Bipartite Imagery
Throughout this body of work my imagery is intentional presented in a Bipartite format to provide a more comprehensive visual experience. While perhaps, seemingly repetitive or redundant to some, I’ve purposely integrated the presentation of duplicate or like Colour and Black & White imagery. I feel Bipartite Imagery adds another dimension to viewing individual images, by presenting them in juxtaposition. This was not an indecisiveness act nor was it an effort to pad or fill out this body of work. It is my intention that the imagery presented in this format will speak for itself. Often it’s said an image should speak for itself and stands on its own merit, I believe this to be somewhat true. Yet viewing images simultaneously in color and b&w can enhance the visual experience deepening and expanding the appreciation of its merits. Certain images of merit when presented appropriately will be able to transcend formats. If this is not apparent in their presentation I would suggest it is not that these formats cannot be successfully combined in a single Bipartite Presentation. It is I would argue the failure of the artist to visually present their imagery in a cohesive manner. This is not to say that an image that does not work in a bipartite manner does not have merit. What I am saying is that it takes a certain kind of image to transcend formats and work simultaneously in dual formats, in a bipartite presentation. This does not make bipartite imagery superior to one that is unable to transcend formats; it just makes it different and its merits are best appreciated in this bipartite format.
Too often Fine Art Photographers find themselves coerced by tradition to choose one format over another. I feel this to be outdated, and artistically short sighted. I work in both b&w and colour reflecting what the situation dictates. At first viewing imagery in a Bipartite format may feel awkward or disorienting. So trying to view the images without preconceived notions will assist the viewer to better appreciate the imagery as presented. Part of what made what makes the art of Fine Art Photography unique is its ability to create, to present a single image in a multitude of formats. During a photographers process of creating an image they are faced with a multitudes of format choices. Tradition seems to dictate we choose certain formats over others. (Sepia, Silver, Gelatin, Palladium, Film vs. Digital, Ink jet vs. laser, matte, gloss, baryta, fiber, etc) Yet rarely are images displayed in more than one format in a particular body of work. Which thus defines and or stereotypes the artist to a particular type of Photography. Yet viewing the appropriate images in a Bipartite Format as both B&W and Colour allows for a more comprehensive, a more layered visual experience. Bipartite Imagery allows the viewer and artist a deeper understanding and appreciation of both the artist’s process and their work.