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Portfolio: Photography student Luke Evans

Published May 26, 2014 | Barney Britton

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Portfolio: Luke Evans

In his series 'Forge' (above) Luke 'travels the world from my kitchen table' making abstract landscapes in miniature from common household materials.

Despite still being a student, Luke Evans' work has garnered a lot of attention in the past couple of years. Evans' photography is imaginative, technically innovative and thought-provoking, and we spoke to him as he was preparing his final year show and getting ready for an upcoming exhibition at London's Saatchi Gallery.

Click through to read our interview and see some of his work. Our questions are in blue.

Luke Evans is a student, just coming to the end of a three-year course in graphic design and photography at London's University of Westminster.

Photograph from the 'Forge' series courtesy of Luke Evans

Tags: photography

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Comments

Total comments: 174

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Comment edited 1 minute after posting

0 upvotes

Clever!

0 upvotes

Whoa! Now they are telling me what i have mastered is totally wrong.

0 upvotes

I wish It would have be me who created some of these photos...

1 upvote

Loved the 'Forge' work. I would hang a couple on a wall. The 'Xero' series was a cool concept, but the results were a bit lacking for me. Really had no interest in the 'Photobooth D&AD' work -- very boring for me. And as far as the 'inside out' series goes, there are much, much better electron micrograph images available -> http://tinyurl.com/n7hz5ko

1 upvote

It would be interesting to see what experts of the Rorschach test would say about him (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test) - especially photos 4,7,10,11,12 - and about the people who think these are astonishing?

1 upvote

Where are the cat photos?

2 upvotes

Not this time.

Comment edited 9 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Maybe he should have photographed some dead cats and made a long artists statement about the futility of effort. Instant art!

1 upvote

What's the big deal? I don't see anything worthy of note here.

6 upvotes

I assume that is a rhetorical question. Fine. Move on; plenty of other content.

0 upvotes

I like his hair.

It seems to explore the relationship between the body and emotional memories.

With influences as diverse as Caravaggio and John Lennon, new tensions are crafted from both simple and complex textures.

Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by the traditional understanding of the human condition. What starts out as triumph soon becomes debased into a manifesto of temptation, leaving only a sense of decadence and the unlikelihood of a new synthesis.

As subtle replicas become transformed through emergent and repetitive practice, the viewer is left with a hymn to the edges of our existence.

Comment brought to you by: http://www.artybollocks.com/

9 upvotes

You stole my artist's statement!

2 upvotes

That comment, attached to ANY image, would get it in the door of many galleries or publishers. Sad. But true.

4 upvotes

best article comment ever :)

0 upvotes

Interesting experiments! ... followed by commentary from a lot of self-appointed curators of what is or is not art, and of what DPR should or should not post.

It's not DPR's role to always and exclusively highlight what you personally find the most impactful photography ever. This collection shows exploratory photo work by a young artist. That's relevant for a photography site, and I enjoyed reading it. Enjoy the article, let it inspire you to try something yourself. Or click on and read something else. Anything would be more constructive than the "you suck/my stuff is better" sniping...

5 upvotes

People have the right to the art of self expression and opinion. Even in comments.

You don't have to read the comments. Just click on and read something else.

4 upvotes

Interesting, but nothing that really grabbed me. Same could be said of my photography too I suppose.

Not sure why this guy is featured on DPR - seems like there are more interesting budding photographers out there that likely deserve more attention.

4 upvotes

Send us links to their work via www.dpreview.com/feedback, by all means.

2 upvotes

Barney, are you REALLY that stuck for links to better up and coming photographers? You need to get your head out of the typewriter ;-)

1 upvote

I'm a 2nd year degree student in media photography...these images are mediocre at best....I hope that trending/hashtag/selfie inspired imagery fizzles out soon:)

7 upvotes

His "work has garnered a lot of attention in the past couple of years"...

I'm not surprised. Popular sites, such as DPReview, are posting his photos on their sites for no other reason than others seem to be posting his photos too. Nothing attracts a crowd quite like a crowd.

I wish I hadn't thrown away all my old photos that I thought were too bland. I could have been on this page :-)

6 upvotes

I think it's more the exhibitions he's been invited to contribute to and the major magazine commissions, to be honest...

2 upvotes

Since when has DPR become an art appreciation site Barney?

Sure there's art to photography (and I actually like this guy's "landscape" shots) but some of it smacks as art for arts sake, which not all of us like or appreciate. In fact I think 90% of the art world is utter BS. I dated a really good artists who was studying in art school. She could paint and sculpt like you wouldn't believe. She kept getting low marks though. Until she decided to hang some black plastic in a shed, photograph it and come up with some utter BS angst ridden background story behind it. Instant A.

The art world is just a bunch of people coming up with BS backgrounds for whatever crap (or not, some of it is genuinely good) they put out. Sometimes it's literally crap (Piero Manzoni).

6 upvotes

@Barney, My point still stands. Attention in response to attention. Trust me, I know how the pretentious gallery and arty publications work. Some of them take advantage of students eager for exposure - they're cheap or free!

If your source for great photography is the arty exhibition circuit, you should become used to photographers on this site reminding you of the value in real photography.

I love imaginative or offbeat design and photography. But there is a boundary where it becomes parody.

1 upvote

Please define real photography.

2 upvotes

"but some of it smacks as art for arts sake, "
Katy, bar the door!

1 upvote

Look up Tracey Emin if you really want to be critical.

1 upvote

Ha! Yeh that's your typical "ART"

2 upvotes

What happened to the fingers of the studens in picture 8?!?!?! Please explain that dpreview its very interesting!!!

0 upvotes

I won't reiterate the more fleshed out commentary I made earlier. However, I simply want to observe something structural in many recent comments. The dominant perspective in these is to isolate the photograph, in many respects as a strictly aesthetic product, with little regard for conceptual substrates or means of production as linked to conceptual investigation(s). In doing so, the work cannot be accessed in totality; rather, only a surface without phenomenological context. This is an observation, not so much a criticism as all viewers are free to preference what they wish.

0 upvotes

it's precisely because artistic value these days is so often defined by the "conceptual substrate" rather than the actual aesthetic value or indeed emotional impact by colleges of art and similar institutions (I can speak from some personal experience) that we get into arguments like this one. It may be an interesting idea to eat film and have a look at the results once it comes out the other end but I would suggest that it should only merit attention if the actual product is far better than the mediocrity that most of us, myself included, manage to produce with our cameras.

I'm all for imaginative and experimental images, even if i don't personally get much out of some of them but what I object to is the crutch of having to explain a concept. Until relatively recently, art was expected to stand or fall on its own merits. And that should be the case here as well......

3 upvotes

One man's crutch is another man's ladder. As a professor, I I acknowledge your point. And were it the case that all art be dependant on external explanation, I'd be the first in line to criticize such a uniform condition. Truth is, this is not the case. Some work is self contained, other work is not. And given potential rewards in the latter methodology, the former is not inherently preferable - that is a determination made in every viewer. And the notion of self containment is often not as cut and dry in a historical sense i.e. contemporary work needs explanation, whereas historically art did not need explanation. If you observe a Renaissance biblical narrative, all effect may not be contained in the image, the content to some degree dependant an external/pre-existing notion of narrative itself.

1 upvote

ok, you make good points here and I really can't disagree! Only to pose the question, perhaps a rhetorical one, why is it that contemporary work more needs an explanation than in the past and should it?

0 upvotes

I think that change in trajectory is commonly attributed to Marcel Duchamp (his work with readymades c. 1917) and the general assault on the art status quo of the early twentieth century embodied in Dada. Roughly 50 years later, Joseph Kosuth's "One and Three Chairs" (1964) really heralded the age of conceptual movements lasting to this day - the high point of such work having been done from the mid-1970's through the mid-1980's, often foregrounding Post-structuralist and Postmodern concerns. [Sorry - reading like art history 101]. It was in the years following WWII that the modern American art school took shape, a decent amount of the initial capital coming from G.I. Bill moneys. It is not widely recognized but many vets became artists. And this was echoed, to some degree around the world. A very profound influence on me early in art was the work of Joseph Beuys, a German Luftwaffe pilot during the war. Beuys art is an example I often use when speaking about the different facets of conceptualism. His work, dealing with ideas of language, consciousness, environmentalism, shamanism, etc. are thick, often enigmatic, works (sculpture, installation, performance); but what drew me to them was his exquisite handling of materials, command of the media in service of profoundly ambitious ideas. The intellect here is inseperable from a visceral art experience. To me it is a form of conceptualism that spills through the small cracks in any academic or institutional prescription, then and now. And I could go on to explain analogs in photography; I but won't in the interest of some brevity.

I believe there was a time when institutions of art (West), academia included, trended toward intellect and somehow forgot the body. Concepts were confused for methods. Thankfully this imbalance has been redressed largely in recent years (my perception). As a teacher I think I invest a great deal of time building practical/material skill sets, all the technical and formal elements, but also want students to be aware of the historical and contemporary contexts of art and photography. And one potential use of this is in formulating strategies to avoid dogmatic expectations, institutional or otherwise.

0 upvotes

tl;dr

1 upvote

Some of these are OK but most are not, especially the selfies, they are just photos of mean looking kids, looks like they are looking for trouble. The demise of photography continues. The day we feature on Dpreview a bunch of selfies from a teenager has arrived.

4 upvotes

I believe your characterization is misleading. Aside from the project you mention, "Forge" is a series of pretty sophisticated miniature landscapes. "Xero" is a project that uses electricity to register image (my simplification). I think the work explores some pretty interesting depths relating to issues of representation and authorship. All of it interesting to more than a few members. I see no reason for DPR to be contrite in any way because of featuring this work.

0 upvotes

@b craw I think I understand why you're defending this post and this guy so much now. You're an art professor. You love this sort of "art" stuff. Most of us here aren't in the art world and don't really get why a urinal with a signature on it is worth millions while a nice picture of a yacht is worth $20 at a flea market.

Defend it all you like, most of us aren't that impressed by it.

2 upvotes

Not impressed by it? Fine. Click on some of the 90+% of content that makes no such "art" demands. And, I believe, despite some criticisms of this work, you are presenting a false consensus. I think more than a few members welcome diverse content. I do. Thanks, DPR.

0 upvotes

Is this guy your student b craw? You seem set on defending him and seem quite insulted that maybe people don't like his work.

Anyway, perhaps you didn't understand what I meant by "aren't impressed by it" I meant we aren't impressed by "Art for arts sake" style works, not genuinely interesting stuff. Which is why I alluded to Fountain by Duchamp.

Some of this guys work is OK, but most of us (I assume) would think taking photos from computers from an apple store as... well... not real photography (he didn't even take them himself).

Comment edited 4 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

-Ninja:

If you take a look at some of my other comments you will see that I am not an unconditional supporter of the art world, regardless of being a professor. All these distant, peripheral references to this or that silliness (your perception) in the art world is frankly pretty disrespectful and completely irrelavent to this work; unfortunately it appears that you are quitr comfortable building argument based on thinly-veiled prejudices and dog whistles.

The truth is that Evans' "Forge", miniature landscapes, alone are worthy of DPR's attention - they are superbly executed. And they are completely within your material qualifications of "photography". The other "art" as you pin it, can definitely be argued as photography, but if nothing else is art in dialogue with photography. And, if DPR wishes to feature the this individual, all facets, where exactly is your beef? This seems to be an interest for the editors - including content that perhaps might broaden some members' ideas of photography. And, these small moments of departure from reviews (not in any way stealing resources from them) have been supported by many members. Not a consensus - no. But that is the rub, Ninja, your argument is that which begs the need for consensus, because as marginal content, you have the burden of proving that absolutely no interest exists. And, in that respect, you've already lost.

1 upvote

Do I really need to prove there's NO interest? They could do a story about photos of dog poop and some people would be interested.

You'd probably think it's great. It's called an opinion. You seem to take offense to anyone with one that opposes your own. Pretty bigoted to say the least.

Also, I've experienced first hand the utter BS of the art world. All they're interested in is some back meaning to everything and you can basically come up with any BS story and if the art world loves it you can put poop on a plate and they'll (metaphorically) eat it up. I know you'll be offended by this, but it's totally true (maybe not in ALL cases, but in my perception as you call it, a vast majority of it is). Maybe it's the fault of art investors buying up famous artists crap, I dunno. You tell me prof.

Anyway, I wonder why you're so defensive about all this? Are you afraid you might be out of a job if this arty stuff isn't pushed enough?

Comment edited 3 times, last edit 7 minutes after posting

1 upvote

Another poop reference - charming. But understandable when you lack the interest in making a congent argument i.e. having to get your s**t straight.

1 upvote

Frankly my dear, you're just not that interesting.

1 upvote

The only thing that is somewhat interesting is the last image and it's not "photography"... it is a photographic reproduction of a print of sorts.

I guess that makes it reproduction photography.

2 upvotes

Some cool stuff, but I'm left wondering why it's being featured on the DPR front page... Slow photo news day?

6 upvotes

We're a photography site.

3 upvotes

So, you're featuring student work now? That's cutes and all, but you should probably leave that to the college newspaper. The work is ok but the kid lacks depth.

1 upvote

Yeh but his work is more art than photography. If this were an art site I'd understand the selection a bit more, seeing as his work seems appreciated more by the art community. As it is... well maybe I just don't understand "art"?

1 upvote

The "studio" landscapes are cool. The rest just look like Instagram selfies or Facebook pictures.

go figure

3 upvotes

I see lots of pictures, much better than this on Facebook taken by children, get serious, if this guy deserves to show in Dpreview than there will be 345.567 more in the next few days, who also deserve, won't it ???

The problem here is not Luke, he is probably a genius, who knows, the problem is Dpreview selection

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 4 minutes after posting

6 upvotes

I agree.

The guy's work is fine and it seems he is a bit of an artist and probably going to do fine in the art world (this is a photography site, not an art site, which is probably why people don't "understand" it so much).

HOWEVER, there's so many other people who deserve this (not me, I suck) the problem I have is "why this guy?"... well, maybe DPR will choose someone with broader appeal next time.

2 upvotes

I loved #4, #11 and #12. I would even consider #4 to be something I would spend quite some time examining at a gallery. I also think #12 has a lot of potential to look great when framed and hung in the right location.

The rest didn't do much for me, mostly because they don't really have anything to distinguish them from millions of other similar images.

0 upvotes

Might be interesting printed big on brushed aluminum panels in a cavernous, white-walled art gallery. Or in an expensive coffee table book.

But personally, I'm not into abstraction and found nothing that connected to me. These photographs are certainly different and exploratory, but that's where they stop.

BTW, those who defend this artist because he is young are insulting him. If your art is good enough, age doesn't enter into the conversation. Critiques that use the "young" word are almost inevitably condescending at some level, similar in tone to the introduction above.

2 upvotes

Wow!

I never would like to be featured in DPR, for anything...

...due to the lack of lurves!

Yo, peeeps! Lurves one anothers!

Chillsy outsy!

5 upvotes

What?

8 upvotes

Some tend to lurve the curve, whereas others will never depart from thinking in unyieldingly rigid straight lines. And such is often the underlying structure in those that use terms like "junk", "crap", et cetera. And, infuriating to me, rarely is a reasonable effort made to explain and/or support these cocksure dismissals.

4 upvotes

Fresh, interesting "fabricated landscapes". A good idea, well executed.
I was less impressed by the people pictures. They were very lomography-like. Spontaneous, but no interest for me.

2 upvotes

The very last image is a VERY nice series. Overall it is a good exploration of concepts but not really exceptional, publishable material. Good story I guess.

The images by themselves, except the last one, are not really that interesting.

1 upvote

I think that the work is really good... These miniature landscapes are really atmospheric, beautifully lit and well composed. The few shots of people seemed kind of throwaway and I say that as someone who digs a lot of photography with a sort of "snapshot" aesthetic... I just don't think that the shots here are particularly good examples of that sort of style.

Even the landscape shots as good as they are fall well short of amazing for me,,, but that just proves that there's no real accounting for taste. I still believe that they're done more than well enough so the idea that the photographer is some sort of poseur is really BS. It's thoughtful, well done work. Would I agree that out of all the photography students out there right now that this guy deserves the spotlight... maybe not, but he clearly does have some skills.

3 upvotes

Thank you for promoting Hans Christian Andersen's: The Emperor's New Clothes.

13 upvotes

I knew that tired metaphor would eventually surface (if I am understanding your perspective); and again by someone not feeling the responsibility to explain reasoning.

5 upvotes

Read the story...

0 upvotes

Quite familiar with the story.

Again, such a declaration of an objective absence (and that is what it is), rather than subjective opinion, demands in my thinking a greater responsibility to provide an explanation of such judgment.

1 upvote

Mr Craw - ollocks - sorry keyoard disfunction.

0 upvotes

If the "b" is down, might I suggest a b-less substitution: "poppycock" - always a tickler.

0 upvotes

Once again we have proven that the internet is primarily a place for crabby middle aged losers to dole out brilliantly biting critiques...and search for porn.

Anyone who would write the kinds of things I see on this thread about a young artist is a walking turd in my book.

Perhaps the audience here would be more inclined to enjoy some still life's of fruit or perhaps more pictures of cats…as long as it's taken with the right lens of course….

18 upvotes

" "

0 upvotes

Agree completely.

1 upvote

^this. Some of the comments border on the vicious.

I'm speechless

2 upvotes

College is a time to experiment, to study, to develop. It' snot the time to be artificially promoted into the media and given the impression of actual achievement. It's not about his work, which is good. It's about the appropriateness of a prominent photography news site digging for young talent where none exists. I'm not knocking the kid's work, but really, it's not THAT special.

1 upvote

Those faux landscapes are so cool. I experimented myself in the past to do these fake landscapes, but arguably less successfully. I think these photos really are a good example of how photographers "make photos" rather than merely "take photos". It's something I've always thought about for my photos, or at least tried to.

14 upvotes

Excellent point.

0 upvotes

"In 'Inside Out', Luke and his creative partner Josh Lake swallowed pieces of unexposed 35mm film in perforated capsules, and let their digestive fluids act on the emulsion before developing the film and scanning it using an electromicroscope."

Maximus: "Are you not entertained?"

I could write more, but I wont :) Okay, one thing -- next month my doctor is having a show at MOMA -- he's a proctologist -- I'm hoping he features one of my portraits.

Comment edited 5 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

What did this guy do to be published here. The hole lot is appaling, apart from 2-3 photos which are also cliches. Nothing insightfull, meaningfull, just snaps.
I think you should be much more selective.

10 upvotes

So constructing miniatures to photography with very compelling trompe l'oeil is a "snap". So finding a novel way to create a photograph with an electric current is a "snap". Not work you enjoy - fair enough to state. Calling them "snaps", given that they involve more complex processes and thinking than 97% of work here...that is an inane statement.

11 upvotes

Interesting images produced using interesting techniques, driven by curiosity.

4 upvotes

I don't think this guy deserves all of the hate. I think he is only a humble person who loves photography just like any of us. The blame is on dpreview who puts him in this embarrassing spot. How would you guys feel if dpreview put your flickr account up, claim you're the next Ansel Adams en let everyone laugh at you?

9 upvotes

I don't think this is completely true; I assume DPreview asked Luke for permission before spending an article on him? If you want to be in the spotlight, you risk being loved or being maligned... I see both types of comment appear here.

All is a matter of taste; are the images good or not? It depends on who looks at them. I can imagine some people like them.

I myself don't like them; the majority is underexposed (or is that artistic?) fail to have a real subject/are not composed, and are therefore totally uninteresting to me. I would not expect these images to be a product of a three-year course in graphic design and photography at a University.

But as I said before, this might work differently for someone else.

0 upvotes

@dpreview rather show the portfolio of some dpreview members, theres some excellent photographers on the forums, then this pseudo wannabe artsy photos.

4 upvotes

I imagine your world is very small. And I think "psuedo wannabe" is akin to a double negative.

12 upvotes

I´m inclined to think you are the one who lives in a world apart being a grammar nazi, and considering this photos in any way substantial.

1 upvote

I am a university professor of ten years and a practicing artist for twenty years - my world is pretty big; particularly considering I look at art constantly and have, in fact, been paid to provide mindful and informed criticism of thousands of images.

5 upvotes

And by presenting subjective commentary, be it informed by a fairly broad understanding of historical and contemporary art contexts, it is my objective to foster creative growth of all kinds. I approach work with practical formal, technical, conceptual suggestions, but it is a discipline to stem any personal dogma or prejudice - as much as is possible. So, commenting on the smallness of your world - and I apologize, I should have found a better expression - was to suggest that you seem to be reducing what is valid artistic process. And, I see red when someone uses the term "artsy", as it tends to be code for pretentious, self-indulgent and the like. And "wannabe" that is just a word I expect to hear from a cocksure 13 year old boy.

4 upvotes

Good for you... I was just posting what I felt, and you reply with a pseudo insult then try to correct my sentences because you must think everyone in this forum is american or english.. then in your next post you apologize and at the same time you make the insinuation that I´m 13 y old just because my english isn't perfect, trying to diss me again, welcome to my ignore list.

2 upvotes

Okay, okay...sorry.

2 upvotes

I shouldn't have called it wannabe pseudo artsy since photography and art are subjective, so I also apologise <3

4 upvotes

This is how all arguments should turn out on DPR. Though very few actually do sadly.

5 upvotes

...think before you write...

0 upvotes

To be fair, art (its evocative and/or emotive nature) finds all of us in spaces where we might choose less than perfect language - I'm guilty of that from time to time. I think so long as a considerate dialog ultimately emerges, such things simply fall away within that longer, more measured conversation.

1 upvote

True: there are a good many students doing very good work everyday, everywhere. Also true: in over a decade teaching, Evans work is some of the best I've seen. I find it baffling that many dismiss it, and feel no obligation to provide mindful explanation why they are doing so. And, no, please, I am not telling you what to like and not like. And save your tired references to the emperor's wardrobe. Here we have work that is conceptual in nature. The projects "Forge", "Inside Out", and "Xero" do, in large part, function quite compellingly within art's long, and neverending, dialog involving the issues of representation and authorship. The resulting images, to lesser or greater degrees, ride along the boundaries of abstraction, but ultimately are activated (in the viewer) when the gestural means of production are disclosed.

And, if we might disagree on all other things, can we atleast agknowledge that many images in "Forge" are impressive examples of trompe l'oeil?

4 upvotes

He'll suceed: rubbish does, and sorry but it's rubbish, doodling to no purpose, an indefensible waste of time and money. Macro landscapes? I invented them decades ago, took loads of better pics than are on show here, for fun, out of curiousity. Some are good to the point where you can enjoy looking at them on the wall whether you know what they are or not. I regard them as trivia, interesting more for what they are and how they can be done, but not an area worthy of attention really. Never mind eh!

1 upvote

Your opinion is noted.

2 upvotes

I was wondering who invented macro landscapes - it was you!

12 upvotes

Suggestion:
Next time you find yourself ending an expression with "never mind", just delete what was written to that point and go play badminton or something.

13 upvotes

was it munro harrap or edward weston . . .? hmm.

2 upvotes

I bet your early photography work was rubbish (I prefer the word CRAP!), oh wait, I bet your Son/Daughter's early work was crap, oh wait, your Grand child's early finger paintings were crap...can you see my point...douche bag...

2 upvotes

Put your money where your rather big mouth is then - show us your inventions.

1 upvote

Sticks in the b craw does it not? If you want to try and represent something by something else, there is something wrong with you: call it sophism, deception, lies, whatever.
Photography's only claim to fame is its ability to celebrate what is already there, and heaven knows there is enough to look at.
To me, IMHO, Personally, etcetera, I have not ever felt seen or experienced the need to invent construct deconstruct or modify anything at all, and whilst you are of course at liberty to fashion whatever fiction does it for you, it might be a better idea, instead of random experimentation to actually have a theme, or themes which are powerful enough to communicate something a little more powerful than the idea that you are conning the public with indifferent mind games, because it debases the notion of creativity and creative responsibility to your audience to do so. Like the idiot who designed a building that melts cars- indefensible, and not architecture. Opinion noted?

0 upvotes

"If you want to try and represent something by something else, there is something wromith you: call it sophism, deception, lies, whatever."

You have managed to make an argument (albeit thinly supported in evidence) against metaphor on ethical grounds therefore proposing the invalidating of a massive block of art history, literature, music, etc. You then later mention an affront to "creativity". Are you seeing the paradox you have presented? Not sure if you are familiar with it but (as close as I can tell from your words), you preference is for art which Plato described as mimetic, imitations of the natural world. This is contrasted by the diegetic, narrative (invention, metaphor, etc.). Plato essentially makes the case for the latter being worthy of merit more so than the former. I am not supporting this argument per se, but you have seemingly stumbled into a conflict with one the greatest minds in the history of Western civilization.

Yes, your opinion - of course.

0 upvotes

Yep, and Christ's and Francis Bacon and Margaret Bourke-White and Eugene Smith and Edward Weston and Ansel Adams and Mapplethorpe and Kertesz, and everyone in every single decnt agency doing reportage. WE all dismiss it all as rubbish because it is.

Bourke-White stuck up on her door Bacon's quote " The contemplation of things as they are, without substitution or imposture, without error or confusion, is in itself a nobler thing than a whole harvest of invention",

But me, pig that I am, I have ALWAYS been like that. Nothing is as amazing as truth.

1 upvote

Photography uses reality as its material base for creation. There is no paradox, and I'm not arguing against on ethical grounds. I am arguing against it as fellow human being on aesthetic grounds. Besides this sort of thing works better painted or in graphic art- and there's digital graphics if you want hyper-realism on uninteresting subjects. I consider such subjects uninteresting because they do not naturally occur and the deceptive play bores me. It bores most of mankind absolutely silly.
I am a lot worse, since I cannot watch soaps or read fiction- because its all lies made up. Yes, I delighted in photographing my kids playing mud pies, but they did not need either an education, nor grants, nor a gallery to so enjoy themselves.

Anyone and everyone reaches this view in the end, so those talented were better advised, if photographers, to do so sooner rather than later

0 upvotes

It appears that there is nothing more seductive than a manifesto; and you have one, albeit one collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions. You can continue to tell yourself that reportage, etc. exist - clean, unfettered by invention. And yet not one figure you cite has ever produced an image free of distortion, alteration; if we are going to indulge in rhetorical extremes (as you seem most fond of), outside of the material reality of the photograph itself, there is no objective truth that could ever be fully represented in image. Dispite all efforts to remove invention, one might ultimately conclude that a photograph is a construction bathing in the demands of perspective, the subjective.

0 upvotes

And, by the way, it is not a "lie" (perjorative); it is a story. Most see nothing impure in narrative. Such a perception suggests pathology. What is gained in binding imagination with a fundamentalist ethos of truth? Your kids may be making mud pies (truth) but they may also be imagining them to be spaceships (fiction). And both possibilities are lovely, are they not?

0 upvotes

maybe you need to lay down...and think about life...or read 19th century russian peotry...relax!

0 upvotes

I do not believe that b craw is aware of his agenda, or his manifesto, but it goes on and on. Ihave no ax to grind at all. I do not care at all for any of the points b craw is making or his vocabulary or his erudition as what he is discussing here is his own knowledge (a series of inherited opinions going way back) rather than the merits or otherwise of Luke's work in itself.
My contention is that IF you need to discuss it and imagine things about it, and if you need to validate it on any level for any reason at all, it has failed.
Visual work communicates itself wordlessly.
As Hemingway said critics are lice!!

0 upvotes

I do take issue with the idea that those photographers never produced work free of distortion and alteration, except in so much that lenses distort and monochrome images are not real at all; but I and thousands of others have work we produce all the time that is a record as exact as machinery and technology can make it (as long as we can afford it) of what was for a fraction of a second in front of us taking pictures.

This includes people reacting to your presence, posing, messing about, as well as pictures taken when they are, or appear to be unaware of you. Since we do not ourselves dress, pose or light these figures, or arrange them in space , in a "construction bathing in the demands of perspective, the subjective", that has been there for all eternity! but just observe and record there's no distortion or alteration going on at all.

1 upvote

Again (rhetorical initially - yes; but now I'd like you to answer these questions),

What is gained in binding imagination with a fundamentalist ethos of truth? Your kids may be making mud pies (truth) but they may also be imagining them to be spaceships (fiction). And both possibilities are lovely, are they not?

0 upvotes

No, the question is not that: the question is, "What is the point of using a medium that records exactly the appearance of surfaces to represent the play of the imagination?"

0 upvotes

Interesting, sometimes compelling, and very erudite.

2 upvotes

Nice. Not thrilling, but nice.

1 upvote

Such poison, jealous spiteful words.

The article makes it really clear that Luke's "work has garnered a lot of attention in the past couple of years." I'm sorry that yours hasn't. Nor has mine.

Let young Luke enjoy his 15 minutes of fame.

Luke, if the critics work is better than yours, take it to heart! If not, disregard it and drive on. Have thick skin. Be prepared to promote yourself, second only advancing your skill in your chosen art form.

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

14 upvotes

But why him exactly? He's not particularly talented so why him?

Seems very fishy that properly talented students don't get pushed by DP yes this one does, they've done it before.

DP has a habit of telling us what's good and expecting us just to accept it when more often than not it's average stuff at best. It makes you wonder why.

9 upvotes

@bigdaddave:
"...properly talented students.." According to whom? You?! Well then it's time you started your own photo blog to show the world whats what. Do let us know when that happens.

9 upvotes

I might be missing something here, but these look like typical Instagram-like images that lack an objective. Sorry, DPR, but there's really no imagination nor creativity here. I've seen 8-10 year-olds who can do so much better with greater spontaneity. "Thought-provoking," hardly, DPR.

9 upvotes

Did you see (or read about) "Xero"? Should any 8-10 year olds be doing this, a call to social services might be advisable. The work does not do it for you - cool. But a declaration of "no creativity", while it is strongly suggested that you did not finish an article taking a few minutes to read, finds me incredulous of your claim.

5 upvotes

Essentially, Professor, you are telling some of us what to like and why to like it. I perused your images and must say your William Eggleston-like images are great, but your fabricated images are much less appealing much like this student's work you so adamantly defend.

1 upvote

peacefrog: I'll take a thumbs up on one of the two bodies you delineate - thanks. I operate under no delusion that what I produce appeals to a large audience, such is not its burden. I'm quite satisfied with being included in some collections I respect in terms of quality and scope. Other successes even in large internationally recognized competitions, I care less about.

However, I do take issue with your assertion that I am dictating what to like. I realize there might be something in the way I speak that contributes to this confusion in some. I sincerely believe I am usually successful in parsing language as to not suggest that I am telling persons what to think. Largely much of I invest in many of the discussions is a rather general call for better explanations of often cocksure dismissals. And also present, of course, my subjective interpretation and analysis of featured work.

2 upvotes

I love discovering new photographers, even this one. I just don't expect to see one seemingly random student plucked from the pool of many talented individuals and occupy the front page of dpreview.

4 upvotes

A google search show that he have the same name as a famous actor. Perhaps dpreview is trying to draw the fans of the actor here :-D

0 upvotes

Looks like he learned how to take pictures; now he needs to learn how to break into my soul.

5 upvotes

I don't know if he has any interest in your soul.

2 upvotes

I'm sorry, (to my own failing), I honestly don't get "art".

2 upvotes

If it motivates you, it's art.

1 upvote

Yeh, this is the problem with this post. It leans strong on the art side and less on the photography side. Sure photography is creative and artistic. But (apart from some of the photos which are quite interesting and look good) a lot of this work is art for arts sake or artistic beyond the normal "art crowd"'s appreciation. Just like most of us don't really appreciate Piero Manzoni's cans of poop as being art... me too.

1 upvote

Stealthy Ninja: whenever something is featured on DPR that might be the least bit challenging, not lending itself to a 30 sec. evaluation, two things surface as predictable as the rising sun from a vocal minority: 1) naked emperor. 2) references to feces being art (oh, the ridiculous art world!). Let's just get it over with early next time:

"This work is about the art world making a fool of me. It is the emperor, clothless in the corner, feasting on feces. Well, I, for one, am not amused!"

0 upvotes

I am old but I love to see students work to be exhibited here. More stuff like this!

10 upvotes

Thanks Jerome, we're hoping to feature more students' work on dpreview in future.

2 upvotes

And you will then be a student publication. Get it?

0 upvotes

No. 4 and no. 10 are ok. Looks like he explored a process but didn't really come up with a purpose behind the images.

3 upvotes

This pretty much covers my thoughts on this: http://i.imgur.com/h5yyolv.jpg

3 upvotes

I'm a firm believer in that if you have nothing positive to say - say nothing.

11 upvotes

No reply in 5 hours. How ironic!

5 upvotes

He who waits……...

1 upvote

Is Luke related to someone at DPR? Can't imagine why else his work would be featured here. A couple of those images are somewhat interesting, a couple of them are utter trash, none of them move me in the slightest.

17 upvotes

His work was recommended to us, and his resume, which includes commissions from internationally-renowned magazines, and exhibitions in major galleries, speaks for itself.

9 upvotes

Does "utter trash" equate to images lacking creamy bokeh? ;)

4 upvotes

Can you be kind enough to enlighten me which major galleries and internationally renowned magazines commissioned his work?

4 upvotes

@FleetwoodJazz,
Probably the same ones that rejected your offerings? ;-)

0 upvotes

^^ @ fleetwoodjazz - read the article, maybe? ^^

3 upvotes

Imagination and creativity. I like it.

5 upvotes

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