I always come back to Paul Graham, no matter what project I am doing, I always come back to this photographer, I love his style and it has heavily influenced me in my own work since discovering him and falling so madly in love with his work at the age of 18.
End Of An Age, was the first work I looked at of his and is by far one of my favourite photographic projects ever. My tutor at collage Ian introduced us to his work and would always let me know when he had a Paul Graham book with him, so I could look at it and spend my time appreciating his work, rather than doing my own.
Paul Graham will follow me for the rest of my life and influence me and my work for a long time, and I cant wait for his next project.
Paul Graham, End of an Age, 1996-98.
Ok, so how do I make sense of that never ending flow, the fog that covers life here and now. How do I see through that, how do I cross that boundary? Do I walk down the street and make pictures of strangers, do I make a drama-tableaux with my friends, do I only photograph my beloved, my family, myself? Or maybe I should just photograph the land, the rocks and trees – they don’t move or complain or push back. The old houses? The new houses? Do I go to a war zone on the other side of the world, or just to the corner store, or not leave my room at all?
Yes and yes and yes. That’s the choice you are spoiled for, just don’t let it stop you. Be aware of it, but don’t get stuck – relax, it’s everything and everywhere. You will find it, and it will find you, just start, somehow, anyhow, but: start.
Okay, but shouldn’t I have a clear coherent theme, surely I have to know what I’m doing first? That would be nice, but I doubt Robert Frank knew what it all meant when he started, or for that matter Cindy Sherman or Robert Mapplethorpe or Atget or… so you shouldn’t expect it. The more preplanned it is the less room for surprise, for the world to talk back, for the idea to find itself, allowing ambivalence and ambiguity to seep in, and sometimes those are more important than certainty and clarity. The work often says more than the artist intended.
Paul Graham, “Photography is Easy, Photography is Difficult“
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