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Wednesday Edition: Robert Knight | Leave a comment
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Wednesday Edition: Robert Knight
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Our dinner conversation is actually germane to today's edition, Mameve, Cambridge, MA by Boston-based photographer Robert Knight, from his ongoing series Dwelling.
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This all relates to Robert because one of the things that I've always found so fascinating about his work is how he creates portraits of people using their stuff, without actually including the people in it.
What he includes and how he includes it is entirely subjective, as all photography is in the end.
As he says in his statement the things in my photographs belong to my subjects, but by looking through my lens and the inherent imposition of my interests, beliefs and stereotypes, they may experience them as if they are another's.
To add further texture to his process, all of his images have the lushness of paintings, his still lifes recalling the intricacies and intimacy of the Dutch Masters.
In a world where we're so inundated with photographic images, and where our private selves are so easily accessed via Flickr or Facebook, the role of the artist in constructing identity becomes ever more complicated.
This is especially true with photography as an art medium — what distinguishes a snapshot from a "fine art" photo?
Can't anyone with a camera take a good picture?
How does one distinguish oneself as an artist when so many people are taking so many kinds of pictures?
These kinds of questions are endless, and I confess that they sometimes keep me up at night. (In a good way, as it's the kind of thing I enjoy picking apart.) The skill, subtlety and sophistication that Robert employs in his work is one kind of answer, and watching develop Dwelling renews my faith in fine art photography's importance.