the art you have displayed in your favorite space? Does it calm you when you’re stressed? Does it bore you when you need a bit of excitement? Or is it just right? If not, perhaps you’ve changed.

Have a comment about this article or want to share your own experiences? Please leave a note below!

I’ll leave you with this reference if you’d like to read more about the health benefits of art: https://www.healthdesign.org/chd/research/guide-evidence-based-art

Happy collecting! And I hope you have no more stress than you’d like during the holidays!

This article is adapted from an earlier article I wrote in 2015.

Art, Expressive photography, philosophy

Artful Images and the Question of context

abstract photograph of a stone fence as example of context matters — “Stones of Any Shape”

The first question we ask of an image is about context.

Have you ever wondered why you are drawn to certain images? I mean images you can’t take your eyes off of. Images that literally drag you in and stimulate you to recall precious stories from your own memory. The short answer is context, because in imagery, context matters.

The use of context in artful imagery is a huge factor in whether you may actually appreciate a given image (or not). Understanding this one aspect of imagery could lead you to collect art that you will love forever. It may also keep you from buying something that winds up in the attic after a few short years (…&*#@% !…).

The best way to explain why context is so important is to know that context is tightly linked to our own personal memories. Without a memory (or recognition) of a certain subject, your brain decides that it’s abstract and immediately switches to a more complex analytical pathway to make any sense of it.

The more difficult the recognition, the more the brain has to analyze and conceptualize. It can be quite intimidating while the brain interprets the puzzle. And an image with no context is a puzzle, for sure.

For example, if you’ve never seen a fishing fly, you have no way to describe this “thing.” That tuft of feathers on a curvy thingy may be quite confusing to you. But show you that same fly in the mouth of a fish, and it becomes more clear what it is and what it’s supposed to do.

You now have the context necessary to discern the purpose of the fly, and your brain doesn’t have to analyze it as much. (You now know what my favorite hobby is!)

Even though confused by abstractions, our brains are extremely capable of conceptualizing and letting us imagine what that abstraction could be. In fact, some of us love puzzles. We prefer abstract art forms and shapes precisely because it stimulates our brains to conceptualize. It can be exciting to imagine something in a highly abstract painting or photograph that isn’t really there.

I recently had an amusing discussion with a gallery visitor about what she saw in a highly abstract painting hanging on the wall. She swore she saw a horse; pointing out its nose, and mane, and back. Of course, I didn’t see her horse, no matter how hard I tried. Her brain was working hard to make something appear out of an abstraction that she could recognize, and that was great fun for her!

Personally, I like some context in the images I make, such as a log cabin in the woods, or a beautiful sunrise over a quiet river, or even a landscape vista during the peak of Autumn. These are subjects that push the brain to recall peaceful, nostalgic feelings and conjure stories from my own memory (and yours). I think realistic, context-rich art pulls on the heart while abstract art pulls on the brain. And I’d rather have my images pull on the heart.

The featured image “Stones of Any Shape” is a slight departure from my normal style because of its abstraction. I’m using it here as an example of how context matters. There’s not much context here, is there? Just stones arranged in an interesting pattern. The image says nothing about how, where, or why the stones are arranged this way. Is it a road or walkway? A fence? A wall? How large are the stones? What color are they?

Don’t worry, though. Your brain will conceptualize whatever you want to see. And that’s completely okay.

Is it necessary to know those things to enjoy the image? Usually not. You can love a picture without context, it just means your brain has to pre-process it somehow before getting to the “love” part. The other side of this pre-processing situation can also lead to rejection if the context can’t be imagined readily. I have another article you may be interested in that explains the role of mystery in images to either compel a sense of “boring,” “interesting,” or “bizarre”… check it out here.

And when context doesn’t provide the answers we want, we can always let our brains conceptualize the answers that makes the most sense to us, and just have fun with it.

As you look at images online or in a gallery, ask yourself about their context. Is the context obvious or elusive? Starting with that one simple question can often lead to many more questions, and in the process you may learn something about yourself and strengthen your appreciation of art.

If you’d like to read more about how our brains interpret visual abstractions, I’d recommend this article from Salon.

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I first published this article in my newsletter “Under the Darkcloth” on May 26, 2017. To get these articles sent to you personally, just subscribe HERE.

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Until next week, please share this email with others who you think might enjoy it.
J.

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What does art have to do with health?

Not all art is beneficial in reducing stress. Some art actually enhances stress.

Is your art working with you, or against you?

The first question we ask of an image is about context.