Wednesday, February 14, 2007

The Sonorous Image




Bill Henson (b. 1955) - Untitled (from the Paris Opera Project) 1990-91


1. 'The work might begin with a fleeting impression from first-hand experience or a piece of music I am always drawn back to, or perhaps in a paragraph of writing I cannot forget - and then it takes its own course. I become like a participant in some larger process I happen to be fascinated by.'

2. 'In every form of art, you really want the experience of the images to transcend the medium, for the medium to disappear into the greater experience of viewing the work. So that you forget you're looking at a painting, or a photograph.'

3. 'I'm interested in that tender proximity, that ineffable, fragile, breathing closeness or presence which photography can animate while, at the same time, allowing no possibility for any familiar connection with the individuals in the picture.'

Bill Henson