Diamond Beach, and ambiguity and mystery
11/07/19 09:45
Looking at this print this morning, I was reminded of a recent facebook post by a friend (thanks, Kendra!), showing the diversity and complexity and mystery that can be found in a single grain of sand. The beaches, too, can be diverse and intricate and mysterious.
My photographic print named Diamond Beach is close to being an abstract image, even though it is essentially no more than sand and rock and water (and some frozen water!).
Those few components give the print a simple form, but the image itself is intricate. Limited to a small portion of the beach, its scope isn't immediately apparent. Are the grains of sand tiny, or are they large? Is the ice a small cube, or is it a huge iceberg? Is that the sky in the top portion of the photograph, or is it the ocean? Those are questions that might be asked, but they don't have to be answered: the attraction in this photo (in my view) is its form rather than its content. You don't have to expect a clearer understanding of its individual components when you look at it, but you might start to appreciate the shapes and lines and relationships of the basic parts.
Those few components give the print a simple form, but the image itself is intricate. Limited to a small portion of the beach, its scope isn't immediately apparent. Are the grains of sand tiny, or are they large? Is the ice a small cube, or is it a huge iceberg? Is that the sky in the top portion of the photograph, or is it the ocean? Those are questions that might be asked, but they don't have to be answered: the attraction in this photo (in my view) is its form rather than its content. You don't have to expect a clearer understanding of its individual components when you look at it, but you might start to appreciate the shapes and lines and relationships of the basic parts.