This title was digitized by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA).
About Contemporary art/southeast. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1977-1980 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1980)
them to take a picture, you will get 20 different pho tographs; totally different. What each one sees from that position will be different. In the same manner, what one sees will depend upon what he or she is looking for, which will depend upon individual pers pective.” “Photography is not just the knowledge of the technical use of the camera. It is often a case of being at the right place at the right time. You look at a photograph and say that you could duplicate its con tents if given enough time. But the lighting condi tions, the clouds, the angle, the object itself may never be the same again.” It is the combination of these two factors, the right time and the personal perspective of the photog rapher, which McWilliams identified as the reason the works of the masters can be recognized. Likewise, the identify of a “Southern photography” exists. “The Southern ethic, the different lifestyle, or what ever you want to call it, combines to affect the per sonal perspective of a photographer,” McWilliams said. “This is not to say that a photographer from a different part of the country could not take a similar photograph, nor that all Southern photographers could be thus identified,” cautioned McWilliams. “It is to say, however, that the lifestyle, the climate, the atmosphere reflect themselves into the work of the photographer by changing his or her perspective.” Whether in the Southeast or other regions of the country, both Crouse and McWilliams agree that the future of photography as an accepted art form seems assured. “Like anything else, collectors may sec pho tography as an investment,” said Crouse, “but this is- just a small portion of the reason they are buying photographs. People are buying them as a form of art; something they can appreciate, take home and display on their walls.” “You have to remember that photography is a young art,” Crouse continued, “one in which many of the recognized masters are still alive. This is a very exciting period for collectors and the public alike.” “This is reflected in the different groups who are buying photographs. These are works of art which many, who cannot afford paintings or other art forms, are able to buy,” Crouse said. “There is a strong aesthetic base for the increased interest in photography." McWilliams attributes this strong base to the abstract quality of photography, which is accentu ated by the use of black and white. “With the camera frame in mind, the photographer pulls events or objects out of their context and creates a context of his or her own. What is mysterious to the viewer is that the event or object still holds much of its surface qualities. When you put a photograph of a tree on the wall, the viewer thinks it is real; it is the tree on the wall. This is misleading and, therefore, as I see it, the ultimate abstraction. The photograph lies.” “When speaking of the continued popularity of photography, you have to consider it from two points of view,” said Scott Hammon, curator of Film and Photography, J.B. Speed Museum. “First, the popularity of photographs is a fad. This can be seen by the increase in the number of photo graphers and the number of academic courses being "Country," by James Strickland, Raleigh, N.C., 1979 offered in this field. This is due to the fact that beginners do not have to go through the years of training demanded by the other arts. It is a way for many to see themselves as artists and get quick and easy satisfaction. This type of photography, I believe, is a fad whose popularity is even now beginning to level. “The second type of popularity is seen in the accep tance of photography as a medium established with the other arts,” Hammon said. “Photography was John Earl takes color photographs heralded by the Georgia Senate as “outstanding achievements in de picting the ujnique beauty of the state of Georgia." His wife, Susan Tinkelman Earl, has exhibited black- andwhite nature works at photography shows across the U.S. and abroad. Their first two-person show of Georgia coast photography marks their move to Sa vannah. Louisville 13
