I have spent a lot of time at City Art this week. On Thursday night the gallery walls were lined with about 15 sets of work for from USC's Advanced Photography class. It's encouraging seeing my peers' work in a professional gallery. Each photographer had a different approach to their set. The biggest crowd gathered around a set of photographs of women paired with a letter from that woman of something they couldn't say out aloud. The photos and the letters had a deep sense of vulnerability that touched everyone in the room. Other photographers went with more of a political approach.
On Tuesday, I attended the Gallery Talk for this show. There was a man there that was a young art student's nightmare critic. In response to a set showing the dichotomy of the classes by showing a row of upper class and houses in shambles, he told the girl that she should work for ReMax. His critique completely disregarded the artist statement, he was more concerned with who would potentially pay her to take photos in the future. This reaction made the artist cringe, but the struggle for interpretation is continuous in art. Once exposed to an audience the artist's meaning becomes one of many. That is terrifying in art.
This show helped me to realize how very different photojournalism is from art photos. Photojournalism photos are supposed to answer questions, to inform the audience through exposure. Photography as art mainly raises questions and provokes further intrigue. Content should be manipulated and controlled within the shot. While photojournalism is looked to for truth and honesty, art photography can be manipulated to say whatever the artist wants.
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