Yesterday I attended an extremely refreshing lecture by Michael Collins about his work. Coming in knowing only that he was a cityscape photographer, I was really (positively) surprised at how much I liked his work. He opened the lecture with a slide of a black and white photograph of a young girl, taken by a photographer who was part of a small town where everyone knew each other. He spoke about how the photograph is genuine and intimate, and the difference in the way we view photographs that have been taken by professionals and photographs that are dear to us that may have just been snapshots. He mentioned that the girl wanted her photograph taken because he grandfather was going blind, and she wanted him to always have a picture of her, a flawed and yet "perfect" way of thinking, because as he says a photograph does just this, captures an image forever. He continued (before opening up into his own images) by presenting a range of archive photographs of industrialization in England (which have deeply inspired his work), and talked about the way that they were intended to describe, not analyze or make any sort of point ("describe vs. explain" as he repeatedly put it). It was this discussion of how he believes photography is being taught all wrong, and that the way we intellectualize photography strips it of what at its core it actually is.
The way one views photography as functioning is obviously very individual, and I have agreements as well as disagreements with Collins' definition, but it was the fact that it is so vastly different from the way photography (and art in general) has always been taught to me that made Collins so interesting and engaging to me. The fact that art is at its core entirely visual, and that meaning and intellectualization is applied is entirely ignored in art school (at least that way that it has been presented to me). Everything has to have a meaning behind it or you're just being frivolous. But Collins points out that that's what art is. He is unapologetic, and takes photos to capture spaces that he believes are beautiful, in the most honest way that he can.
It is largely Collins' stronghold to his belief in the function of photography that makes his images so strong. He is wildly dedicated to his images, once he has found a space that he believes needs to be captured his is unrelenting in capturing it and capturing it truthfully. He will return to a location again and again, despite whatever odd looks or questions he may receive, and defend the importance to him of this single image. He also stated that he approaches image-making in a "childlike" way, finding spaced that he finds especially arresting and then giving them sort of a wave when he has (hopefully successfully) completed his image, which really shows Collins' respect and connection to the places he chooses to photograph.
I have mentioned a few times now that representing the spaces faithfully is of extreme importance to Collins, and this is because he strives to show the spaces evenly and exactly as they really are, and not to exaggerate or glorify them in any way. In achieving this Collins' always photographs in very even (overcast) light, so that there are no shadows, which he said "hide detail", so Collins' images effective lay everything on the table. Adding to this sense of "realness", I believe, is that Collins is photographing industrialized spaces, which he notes, have been designed by engineers, not architects.
It was just extremely energizing to listen to someone who cares so deeply about photography as a visual form. If anyone ever has the chance to listen to him speak I would highly recommend it, and if you are in the NYC area his recent work of London (where he lives) cityscapes is currently on view at the Janet Borden, Inc. gallery (through October 17th). His photographs are very large, and he mentioned multiple times that he pays extreme attention to getting every detail in focus, so I'm sure they are really something to see in person. And I would seriously, seriously say, ESPECIALLY if you don't typically like landscape/cityscape photography, to look at his website. Expand the images so that they are full size, and look at them all. Collins has an astounding eye, and his passion for what he does comes through in every photograph. You won't regret it.
Record Pictures - Photography by Michael Collins (his website)
Janet Borden, Inc. website
images: recordpictures.com
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