The project of 'SleepingAlongTheMissippi' and 'Kaiwa' both follow a river, although Soth does not fixate or document the river it is still the wandering and meandering nature which interests him. He documents the lives and people along his journey and explore the escapism and relationship with nature and society. Kaiwa concentrates on relaying a sense of emotion within the river, connecting the viewer with the season, environment and conditions experienced as he journeyed along his own meanders.
Although the projects are different in content, meaning and message they both use a combination of shots to create a poetic representation of the environments. Flicking from portraits, landscapes and still lives Alec Soth draws from formal paintings and a consistent stillness through his work which creates his series. I thought this was beautiful and really poetic, it captured my attention and his way of combining shots to create this overview was something which really engaged my curiosity. I think that an environment which is photographed needs these layers of information to portray a sense of emotional change in the place. However, since seeing the book Kaiwa I have realized that Soth is only starting to explore the potential, and by restricting himself to his 10x8 camera and slow considered stillness he misses out on really taking the audience with him as he travels. This book from the opening sequence is a multi sensory experience which disregards formal styles of photography and tackles the narrative with a multitude of shot styles. These combined give the viewer a variety of emotions as we travel through the book. This is something I hadn't experienced before. Being inside the book, not looking at the pages and spaces from a measured distance but almost feeling as if I was floating above the pages. This emotional connection with the works something I aim to explore and convey in my own work with the use of a mixed media explorations. |
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