“I never want to see another picture of ________.” Industry veterans share their pet peeves on themes in contemporary photography. In this series they present their “rule” along with five photographs that break the rule in an effort to show that great work is the exception to the rule.
Rule Setter: Peter Johnson, Founding Director, Captured 52
Rule Breaker: Tyler Gourley
I'm not a curator, art critic, gallerist or trained professional. I don't write critiques, catalogues or establish narratives. So the idea of "explaining art" is foreign to me. The jargon of foisting work is baffling, nonsensical and seems to runs counter to why you buy art in the first place...because you love it.
As TJ Thorne once pointed out, “Either an image moves you, or it doesn’t, how it was created is irrelevant.” I suppose, but I take issue with photoshopped images passed off as real—the unrealism of technicolor, "fine art" landscapes have become ubiquitous.
This clichéd art, has been resigned to airports, art fairs and tourist destinations from Key West to Lahaina. But they tap a market, and buyers somehow under the spell, pay high prices for limited work editioned at only 950 with 45APs!
At its most fundamental, art should at some level, trigger an emotional response, regarded loosely as a cornerstone to experiencing art. Well, a lot of things trigger emotional response—and with overpriced, commoditized, manipulated interpretations of our natural environment, I would argue that alcohol has something to do with it.
To be clear, I'm not dismissing creative vision—but photography is a craft and it is nature, not looking natural, that I have a problem with—this is not an acid trip. Viewing the natural landscape should feel, well, natural.
Tyler Gourley's landscapes stand out as purely observational. His work is consistent with the philosophy of his craft—he prefers to communicate through his photos. Dependent on neither description or narrative, no gimmicks or heavy-handed manipulation—just a moment of truth—our natural world as we see it.
His description of White House is as simple as the image itself, "I was in Iceland in late September and came across this farm house as a storm was rolling in." And Waves simply reflects the beauty, power and drama of the Oregon coast. As Steve Jobs famously said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
The work feels as it should, honest and authentic, as if you were actually present in the photograph. They're textured and moody, mysterious and powerful. Some work is simply meant to be viewed big, and Tyler's work speaks to my belief that the right photograph, when viewed on a grand scale, completely transforms the experience.
It might be argued that a photograph is not just about what you see. But as much about the when, where, who and how in equal measure—the location, the environment and conditions, the fortitude, vision and talent and process and luck that make capturing that moment—special.
That's it—let the image speak the truth. Let me fall into the image on my own. Let it speak to me in my own way. Let me immerse myself in the raw beauty of nature as it was intended. No need for rose colored glasses.