My Three Choices

On Sunday, for the Eye é City photo thingy, I had to choose three for the final selection out of the thirty-six I submitted that night.

Here are my selections.


Choices


Marshall Road


Promise

I was also forced to give them pretentious-sounding titles like the ones above.

But the worst thing was that I had to write down what the meaning behind the pictures were. Now, being a veteran of literature and film analysis classes, I have no problem spinning the requisite bullshit. What I have a problem with is forcing the viewer to accept only one viewpoint. Because I took the picture, I am assumed to have absolute authority over it. If I say that this is the meaning behind the picture, I have essentially negated any other readings of it in one fell swoop. This goes against everything I believe in with regards to art and literature.

How can there be only one reading of a work? We should all be free to draw our own associations and interpretations. To be told what to think of something is, quite simply, authoritarian.

But well, I did it anyway. They wanted me to spin, and spin I did. Oh what bullshit I spun. After which I promptly felt disgusted and ashamed of myself. Principles? Bah. Thrown away like cigarette butts.