Ambiguity

The Call: Formless Shapes — Jessica

The problem with photography as an art form is that it can be very hard to be ambiguous. Why would that be a problem? Remember our discussion about metaphor: here and here?

Basically, my thinking boils down to this: art is metaphor and metaphor (especially visual metaphor) relies on sometimes ambiguous connections — something vaguely looks or feels like something else. The camera wants to capture everything in full 100% real detail. Is metaphor impossible with realism? No, but it is harder. So, that’s where alternate techniques come in, like blur and ICM and multiple exposure. I like the suggestive nature of ME and, of course, the ambiguity.