48
B+W
Glass Marble by Andrew Sanderson.
Look at the curves...now recognise
a marble.Freesias by Andrew Sanderson. The ability to spot an image among the clutter of everyday objects is an important skill for a still life photographer.Little Lighthouse by Andrew Sanderson.
Here the photographer has decided what
to leave out of the image.Kitchen Table by Andrew Sanderson.
A selected detail of a mundane subject
produces a fascinating image.T
he final still life sub-genre, focus on
form, overlaps with abstract art. These
are not so much pictures of something,
but rather are pictures from something.
Such still lifes almost erase the subject
from the image. They demand the viewer
bring something to them – an interpretation.
There is no need to interpret the image of the
poppy, only to respond to its beauty. But here
the viewer has to really look at the image andwork out what it is. What do you see first?
Line and shape? Contrast? Only then do you
work out what the object actually is.
Isn’t this abstract photography? Not
quite. There is enough of the object being
photographed for recognition – it is
anchored in objectivity. Once that link is
broken then a picture becomes truly abstract
and can no longer be classed as a still life.
So, what is it that links constructed, found,content and form still lifes? All of them
draw the eye to something. They all take
seemingly ordinary subject matter and make
it appear remarkable and worthy of notice.
Photographic still life may still have its roots
in the subject matter of the painted genre,
but it has moved far beyond the aesthetic
concerns of the 17th century. By forcing us to
focus on content, and then on form, it helps us
see differently – a truly artistic achievement.44-49_STILL_LIFE ER/MB.indd 4844-49_STILL_LIFE ER/MB.indd 48 05/11/2014 10:4405/11/2014 10:44