Thursday Entry: Fiction

"Now that we know that photography is capable of deception we may be saddened, hardened, made wiser or more cynical, but at the same time we are freed, able to consider it as more than just a recording medium"
-Luc Sante

Sante, L. (1997) "Science and Fiction"
Making it Real, 8-9.

What is taken for granted today was revelatory and even scandalous during its inception. Author Luc Sante compares contemporary tableaux photographers to the ancient creators of fiction, as well as the filmmakers who made a Victorian audience believe that a steaming train may just plow its way through the screen and wreak havoc upon movie-goers. When photography was in its infancy, it was seen as the medium to deliver the absolute truth; it appeared to be an impartial mirror, capturing an event in perfect detail. Photographers soon began to realize the power inherent in the medium and exploited its believeabilty. Civil War photographer Alexander Gardener seemed to have unsurpassed luck when it came to finding compelling images of the war. Audiences in the 1860s would have been shocked to learn of Gardener's photographic slights of hand. To produce such stirring images of our fallen countrymen, the artist actually moved the dead bodies around the battlefields to create better compositions. He placed rifles on unarmed men and even turned their tortured faces towards the camera, all under the guise of documentary photography. Artists such as Gardener lead the way for photographers such as Gregory Crewdson, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, and Sandy Skoglund, by allowing them to distort what is presented to the viewer.

Fiction has always been my reason for not giving up the ghost. I could not help but concoct ghost stories and legends while growing up in antique houses. I can remember my small bedroom in Connecticut being illuminated at night by the light from the glowing sign out in front of the town's funeral home, which was conveniently located directly across the street. On one occasion, I peered out my window in hopes of seeing the first snowfall of the season, and was instead met with a grim glimpse of a late-night hearse delivery. I call upon my bizarre and unfortunate experiences from childhood and adolescence when creating my narrative series.