"burned and rusted"

The implication of any artistic statement is dependant on the context associated with the work. In abstract photography the viewer is required to supply that context and some people seem to be more adept than others in applying this skill.

 

What is the value of finding worlds within worlds? I suppose that for me it is a chance to exercise the low attention spans of my mind and emotions which have eroded as a result of the constant saturation bombing of modern media. My mind is weary from being driven like livestock by a media that insists that I embrace celebrity personalities and low quality offerings in general.

 

My interest in abstracts is driven by a desire to discover the world as it is, rather than being led to a tainted well full of flavored water. I seek the pure and simple so that in time I will be able to recognize the beauty and value of my surroundings by my own observation and not by an endless stream of sixty second infomercials.

 

So why do I lust for rust? The simple truth is that I trust it. Rust doesn?t lie or try to be glamorous. Some people say that rust never sleeps and that allows me to rest well at night knowing that rust is always on the job.

 

Burned and Rusted, is a bit more original than many of the abstracts as art photos I have seen recently. Personally I do not see Islands from space or microscopic organisms in this photograph but then again that is not what I am looking for and it is not the context that I am interested in supplying. I am looking at the object as itself and thinking about the elements the photographer chose to include and wondering about what he may have excluded to complete this individual composition. In this photograph I am primarily attracted by the color tones and hues which I find very appealing. My second impression is with the variety of surface textures contained in the composition. I will cast my vote as one of approval based mostly on my own personal likes and dislikes. The presentation has been noted as a minor distraction and I would agree for the most part except to say that most photos look better against a glaring white background with some sort of contrasting frame than without any at all.

nice composition. I'm no photographer, just a graphic designer. Here's by take on abstract

art.

Abstract art satifies the lower levels of the brain: it's like looking at crushing waves, wind

rustling in the leaves or clouds burning in a sunset: there's nothing in there that requires

higher brain functions contrary to a picture taken with a social/political slant. In the latter

you can immerse yourself in the situation, the picture can pull more strings from your life

experience. I like abstracts a lot but not too much. I would prefer to hang an abstract/

land/sea scape in my living room to say a portrait of somebody looking at me all the time!

I certainly haven't said everything on this and it surely requires a lot of debate.

 

I like the picture because it has a range and breath of colour(orange, rust and an

unexpected white), texture (smooth paint rough rust) and a bit of shape. Associating the

content with something more recognizable shows that the brain needs to find a higher

meaning: for some this can be frustrating, for me it's refreshing: I don't have to

understand the picture, just absorb it and mentally stroke the texture and gloat in the

colour.

 

That said, I would get bored viewing an exhibition of abstracts with similar content. At

least as much as I hate going to a museum showing serializations of the same Madonna

and Child by same/various artists as if all the museum visitors are studying art history and

need to do a theatise on the style.

 

I'm a genX'er and have been conditioned to aggressive visual stimulii. Seeing too much of

the same bores me easily unfortunately.

Wonderful! I completely agree with you about your comment on traveling far and wide when you can find something close by. I have one photo of a rusted pedastal that I like, but it lacked the vibrancy of color that yours has. I also like the natural shape of the bubbling and cracking almost a mixing of modern industrial with organic nature.

Max

 

What can i say? Once you have the ability to take great photos, then it doesn't leave you!! Keep up the good work!

 

MB

Very nicely done. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that it is not manipulated. The only

suggestion I would make is to consider rotating it. I think it's more dramatic that way.

The suggested rotation give me more of a feeling of burning while the original gives me the impression of melting.

 

I'm not sure I agree with the statement that abstracts do not require any higher brain function to understand. It's a good subject for debate. Photographs of any kind are abstracted reality in some way or another. Perhaps we just take higher brain functions for granted these days because we have become so smart.

 

Does the inclusion or exclusion of a recognizable object change the definition of what is abstract? I have a print on my wall of a rusty hasp that I thought was rather abstract until a roofing contractor came over to give me an estimate on some repairs. He was sure that what he was seeing was an actual hasp mounted under glass and he stared at it from near and far for a long time. Having been in the contracting business myself at one time, I can say with authority that contractors are not always appreciated for their higher brain functions.

On abstract art. I would agree with Joseph's statement above that it satisfies the more basic levels of brain function. This is both true and not an easy thing to understand. Understanding this basic satisfaction DOES require higher brain function; indeed it requires some level of metaphysical consideration. Large exhibitions of abstract art are boring, they encourage the viewer to look at many images and not spend the time needed to enjoy individual images. Beyond the satisfaction of basic brain function, abstract images allow the viewer to engage their imagination. A documentary image will do this as well of course... but a gallery of such images can easily desensitise in the same way as a gallery of abstract images.

 

As for the image above, it has much going for it, a variety of textures, good colours (and perhaps even butterflies). I'd love to see it printed large and spend some time to look at it properly. It's unfortunate, but the border is terrible, it destroys the composition and distracts the eye with its bottom heaviness.

fantastic. technically, the detail is amazing and the exposure spot on.

 

there's something about this image that INSTANTLY brought me to the forum to take a closer look and leave a comment. my brain fired off a "WOW" message even before i got to think about it.

 

Great job.

Simply "lovely" - I would like one enlarged for my own wall! - A simple subject matter - but, in just the right color(s) combinations and detail! Very nice!

I like it because it isn't representational

 

Two comments, more on other's comments about subject matter.

 

I like images that aren't necessarily purely 'representational'...some people very much dislike images that do not meet their expectations of what a photo 'should' be...some don't like b/w, some don't like color, some hate pinhole or anything else that isn't sharp, despite a photographer's intent it look that way. Same with paintings...some hate abstract.

 

I look at weathered buildings and dead trees as opportunities to work on technique - a photo is more than composition and subject matter. If a lab does your development, then it is mostly about composition and subject, but if you have craft and technique due to your own lab work, there are now 4 parameters the artist can manipulate. A local gallery is having an exhibit of 'dumpster (garbage container) photos', but one has to ask what the abstract images are to be told they are dumpsters. They are colorful, textured closeups, perhaps 20"x24", that do not speak of dumpster at all - I thought the first one I looked at was a microscopic view of some crystal structure.

 

Murray

Looks like one of those high resolution satellite images of Earth.

Parece Oxido, nose que sera pero el efecto es muy bueno y el 180 da el pie para poder hacerle cambios y graficar talves un arbol... esa idea me dio

Although this image is striking, with wonderful hues and gorgeous texture, I think for a photo of this style to deserve a POW, I feel it should go beyond well composed, well exposed. Early photographers like Aaron Siskend photographed the same subject matter, but found in it more subtle beauties, hinting at something more than just what meets the eye. Never the less, a beautiful image...congrats.

That a image captures a form of an imagined dimension in the universe is a part of

photography I do enjoy. The image evoked a world of something alive and unique.

Max's eye found the intuitive. More importantly he knew it!

For me it certainly deserves POW status.

There's a feeling of movement flowing across the photo(from top left to bottom right), as if splattered by paint thrown against a surface. It's this IMO which makes this so interesting. Well spotted and terrific execution.

Super.

Looks like a war between rusty and burnt...

the black frame adds a lot of power to the image!

Loved the photograph and was extremely amused by the pretentious a-holes trying to impress people with their attempts at intellectual analysis. Why is it that those that profess a love for the arts always end up proving that they totally miss the point?

LOL @ Raymond -- interesting paradox!

 

I think this image is completely awesome for the fact that it catches you offguard with its "simplicity." Perhaps there was a huge sheet of rust right by the photographer's house -- but he randomly applied his 4x6 frame to that "just right" area of the sheet of rust. How much different everything would have looked if he took the image just a couple inches over, or perhaps a few inches further away!

 

Excellent photograph. :)

I sort of feel that the comment from Raymond was partially directed towards me as an (a-hole)! Raymond, you should stand back and take a look at the big picture. This is a "Critique Fourm", express your personal views good or bad is the main idea. You are off the subject by bashing viewers comments and trying to belittle them with your name calling. What do you have to critique? No hard feelings just want to play fair. Bill @ Blackstar Arts...

I agree with Bill Hendry - I'm all confused now about whether I'm an a-hole or not, or whether I know enuff to be pretentious.

 

I guess the impression of pretentiousness is as subjective as art...hmmm, maybe I shouldn't have used the word 'impression', but at least I didn't capitalize it.

 

I found a web link for Mike Anderson's dumpster show, if anyone is interested (not my gallery).

 

http://www.wmphotoworks.com/anderson.htm

Unbelievably BEAUTIFUL!!!

Thank you for sharing this beauty!

Nice shot and a good illustration of vivid interest for colors and forms where no such many people look or await to find them...

 

Recently, I made a long series of rust/peel shots of very old vehicles (close-ups). I will publish them also in photo.net soon.

If someone is interested by these pics, please visit these series.

 

http://photo-cult.com/showserie.php?id=2854

 

http://photo-cult.com/showserie.php?id=2700

 

http://photo-cult.com/showserie.php?id=2640

Terrific!