Image by Lenny Gilmore - Columbia College - Chicago, IL
As students, I think we can be discouraged by knowing that there are so many images before us, and that this can make us feel perpetually unsure of how creative we actually are, or can be. I think at some point in all of our minds, the question arises of whether or not there is more new to be had – and of course there is more new and different ahead of us just waiting for us to create it, but we think this anyway. Images like this one; being unlike any other image I have seen before forces me to make peace with this understanding.
I assume at this point, that my readers are students or teachers who spend most of their time in downtown Chicago, and know the terrain fairly, if not, particularly well. At one time or another, do we not begin to forget the wonder of the city we once felt when we first came here, surrounded by something enormously greater than we could comprehend? This image reminds me that, of my first impression of Chicago, a microcosm of a whole world connected by and bound by nothing but city limits. The moment I thought I could not stand to view another redundant image of the skyline from Grant Park, I was pleasantly presented with this anomaly.
Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know. Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.
-George Kneller (Philosopher of Education)
Thank you, George Kneller, for summarizing my thoughts on this exactly.
With Lenny’s understanding that one image is not necessarily limited to one frame, in combination with a high amount of technical skill, he has found a way to combine multiple images in order to create one cohesive point of view. It challenges the idea believed by those criticizing the birth of the digital era who would argue that digital photography/photomanipulation is not “real” photography, by revealing the infinite possibilities it offers. It is a confrontation, if you will, to the opinion that higher forms of art are limited to old-fashioned ways, often supported by the argument that using technological means in the creation of something beautiful and aesthetically intelligent requires less proficiency, talent, and innovation. Digital imaging such as this demands more skill than meets the eye, as the photographer must be fluent in technology and well versed in the ways of graphic design in addition to being articulate in their photographic acuity. It is work like this that not only challenges, but perhaps perpetuates these ideas due simply to the fact that he makes it look easy.
To see more work by Lenny Gilmore, check out his flickr, or his myspace!
