What I enjoy about Duane Michals is that he manages to take a simple stack of photographs and, through their complexity and vantage points, convey a message much larger and deeper to the viewer. He experiments with the subjectivity and possibilities of the image in a very fun and interesting way, making you laugh at times at your inability to realize where his photos were headed in the first place. He has mastered the art of fooling his viewer, and viewers (at least like me) find their ability to be fooled quite interesting and thought-provoking. Through proposing an illusion to us, Michals makes his audience scan his pictures more than once, looking back for what they may have initially missed.
Of the three aspects to Michaels' work this reading chooses to focus on, the one I found to be very important was that "perspectival space leads to the representation of objects in a world like ours".
I think this is the key element for Michals because it's with this factor that he can draw his audience to think very deeply about the subjects he represents in his images. All of his art depends on an element associated with human perspective. As each picture progresses into the next, a new vantage point emerges, further connecting the piece of art into our world as we know it. He also plays with time elements, looking at scenes as they progress. Many of his pieces remind me of very artistic cinema reels.
The picture I included today is one of my favorite of Michals' pieces. It depicts two men as they pass each other in the street. Frame by frame, the viewer gets to watch as the men turn to stare back at each other. Each one misses the other's second glance. Here, we not only get to see a chance meeting as it unfolds, but we also see something much larger than the original passing of the two men. We see both turning glances, whereas each of the men only see one. The audience, therefore, carries with them a sense of omnscience about the nature of this passing, and carries with them a list of questions: Who are these men? What do they stand for? Do they know each other already? Why are they so intrigued about each other they're just a couple of guys in black coats?
I really liked you idea that something you enjoy about Michals is that "he manages to take a simple stack of photographs and, through their complexity and vantage points, convey a message much larger and deeper to the viewer." Throughout the class thus far, I have seen a lot of simplistic pieces of art that really have a strong deeper meaning, and the most moving art I see is just that. Michals did it perfectly and I am glad to see someone else who has an interest in such pieces.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the Michaels image that you posted. I do think for some of the images he creates, its harder to relate to the subject or message but I think this one is really interesting. It really reminds of the feeling when you pass someone and for a fleeting moment you know you know them, but you don't know if they realize it at all.
ReplyDeleteIs it interesting to me that you question the image. I feel like this the purpose of many artist we have studied; to not just look at a painting and see a recognizable object such a flower in a vase, but rather see an unfamiliar composition and think about its purpose and meaning.
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