July 31, 2007
When is a tree not a tree?
Tree #1 - from the series "Tree" in the project "Photography-Act", © 2007 Myoung Ho Lee
South Korean artist-photographer Myoung Ho Lee is tackling some of those thorny philosophical questions about photography, reality, environment and perception, with his ongoing series called Tree (included in his Photography-Act project). Critics and philosophers can talk at length about plastic space, representation and meta-subjects — trying to explain what is going on in these pictures — but I think the photos can be enjoyed just for what they are: beautiful and memorable images that took a lot of imagination and some demanding physical work to bring them into reality.
Documentation of the work for "Tree" © 2007 Myoung Ho Lee
You can see more from this series, plus an interesting out-take, in Lens Culture.
Comments
I really like the idea behind this photo. We have seen tons of photos of trees in a field. We can interpret it in many different ways according to our mood or outlook on life. That's what i think is so great about this photo. He has taken that feeling that we could have and stopped it with a white screen. All of a sudden the tree isn't alone, beautiful or nature, it's just a tree. The emotion of a lonely tree in a feild has been taken away and all we see and understand is the tree. I love this idea and love that it's a new spin on an old idea.