Context is comprehension. Should we provide context for the abstracted landscapes in our Corporate Art section?
The abstracted landscape gives few clues to the nature of the subject, forcing the viewer to evaluate the photo based purely on the arrangement of colors, forms, and textures within its borders. Click the photo to go to its location in the Iris Arts website. Photo:© Donald J. Rommes
As we have said many times before, photography for stressed patients and staff in healthcare is best appreciated when it is a realistic depiction of a familiar scene in nature. Ideally, the photograph will trigger a feeling or memory of being in nature that will allow the viewer to be temporarily distracted from the reality of their illness.
Abstract photography offers fewer clues to the subject's identify or meaning. Since most of us want to make sense of what we are looking at, abstract photography presents a challenge that requires mental energy to decipher. That challenge may be a plus for healthy people, but it can be very stressful for people who are ill or under stress.
Abstract photography offers fewer clues to the subject's identify or meaning. Since most of us want to make sense of what we are looking at, abstract photography presents a challenge that requires mental energy to decipher. That challenge may be a plus for healthy people, but it can be very stressful for people who are ill or under stress.
For that reason, while we offer abstracted nature photography in our Corporate Art section, we choose not to offer it in our galleries vetted for all of the healthcare environment—including patient rooms. Many of the scenes in our corporate art photographs of nature have been abstracted simply by eliminating some or all of the context. On close inspection, it is clear that the subject of the photo is real, but without context, it is difficult to understand what is being photographed.
Without a sense of scale, we are even more uncertain of what we are looking at. Is that a good thing? Will providing some context (caption) help the viewer understand the photographer's vision and appreciate the beauty to be found in the details of a landscape? Click the photo to go to its location in the Iris Arts website. Photo:© Donald J. Rommes
The ambiguity of abstraction is generally desirable in the broader art world and in Corporate Art because it offers an additional way of appreciating the work. Abstract nature photography tends to force the viewer to evaluate the photograph based solely on its colors, textures, and forms, and perhaps divine a meaning. The arrangement of those elements by the photographer largely determines how, and in what order, we see them.
The view from the top of Cape Sebastian, Oregon. The eroded sandstone bluffs (Tafoni) are found lower down, where the sea meets the coast. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
However, while we certainly enjoy abstract nature photography on its own, we believe that providing some context is beneficial. It not only helps the viewer comprehend what the photographer saw in the details of the larger landscape, it encourages them to look for (and appreciate) similar elements in nature themselves. We think that's a good thing.
However, while we certainly enjoy abstract nature photography on its own, we believe that providing some context is beneficial.
Sea meets sandstone, creating honeycombing and fantastic shapes, called Tafoni. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
We would encourage the provision of short captions to go with our Corporate Art.
We would encourage the provision of short captions to go with our Corporate Art. Hopefully, the viewer will be drawn to the arrangement of colors, textures, and forms and will look at the caption for some understanding of what they are looking at. That comprehension may help the viewer appreciate the work both for what is of and for what it is about.
Tafoni, a bit above sea level on a foggy day. Would this photo work as well if it was just of the tafoni without the context of the sea? Does knowing the context help with the appreciation of the more abstract photos above? Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
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