Tableau
"The simple tableau is so rich with meaning that whether represented on the mantelpiece or in the mind, it seems suspended, complete unto itself, somewhere in eternity." - Lucinda Franks
Cotton, Charlotte; "the Photograph as Contemporary Art", Chapter 2 "Once Upon a Time"
This is actually a chapter of a book that my former teacher had us read to illistrate each movement of art photography that we had photo assignments on. I specifically remember this chapter on Tableau photography. She delves completely into tableau photography through the big name photographers over the last century. She talks about the storytelling many contemporary art photographers use, some referencing fables, fairy tales, etc; and others simply creating a photograph that has a story for the viewer to come up with from the imagery given. She also shows how though most of the photographs come from a fuller body of work, they are able to stand alone as well.
I want to start shooting in a way that I can tell a story, like the tableau style. I have so many stories that I've seen, heard and experienced, and it's been hard trying to capture all of those things in a single photograph the way many photographers are capable of. I hope to be able to translate the stories more effectively in my work, and hopefully the body of a work as a whole will translate.
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