Artist Statement - Ramón
Singley
The result of relishing the role of the
badaud or flaneur,
something I do not proclaim, is merely a description of my lifestyle,
which
mollifies my allure of people amid the constant movement of life in the
streets. The temptation of capturing these fleeting moments without
being
detected by the subject matter is my way of seeing people. Most
often, I use people amid scenes as a
point of view. However, landscapes, or even still life’s along the way,
come to
the fore as well. The landscapes accent the theme, and function as a
backdrop
and theatre with which I move about, thus casting a reflection of the
lure of
the street as a magnetic parcel, which is the foundation of my work.
Glibly
playing with focus is my way of not always clearly defining life in the
street,
but merely references the streets as a dream-like oasis; an
unidentifiable
place with lures of adventure...
“...In 1853,
Sir William J. Newton, a painter, proposed that the camera could
produce
artistic results, and the method he suggested was to use the camera
slightly
out of focus, a practice that was to be very controversial 50 years
later.”
The
foundation of my work is the result of my respect for
tradition, and my desires to work from a contemporary perspective
within a
similar approach of Andre Kertesz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Henri
Lartigue, Lisette
Model, Paul Strand, Ted Croner, Alexey Brodovitch, William Klein, Sid
Groosman,
Louis Faurer, Helen Levit, Roy Decararva and others. Many of these
photographers I’ve mentioned belonged to, and/or were associated with a
group
dubbed The New York School Photographers in mid- century (the late
1920’s thru
the 1960’s in New York and Paris.)
Far from what I’d consider Campy, this
work is a sincere
reflection of today’s people and aesthetic as part of a literal
reality-the
actual face of the glass mirror’s intention minus any slippery kitsch
references, which is oft unforgivable in many circles, critiques and
cliques.
Sometimes there’s information, oft times it’s vague. While there’s
obvious
information in the image, I, too, am captivated by the second read
within the
not so obvious shadows, leaving ample room for interpretation within
these
shadows and less obvious details one can find in the photograph later
after
having traveled through the characters many times over. It is my
opinion these
details live a conscious, yet hidden existence with a voice for those
willing
to discover. This is the beauty of a photograph for me. And while I
cannot
provide explanation as to how these details arise, I do know they
persist to
present themselves as a common theme at some point amid the
photographic
chiaroscuro.
“The
new approach is more
sincere. It gets under your skin. I value shock appeal, but things
should be
used which could happen, not things which are obviously posed,
obviously
artificial,” said Alexey
Brodovitch.
Reality is a cornerstone in my work, so to
work in a fictitious
mode, to put it lightly, would be useless. All of these thoughts have
contributed to my lust for documenting my appreciation of life, and
it’s my
desire to maintain a practice that alters the emotions, exists in
reality and
has a social relevance, all while coveting the time we’re living in as
an
obsession of all types of faces, styles, lingo, mood, destinations and
independence in our ever changing society. I find it all very amazing.
For
further information, please contact:
Canada: tel: (1) 604.688.2633
fax: (1) 604.688.2685
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