"It is a profoundly erroneous truism that we should cultivate the habit of thinking what we are doing. The precise opposite is the case. Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them." - Alfred Whitehead
This idea of our subconscious controlling our actions has
magnanimous implications, especially for the art world. Often we hear artists describe their process of creating an art piece as such: "I didn't even know what I was doing!" or "I had no end goal; I just watched the canvas, and eventually there was something beautiful upon it."
Similarly, this concept emerges as we look back through history at some scientific discoveries that were found by accident(In other words, the scientist didn't originally intend to invent what he invented.) Examples include: penicillin, Viagra, dynamite, and many others.
I am currently in the middle of the tedious process of college applications, an activity that causes one to reflect on their past, present, and future life. A midst this weighty task, I have been scavenging the depths of my mind to really ask myself what I am trying to accomplish through my photographic endeavors. As foolish as it may seem, I honestly have never just sat down and asked myself that dreaded question, until now. As I was going through some of my favorite images, I began to see an underlying theme: There was a person in the majority of my most prized photographs. And that's when it struck me; I really enjoy taking pictures of people! Shortly after I realized my favorite subject to photograph, I began to ponder how I could incorporate people into the question that I will try to answer through my photography. And then the idea struck me: I will answer the question of: "What does it mean to be human?" through my photography. While I do not yet have a response to said question, I am striving to answer that inquiry- one photo at a time. By documenting the entire emotional hue of humanity - from the darkest moments, to the brightest triumphs - I will start to piece together and elucidate the answer to my question.
