I have recently begun producing a series of posters with some subtle and some not so subtle messages. Today I was looking at the attached image and the caption I chose for it. "Forever Reaching Upward" strikes me as a good thing, but is it really? I started to think why we always associate "upward", "onward" and other similar words with getting better or achieving a greater degree of perfection. In a similar way, heaven is "up there" and hell is "down there"
When I initially captured this image, in my mind I saw the branches of this plant clearly climbing upward to the sun. As I edited the image further, I saw the human form reaching up to strive for perfection. By applying some creative techniques both while I was shooting with my camera and then afterword with software adjustments, I had what I thought was a pretty neat image.
This is the kind of abstract image that some will find ugly, some will find colourful, some compelling, and others inspirational. I always marvel at the fact that a simple image can be so many different things to different people. My theory is that it is we who choose what we want to see and perceive in any image or situation. And we almost always attribute a "goodness" factor to it. In respect of the above image, I have heard comments that range from: "it's not really a picture of anything is it"; 'it is just a bunch of color with no meaning"; "it is a brilliant example of painting with light and color"; to "it is a study in man's striving for perfection in an imperfect world". My comment to you all is that you are all correct!!
It is all of those things and more (or less depending how you look at it). For me, I see the world in bright, saturated colors, with strong luminosity and vibrance. That is not the way it necessarily is, just how I personally view it.
And dear reader, the world is exactly as you choose to see it and experience it.
Live long and prosper (assuming that is your choice of course :-))
Dennis
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