The modernist movement in photography was as simple as it was complex. The idea behind modernism is basic; the focus being the essence of what photography is. Defining modernism in photography can be as convoluted and frustrating as defining nothingness or explaining space. Modernist photography was born out of the desire to rediscover what makes photography what it is and explore its uniqueness in a raw and pure way. This new era produced photographers that engaged the medium’s distinctive properties and capabilities and created work that was unmanipulated, unsentimental and sharply focused. According to Paul Strand, photography’s uniqueness rested on its “absolute unqualified objectivity.” While working to complete a series of 5 photographs my focus or unfocus was on making images that were inherently and essentially photographic. Initially this was difficult for me. Naturally I wanted to arrange shots, make something of what was within the frame, convey a message, and edit the hell out of each image. Once I relaxed into working with a different mindset and letting go of all of the things that I thought were important, it was refreshing and simple. Like being reborn in the world of photography, I began to realize that photography has become clouded with all of these extra things that we deem as important, thus we’ve lost what photography really is and what it’s here for. A motel is what it is; simple. There’s nothing to read into here, no social commentary or the expression on a person’s face. The photos are proof of what the camera saw at a specific time in a specific space. As far as the space goes I didn’t move anything or use any special lighting. I moved around and let the camera work alone as much as I could, without setting the camera down in the room and leaving it there for a while. My greatest challenge was to not focus so much on editing and to not spend so much time finding this really interesting shot, searching for that perfect photograph that would be aesthetically pleasing and meaningful. While shedding the bs that I had built up around photography, it became more clear to me how important this movement was to the medium at large. I began the project with my usual tricks, shooting in a beautiful vineyard and looking for those really good five shots. I ended up with shit… five prints of shit. I regrouped and started over without a plan and found myself at the motel letting things just happen and not doing too much thinking. modernism --By MEG york
