My mind is and has been, toying with a concept for quite a long time now. It is difficult to put in words, let alone imagery. It is the concept of the dynamic dichotomy that exists around us with destruction vs. protection, life vs. death, forest vs. trees, assembly vs. disassembly. Many of these terms can characterize our ongoing relationship with nature. And yet, the natural world with us completely removed from the equation, still has destruction and rebirth, predator and prey, positive and negative ions, planets and dust. We just seem to hurry things along beyond the natural rate.
As most of us know, nature photography generally has a bias (some may say fixation) on the “beautiful” side of nature. That is for a good reason. Immersion in nature, or even looking at nature pictures or some beautiful landscape, is a proven benefit for mental and physical health. Many people retreat there, physically or mentally, to escape the day to day stressors of everyday life.
Yet, because I care so deeply about biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, I find it impossible to ignore for any significant period of time the pressures many species and habitats are under. Most facing such pressure beyond the time of normal adaptability. I often wish I could just disappear into a beautiful landscape. Some time of retreat, yet for many species, for many people, it is an illusion. It is a selfish thing at worst, an act of mental health preservation at best. A retreat into the woods just to sit by a stream, listen to the water and an occasional chirp of a nearby frog may be followed with a journey back home, traveling multi-laned concrete pathways, lined with CO2 belching vehicles, to a home where trees once were, powered with fuels contributing to planetary changes.
Then, I read an article about a large group of people working together to help a beached whale back into the sea. I attended a training class involving thousands of people all over the world working on solutions to our climate crisis. And most recently, we found an injured bat with a torn wing and broken bones. Despite the horrible circumstances that contributed him to be that way, we found a bat rehabilitation specialist, to take him in. Young “Balto” is now being treated for his injuries, getting pain medication, and antibiotics. He will have surgery, and be flightless for his remaining life. He will live with other bat buddies. All positive elements for sure.
As a photographer, I often strive for including some feeling of the moment into my work beyond a documentary approach. Those images may have some bigger ideas that could be extrapolated from those singular moments. However, I’ve found it difficult to encompass such a wide scope of these positive and negative elements. The subject tends to be one or the other. There are plenty of photographs of the destruction. There are plenty of photographs of beauty. Each powerful or moving in their own right. Is it possible to combine the two?
After a lot of experimentation, a lot of stops and starts, I think I may have found an aesthetic that begins to portray such a complex set of concepts. That said, I am not quite sure they are finished, but for now, I am out of ideas of where else to take them. I’ve freed any restrictions I may have imposed on my singular photos celebrating nature to tear them apart, and rebuild them again. I’ve used style influence from painters I have always admired such as Jackson Pollock and Claude Monet. At the very least, they are a creative outlet for examining my own thoughts about these dichotomies. I also made an attempt at a project statement to give a viewer at least some notion of what I am trying to communicate in this photographic alchemy.
I’ve titled the project “Elementals.”
Elementals: Project Statement
In acts towards nature, humans are capable of exceptional compassion as well as horrifying destruction. Throughout our collective history, we’ve seen periods of explosive demolition and periods of amazing rehabilitation. An observer may feel it resembles watching a film of an explosion in slow motion, then playing it in reverse, forward and back, over and over. Disorientation and weariness set in, wondering if you are witness to creation or ruin. A push/pull relationship forms between hope and despair. This project explores the dichotomy of these states, where we may find hope in the smallest elements of our collective will to change course.
Mark Graf, Aug 2020, www.grafphoto.com
As always, whenever I come to a photographer’s blog, I look at the photos before I read to words and for a while I actually thought you had been keeping your talent as a painter a secret from us 🙂
Seriously though, without reading your words, as I looked at the images, my thoughts went to stardust and the dichotomy of creation and destruction which in reality is not a dichotomy so much as two sides of a coin. Let me say that I was excited by these images. These days, I often find myself wondering what artists will do with the medium of photography to stand out, when so much can be done with “apps” and the click of a few buttons regardless of skill or vision. I am glad you have answered that question for me Mark. Your images are clearly the result of not only admirable skill but deeply heartfelt artistic vision as well. Congratulation on achieving such great works.
I am certainly no painter Cedric, and would never pretend to be. Just a photographer who likes to dabble a little in photographic alchemy from time to time. It is a bit of an experiment in problem-solving, realizing that while such a concept is very real in the physical world, the sides of a coin that you use, it is difficult to find such situations that can acutely portray it in a set of single or even multiple exposures.
That you say you already had hints of what I was trying to achieve without the words is a relief that I had some success. It means maybe the concept isn’t too abstract beyond reach after all. So thank you for the extremely kind remarks.
My comment from yesterday didn’t seem to post- maybe I missed the “submit” button, I was saying that it’s a tall order, what you’re trying to do and I admire you for sticking with it. The images for me have a sense of breaking apart and unity simultaneously, dissolving into a myriad of pieces that can still be felt as a whole. The fifth one has a beautiful transcendent feeling, too, as if it’s floating. For me, only the fourth image doesn’t work quite as well. Keep going!
The comment did post
Good – there was more of a delay than I expected, no problem.
In this time when despair is hard to get rid of I’m happy to hear about the efforts for the whale, the people taking that training and the bat rescue (who knew you would find a bat rehabilitation specialist within driving distance??). The idea of trying to combine a sense of destruction and beauty sounds difficult. Many photos of destruction are beautiful, of course, but I don’t think that’s what you have in mind at all. What a challenge – I admire you for sticking with it. These photographs didn’t bring those two opposite concepts to mind right away but when I read your words and thought about it I could see it, in the breaking apart and unity most of them express. The fifth appeals to me the most. It seems to have a transcendent quality, to hover and be filled with light. I hope you keep going with this!
It is certainly a concept I need to explore a bit more beyond these initial six. It is rather obscure, so I would never think that anyone would pick up on it from the imagery alone.
Beautiful, thoughtful and creative work, Mark. “Between hope and despair” Feelings I believe most of us are familiar with these days.
Thank you, Earl. It is kind of hard to stay in one place along that scale. I’m glad people can relate to it.
This is a really fascinating idea, trying to portray that tension between “beauty” and “destruction”. Nature imagery too often simply focuses on one or the other, so I’m excited to see how you try to communicate their intersection. Best of luck with this new project!
Thanks. I am also interested in the disorientation aspect of the two competing for our attention as it plays into how we are bombarded with so much information now, mostly bad stuff it seems.
The project statement is really strong and tells all. I see what looks like exploding beauty in the images. They are really beautiful and unique. Love it.
Thanks so much Howard
These are very beautiful Mark, a very thoughtful approach.
Much appreciated Susanne. I’m glad you enjoyed them.