Decay # 8 ~ the assumption that a photograph is an indexical cohort with reality
Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 10:28AM 
Decay # 8 • click to embiggenI am starting to come to grips with my Decay photographs. By that I mean that I am slowly coming to a conscious understanding of what it is I am doing.
Here are some random thoughts.
On the subject of self-awareness, I have known since early childhood that I am interested in matters of decay. On the surface of things, I am seemingly preternaturally drawn to how things in the state of decay look/appear to the eye. I don't know why (but isn't that the way of things that seem to be preternatural?) Suffice it to say that I just plain like the way things in various states of decay look. I find them to be visually, if not appealing, at the very least, interesting.
Beneath the surface of things, I am beginning to think that part of my attraction to decay is that I know intuitively that the state of decay is, in fact, the true nature of everything. It's called "entropy", aka, the Second Law of Thermodynamics. We'll set aside, for the moment, the theory that from disorder comes order, aka, the Law of maximum Entropy Production.
Now, HANG ON FOR A MOMENT. I'm not gonna go all obtuse and scientific on you. What I'm driving at is simply the fact that all physical things and systems have period of maximum 'energy' or 'efficiency' after which they inevitably start to decay.
Obviously, my Decay photographs are about things that are past their prime. They are past their prime, not only as a source of nourishment, but also as things that, in their prime, are considered to be rather 'attractive' - both pleasing to the eye and the palate. But, once things start going downhill, most would rather not think about it or see it.
And that, I am beginning to realize, is a big part of the point of this exercise.
My life experience has taught me that life is 'messy'. Sure, there are moments (relatively speaking)of unadulterated joy, happiness, pleasure, and order. And, yes, when all is said and done, one can live a 'satisfying' life. Although, that 'reality' must come with a massive caveat - for some of us, but certainly, not all of us. And even for those who are lucky / privileged / blessed with a/the 'good' life, everything is not a bed of roses.
However, that 'truth' about the 'real' state of things stands in direct contrast to what the masters of desire want us to see (and not see) and consequently believe - the Leave It To beaver, Father Knows Best, Mary Tyler Moore slant on 'reality'.
So, I have deliberately set my objects of decay in what appears to be a very orderly environment. One that visually / literally opposes the disorder of objects of decay and also does so figuratively by what it connotes, humankind's proclivity to create order (even where none exists). A desire to create order that insulates us from disorder. Not by eliminating disorder, because that can't be done, but by creating a veneer that denies disorder exists. A kind of out of sight, out of mind slight of hand.
decay
Reader Comments (5)
After reading the first paragraph, I thought the paragraph would say something to the effect of "I am trying to see just how long suffering the wife really is." Or maybe, "I am trying to get the kids to go back to college ASAP." Or maybe, "I want to know if the dog really will eat anything." Because these are all part of the Ouvre of Decay.
Ah, The Wife seems to think this maybe a performance piece where photography is just one part, I see. Are you secretly video taping reactions? The academic lunatic fringe would love the intentionality of it.
What do you think the "the academic lunatic fringe" would make of your conceptual working method. It's rather backwards from the one they seem to like. I find myself working in this same way: a partial question, something that seems to have meaning to me, ideas forming as I work. I then, sometimes, fully figure out what I was up to after the fact. This finding out or exploration doesn't seem to appeal to the lunatic fringe, No intuitive exploration allowed!
What has struck me about your series is the dominance of geometric order over natural decay, which is restricted (mostly) to the central portion of the circular plate, and even there looks arranged by a human hand. At a visual level, the series seems to be about the design problem of combining organic irregularity in color and form with the opposite qualities of a synthetic surrounding. More metaphorically, control and confinement seem to be keeping the upper hand. [Aside: in physics, order from disorder is only with an open system having a flow of energy through it. Makes sense in daily life, too.]
Perhaps it is time to stop seeing fruit and vegetables exclusively in terms of human utility. Admittedly, bananas are sterile, but to the pepper, that luscious flesh is put there to decay or be digested, and the sooner it gets on and does so, the better.
Even if that's too big a step, surely you in America have the phenomenon of the compost lady? Those women of a certain age and class, who regard all fresh produce as merely the raw materials for mulch. From their perspective, you're just a beginner.