recall statement
Throughout the history of photography there are certain photographs that have gained a position of importance that surmount other photographs. It is claimed that this happens because of the power of the reaction it elicits from its audience. Once these images claim their authority, they are used over and over as a surrogate for that experience. As a culture, we tend to go back to photographs when we want to know about our history and our past. These iconic images become explanations for the "that has been," where we gain our knowledge of who we are and where we came from. Through the inherent reproducibility and repetition of these images they become deeply imbedded in the fabric of our culture. They become instantly recognizable and familiar. My work has been the exploration of how recognizable these images really are. I am using the blur, a common photographic tool, to obscure these images and strip them of any detail. It is my conclusion that the viewer, given a minimal amount of information, will be able to fill in the details of the photograph through the recognition of their shapes.