Explorations

This past Sunday’s Washington Post article on photographer James Stokoe and his current works on display at the American Institute of Architects in Washington D.C.,  celebrates what Stokoe calls the ‘unfinished building’.  Stokoe’s photographs indeed present a level of artistic quality; but what’s more interesting is Stokoe’s attitude towards the subject matter.  He is quoted within the article: “Of sidewalk barriers, he says, ‘They establish zones with different rules and expectations where the chance forms of construction are given license.’ The metal tools of construction scaffolding partake of ‘the excitement’ of the ‘performing arts and cinema.’ Steel girders create ‘as much a choreography of nuance as bravado.’ “  Clearly, Stokoe finds art and beauty not only with the photograph, but within the subject; the very concrete, metal, and asphalt he shoots.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of Shannon Sanders McDonald and her sentiments towards parking garages. The Post ran an article(Dated Jan 20 2008) explaining how McDonald had just published The Parking Garage: Design And Evolution and finished addressing the Library of Congress on the subject matter. McDonald akin to Stokoe found an unconventional beauty in her subject, going so far as to describe the garage as, ” a wonderfully beautiful and elegant structure”.

There is no real harm in finding beauty in a parking garage or a construction site, but there is an artistic sense of danger in doing so.  Stokoe photographed construction sites for well over a year and over time he became closer and closer with his work; until he had reached a point of being too close. Being too close to your art is dangerous. It could mean losing a critical and objective eye, or losing the ability to communicate the inherent meaning of the work to an unknowing audience. It means losing ‘the big picture perspective’.

On the stage actors have directors. It’s easy to cite examples of actors who have ’gotten too close’ to their characters, or lost part of themselves within the character; yet thankfully there is someone there to pull them back. Of course the director isn’t always this effective, but they serve as a critical eye to the artistic process. They get to see the big picture and help shape it before it reaches the audience.

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