a question of:

what is the flatness of a photograph?
what is the field?
what is the medium
and
what is the meaning of
the general lack of an
overt surface?

can one subsist on
the subtleties of matteness
in an era defined by
the unchecked rampancy
of photographic imagery and
(un)media(ated) saturation?

have the qualities of sharpness
and of a photographic nature
become
hopelessly bland
in a world inundated with
High Definition?

my
oh
my
how things have changed
in a mere
thirty
years
for our good, dear friend
the color photograph.

it is no longer enough
to be this or that
and perhaps
it is time
to return to the basics of
what is and what ain't.

or perhaps i am not articulating myself
correctly...

what i mean is...

what i mean is...

what i mean is...


surface
flat
texture
matte
glossy
finish
contact
plate
air
press
look
look
look
at the wall

---------------------------------------------------



Frederick Sommer, Untitled (1943)


Frederick Sommer, Glass (1943)


Frederick Sommer, Untitled (1973)


Thomas Struth, Paradise 36 (New Smyrna Beach), Florida (2007)


Thomas Ruff, Substrat 10 II (2003)


Morris Louis, Floral V (1959-60)


Jules Olitski, Draky (1966)


Jules Olitski, Exact Origins, (1966)

---------------------------------------------------

color
color
color
in
flat patches
touched by
texture
but
rendered
flat
through
technology
we are
grasping
for
something more
a
moment
which
was
and
can't
be
touched.


i am not afraid of making the taboo connection
between
photography
and
painting.
they
are
flat
and
things
have
become
boring
.