Chapter 7: The Transcendent Approach

 

I asked ChatGPT (AI) to introduce this subject with a short poetic reflection on photography as an ideal medium for seeing beyond the senses.

A Photographic Invocation

Light is the oldest language.
Before words, before memory—there was light falling on form.

The camera does not invent beauty; it recognizes it,
waits for it, bows to it.

In the stillness of a shutter, time opens.
In the shadows between objects, spirit breathes.

These images are not just windows, but mirrors.
Not just moments, but meditations.

To see is to remember that we are made of light,
and that the ordinary world is full of miracles
waiting to be seen.

 

Most of us are familiar with artists working in a transcendental mode. Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) believed that abstract art could directly connect to the soul. Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) attempted to capture the spirit in everyday landscapes and flowers. Salvador Dali (1904-1989) considered reality to be flexible and fluid, full of hidden meanings. And Alex Grey‘s paintings attempt to reveal the universe and the divine within the human body.

Less familiar are photographers who sought to reveal spirit within form. Minor White (1908-1976) taught his students to photograph things “for what they are and for what else they are.” Jerry Uelsmann (1934-2022) created dreamlike photo montages, expertly crafted, to express his subconscious, symbolic and spiritual realities. And Rinko Kawauchi (Japan) produces images that express the divine in the ordinary. He says, “I want to show something invisible—things we are not conscious of.”

As a viewer I realize that the depth of a photographer’s intention is not always apparent in his or her work. We can discern this by what they have written. Another way is through resonance, a gut level vibration that comes from simply viewing a work of art. We understand that there’s something  beyond what’s being depicted.

Why this quest to reveal spirit or the divine in the ordinary? What’s going on here? From my experience, I think it relates to the fundamental tenants of perception theory in psychology.* “We see what we want to see.” It follows then, that spiritually oriented artists look beyond and within physical forms to deepen their perception, expand their consciousness and feed their souls in a quest to see what they’re looking for, in this case the spirit (essence, soul) or Spirit (the hand of God) within forms. Also, it exercises their unique aesthetic to help them become better at expressing themselves through their art.

I include the transcendent approach in this series to show that the many ways of seeing and creatively expressing what we’re thinking or feeling—or want to see—are part of a spectrum of options, none of which are better or lesser than any others. What matters is that the endeavor be authentic relative to one’s deepest sense of self.

Because photography is a medium of light—a primary symbol of the divine—the camera can be seen as an eye that captures and absorbs that energy and essence. Consistent with the purpose of this blog, with intention, the images it records can evoke contemplations, imaginary steps back or forward in time, that touch the transcendent nerve. Although its subject matter is real, sometimes mundane, when a photographer applies her or his unique perception and aesthetic preferences to it, the ordinary can elicit an aha! And very practically, the act of making expressive images requires the photographer to be aware and present.

I also asked ChatGPT: Briefly, when does photography become transcendent? “Photography becomes transcendent when it moves beyond mere documentation and into revelation—when the image becomes a doorway, a mirror, or a breath held between worlds. It invites the viewer not just to look, but to see—and through seeing, to awaken.” Indeed, as “a breath held between worlds,” photography can reveal far more than the eye can behold.

While AI does an amazing job of consolidating information and wisdom, I benefit so much more from the voices of experience—photographers.

If you look closely enough, everything is spiritual.
            Rinko Kawauchi

Beauty is not in the subject, but in the way the photographer sees it.
            Saul Leiter

Photography brings what is not visible to the surface. I continue on my way seeking my own truth ever affirming today. When I photograph, I make love. Photography is my passion; the search for truth my obsession.

Alfred Stieglitz

Photography for me is a way to touch the mystery, to find grace in the ordinary.
            Emmet Gowin

Light is to photography what spirit is to the soul.
            Alex Webb

The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each man to himself.

Edward Steichen 

Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it… and you will know the key to photography.

George Eastman

The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.
Dorothea Lange

To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.
            Elliott Erwitt

In a photograph, the soul is neither inside nor outside the body. It is between the light and the lens.
            Jean-Luc Nancy

When you look at my pictures, you are looking at my thoughts.
Duane Michals

Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.
            Aaron Siskind

 

*  Bruner and Goodman (1947) – Value and Need as Organizing Factors in Perception. The study supports the idea that perception is shaped by desires, needs, and values, not just raw sensory input.