About twice a year I assist my brother at several of the 35 or so Art Shows where he has be chosen to exhibit. I hesitate to call them Arts & Crafts shows because that somehow demeans the incredible skills that these artisans display while creating and selling finished art throughout the United States.
While returning from a trip to Ruidosa, NM we discussed/cussed the merits and demerits of what makes a great piece of photographic art (that means: what is not only good artistically but one the public would buy with great regularity. They are not one in the same).
Obviously, the image must be technically well achieved (exposure, focus, composition, etc.), but lots of photographs do that. It must also be of interest to the viewer(s). What’s of interest is certainly up for debate and then there’s that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” business. None of that really nailed down an answer to our debate.
While searching for this answer, I used one of his photographs as an example. Clark had photographed a Spanish mission in San Antonio seconds after sunrise. The lighting was perfect to show textures, contrasts and colors. There was a rough hewn cross to the left of the entrance that cast a perfect shadow toward the ornate door. It was truly an outstanding photograph (see the previous paragraph). This is where luck and skill intersect to raise the picture to a classic. About the time Clark snapped the shutter, a black cat ambled up, sat and posed in front of the door. Clark was at the right place at the right time and savvy enough to take the picture - none of that happens totally by accident..
I contend that what great photographs need is something, that’s a smidgen out of the ordinary, to make the overall image superior. In that particular case, it was the cat.
Several months ago, he completed a beautiful sunset panoramic of Monument Valley (it’s about 5’ wide on canvas). It’s taken at the right time of day to show-off those gorgeous rock formations and the vastness of the vista. It’s technically excellent but not terribly different than other Monument Valley panoramas until you notice on the far, upper left side was a localized thunderstorm complete with rainbow. It takes up very little of the image and that was his “cat”, at least in that particular landscape. A “cat” is a metaphor for almost anything that adds additional, unexpected interest. Cartier-Bresson’s pictures were loaded with cats. He just happened to call them “decisive moments.”
Keep your eyes out for a “cat” in your next photograph.
Clark’s art may be seen at clarkcrenshawphotography.com, while mine are at web.me.com/crenshawa/Site.
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