For every artist worth
his salt there is a moment in creation when all of the forces, skills and
influences coalesce into pictorial perfection. It is a moment when the 2
dimensional plane becomes 3 and his or her senses and tributaries overflow with
the full rush realization of a masterpiece. Wishful thinking for most of us
practitioners, but as Sisyphean pursuits go it is still one of the best.
Henri
Cartier Bresson referred to this coming together as ‘the decisive moment”.
Buddhists refer to it as Satori. It is slippery and elusive, yet really the
only illusion worthy of a dance with the godhead.
The
Masterpiece is the talisman that possesses magical and transformative powers.
Under the right conditions it transfers that magic to the viewer. It is so rare
and special that the word genius so masticated by the media and the arbiters of
the public taste has been rendered almost meaningless to the point that the
truly gifted have to constantly do battle with the painfully untalented.
I have been on this quest as a fine art
nude photographer ever since I first picked up a camera with any seriousness 30
years ago attempting to explain the world through my medium of choice. It is an
impossible task, but it helps if you approach it as someone mortally aware of
being alive in the cosmos as it is considerably beyond the abilities of even
the most Herculean.
Daunting to be sure ...We continually ask ourselves; Is this
path to the Holy Grail too serpentine to negotiate? Possibly. Is it beyond our
skill sets and knowledge to consider? Most likely…
The Masterpiece is a slippery bitch and not
for the feint of heart, but if corralled yields a sublimity that cannot be
duplicated by anything in commercial life.
When I am under the dark cloth and the
interplay of shadow and light caresses this carefully composed compote of
shapes and tones the artist KNOWS…that THE MOMENT OF ECSTASY is upon
him…potential greatness is present and if I trip the shutter NOW and am in full
command of my craft a Masterpiece WILL BE BORN!
Well, at least, that’s my plan…always
my plan…a masterpiece with every sheet of film I expose otherwise why do it?
When you photograph a person, a street scene or a landscape it is always about
the light. You have to be ever vigilant and sensitive to this as the moments of
ecstasy come and go with such providence that it’s as if the Masterpiece is
purposefully mocking you. It is there. When is appears, do we have the
where-with-all and sensitivity to lasso it? We’d like to think that we are in
control of its destiny, but sadly most of the time we are not.
This
is the crucial and great thing about photography. You are a photographer. You
have a light tight box with a lens on one end and film on the other…a willing,
naked person is before you. The light has agreed to anoint you with its
presence in such a way that you might not ever see again. The model moves an
arm, then a leg; the small of the back curls in such a way…your eye pressed
against the viewfinder is witness to this magical confluence…
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| JC On Round Table copyright Jeff Schneider 2013 |
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