Madonna

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There's an impulse among many galleries to ignore the surface of an image. I think that's a good thing. For most of photography's life, the surface was the only thing anyone ever examined. Critics judged technique and then aesthetics. You know, is the image adequately exposed? Focused? Sharp? Are the colors effective? What about the composition? How does the image deal with form? Shape? Texture?

But now, because the keepers of the gallery gates want to slash a hole through the plane and into the realm of curiosity or meaning beyond... well, now we have to work harder. Photographic artists are asked to ignite a thought or a feeling... or both. Darn... it's so easy to just light it well, pose it properly and snap the shutter. What ever happened to the good old days? Huh?

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Here's the virgin image from my FlashCard... Wuddaya think?