Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2000)
Photographer's visions of beauty come from living life through a lens I Editor’s note: In this weekly series, we examine the exception al work and accomplishments of individual students in art, dance, music, acting and design. “All of this, calm and reason able as it was, made oilt of ordi nary things as it was, was the truth now: Beauty, that was truth now. Beauty was everywhere.” -Virgiilia Woolf Through the viewfinder of this camera, Ian Whitmore sees images of the world and utilizes photography for reflection and as _a way to think ahnnt his PYperi ences. For Whitmore, a sophmore photography major, Woolf's expression of truth as beauty is synonymous with photography. -- i ■ -Ptwmi liy Idn Wlrtuimn? Whitmore's photographs emit a quiet grace through images of everyday settings and objects. His photos speak for themselves without evoking a specific, prescribed response from a viewer. i uiuiK uiax ueauiy xxxeaxxs ueing xn awe ox me - xxie xaci mai me exists everywneie in xne world and everywhere you go it breathes, eats and sleeps differently,” Whitmore said. "There is beauty in that the world is different everywhere you turn your head.” r Whitmore’s work is evidence of his pursuit to skillfully capture beauty. "Ian definitely has a way of looking at things around him and photographing them to cre ate something beautiful," said Dave Read, a professor of art at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Whitmore was selected by fellow advanced photography students as a student excelling in “Ian came into this program with the enthusiasm of a junior or senior and is totally into what he’s doing,” Read said. Whitmore works almost entirely in black-and-white images. He experiments with various forms of cameras, such as medium format and 35mm. Whitmore’s obvious passion for pho tography and desire to experiment has pulsed within his veins for six intense years. "I first took photography in high school because I thought it would be interesting, but I didn’t realize until later how much I loved it, and then I didn’t want to stop,” Whitmore said. The power of photog raphy fuels Whitmore’s interest in art “I’ve taken other art classes like drawing and painting, but I get off on photography because it is so real,” Whitmore said. “It is a form of description that is real even when it's a lie.” “Photography is such an intense art form, and it is the most direct way for me to experience and deal with life,” he said. “The photographs allow me to transfer the world into something that makes sense.” For Whitmore, photography exists as a way to convey life. The people he interacts with influence his art and serve as the palette for the images he skfiffully creates with his camera. “When I take photos, I am not normally thinking about specific issues," Whitmore said. “Like, I’m not trying to apply different factors of life that are affecting me, but I know those things really are affecting my images subconsciously.” Whitmore doesn’t intend for his images to contain some deep message but is more interested getting a response to his work. ur j I*._j : J _ r_I 1 a — mu iiaiiioiuy|iioai|iici|uiciiuu^M I dont want to decide tor people what they get out of my photographs. Hopefully, every viewer gets something different,” he said. “I don’t want to prescribe my work, but be sur prised like everyone else.” Stylistically, Whitmore is open to many things and feels it is difficult to apply a certain style to life’s sporadic nature. The strength of Whitmore’s style is found in a graceful balance of compositions that sup port the diverse ideas that come out of the photographs “It is so important to piece evidence together carefully or the photograph won’t support itself,” Whitmore said. wnen li comes to mnuences, wnnmore names pnotograpners i\icnoias inixoii, uiane Arbus and Robert Frank "Nixon creates such intense relationships between the camera and what he photographs, and Diane Arbus reinforces howl feel about the pho tographs I take,” he said. "Arbus proved that no one looks at the world the same way and explored the unique ways of encountering the world” Whitmore is inspired by the words of Arbus' autobiography: “I can’t defend this position, but I think I take photographs because there are things that nobody would see unless I photographed them.” Robert Frank also inspires Whitmore to travel to places he's never been and work m a “life long process of edu cation,” Whitmore said. Read com pared Whitmore’s work and style to other pho tographers. “Ian’s work isn’t as hard nosed as Robert Frank or as dry as Lee Friedlander but more sensual * Photo by Ian Whitmore a kC ’ Euhgene Whitmore does not place his photos in a certain style or genre of photog Atget s photo- raphy.The images are as eclectic as the diverse and random experiences &rapns, Keaa ofhis|ife With such incredible comparisons, there is no chance of this guy slowing down. Whitmore remains focused upon graduate school and would eventual Sophomore studio art major tan Whitmore seeks beauty through making images of the world he sees. "[Photography] is the most direct way for me to experience and deal with life," he said."The photographs allow me to transfer the world into something that makes sense." * ly like to teach photography at a university. “At some point as an art major, you need a job, and I can’t imagine a bet ter job in the universe than teaching photography,” he said. Whitmore does intend to pursue a professional photography career, yet “underneath everyone is afraid that someone will say, ‘What you're doing isn’t art!”’ he said. The subjectivity in deciding what constitutes art can determine an artist’s success or fail ure. Ultimately, Whitmore plans to understand how to really become a practicing artist and how to work within the marketplace. While Whitmore continues to pursue his Bachelor of Arts, he will no doubt spend countless hours in confined rooms lit by a warm, red tone amidst trays of chemicals to create the images of his experiences.