PHOTOGRAPH, MATERIAL, AND METAPHOR

Jerry Spagnoli

A photograph is a reflection of the state of mind of the photographer and, in turn, the viewer. Photography is the perfect metaphor for our dynamic relationship to the world. We think we see what is there but what we see is really only what we’re ready for.

The first daguerreotype I ever saw was in a photographica flea market in the banquet room of a rundown hotel in midtown Manhattan. It was a cloudy, damp fall day and the prospect of rummaging around tables full of used camera equipment and old photographs struck me as an interesting way to spend the afternoon. I made my way through the room, scanning tables loaded with every kind of obsolete camera accessory you could imagine and I came to ...

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