Something in the way
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Scott Lessing Hubener (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Cathryn Griffin
Abstract: The title of my thesis, Something in the Way, came to me only recently. It does
address, however, my approach to photography in general, and my method for
choosing subjects, as much as it addresses this particular body of work. Barriers of a
literal and non-literal nature appear, often in the form of apathy or lassitude, impairing
that subject's ability to achieve realization or actualization. People are depicted
absorbed in thought or task, and a sense of ennui overshadows their existence. We
cannot see into their thoughts, but we are informed of the subject's situation by the
details of the setting: lying in a bed laden with suitcases, isolated in a motel room, a
child in her room with a single overturned toy. Even as the images suggest an
overshadowing or isolation, there is also present the possibility of transformation, and
the grace of the subject itself is by no means suppressed. There is something in the way an expression reveals or conceals thoughts, in the way the light falls, or in the way
a gesture expresses elegance.
In large part, these images consist of portraits of my family and friends as well as
the homes and interior spaces they occupy. Photographs of objects within the homes
are significant for the meaning they hold for the owners as well as their implications for
the viewer. Mundane human rituals interest me as well, and banal scenes like sitting
around a table to eat, preparing food, smoking, or simply staring reflectively. There is
an emotional distance between me and the subjects in many of the photographs.
Within the framing and composition, there is often space around the subjects, allowing
them to fill their environment and illustrate their absorption in a task or action. These
images depict the subject apparently unaware of the presence of the camera and
absorbed in a chore or thought. In most of the images the subjects aren't looking at the
camera.
I am not following a documentary subject or creating a documentary body of
work. Rather, my approach is to visually connect images, themes and motifs through
the process of accumulation and then editing with these connections in mind. Although
I don't utilize tableau vivants or staged scenes, it is not uncommon for me to place
subjects in a scene or direct their actions. My thesis will further examine these issues.
Something in the way
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Created on 11/1/2011
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2011
- Subjects
- Photography, Artistic