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Songs for Sorrow
Better Photography Summer 2011
What does it take to become an art photographer? While well-known artists can command high prices for their work, most started with small shows and built their reputation over number of years. Ben Ali Ong is at the beginning of his career, having just secured representation with the Tim Olsen Gallery in Sydney where at his first exhibition with the gallery he sold 22 pieces.
Insight
Ben was introduced to photography while at school. His sister was modelling and doing figure work for art photographers, including well-known photographer and educator, Professors Des Crawley. Ben explains that he went along to a few photo sessions as a typically disillusioned teenager, but found it interesting, especially the black-and-white infrared film Des was experimenting with.
“Des really helped me out, teaching me darkroom printing techniques and after high school he suggested a TAFE course. I did a Diploma in Photography part-time at Ultimo and started work with Warren Macris where I learnt the digital side of photography.”
Becoming an art photographer isn’t matter of applying for a job, rather you have to build a reputation by exhibiting your work.
“It can sound a little pretentious to say you’re an art photographer, but I’m not a commercial photographer and nor am I a painter. I guess I’m a photo-media artist, but it doesn’t really matter what I’m called.
“I’ve never been interested in wedding or commercial photography. What struck me about Des’s work was that it was always more aesthetically based and this is what appeals to me.”
Ben admits that statistically art photography is not a high value career, but he loves it too much to let it bother him. “I’m too far down the road to turn back and as long as I have a part time job, I’ll be okay. I have a few friends who work full time as artists and I hope to get there one day.”
So what does it take to be a successful as an art photographer? What steps do you need to take?
“I don’t know if there are any rules, but certainly people need to be able to tell that a photograph is yours. You need to develop your own recognisable style, your own voice, but at the same time your work needs to change and develop.
Influences
Ben’s style is dark and brooding, similar he suggests to a black-and-white 1920’s film noire. “I really like the early pictorial photographers with all the little imperfections in their work. Even though they were not intentional, there’s a beauty in these errors and I like my work to feel like that.” Ben references the work of Antoine d’Agata, a Magnum photographer with a style that seems to defy Magnum’s own genre. “ I was really blown away by his work – it’s nice to know that when everyone seems to have done it all, someone comes up with something new and different.”
Ben also admires the work of Bill Henson and David Noonan, the latter who works with collages in a sculptural way. I also love the whole Japanese photography movement, especially the black and white photographers with their darker sensibility. Sometimes the work is macabre, but its not a gimmick, rather a reflection of the Buddhist embrace of death. There’s something about the work of photographers like Eikoh Hosoe that has a spiritual connection when I look at it. It could just be a cultural thing, but even the way they technically print their work appeals to me.”
Songs for Sorrow
“Most of my work is pretty dark,” Ben admits. He has a quote by Joseph Campbell that resonates with him: One thing that comes out in myths is that at the bottom of the abyss comes the voice of salvation. The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light.
“For me, it’s quite easy to take a beautiful photograph of a landscape, but there’s more to it. It’s a balance between the light and the dark, at least, that’s what I have found to be the most powerful for me.
“There’s a need in the art world to over intellectualise the work that’s exhibited, but I think most artists work comes from their soul. I could go on about a disjointed narrative, but the reality is its just me and my own little black and white story. “
The title of Ben’s exhibition, Songs for Sorrow was inspired by the Sorrowful Songs symphony by Henryk Gorecki. “Music is also a source of inspiration. In fact, it’s one of the main ones and I always have music playing with I’m working.”
The second image in the exhibition (titled Songs for Sorrow #02) was the most popular. “It really struck a chord with people. I thought that portraits were traditionally harder to sell than a landscape, but what do I know?” The full impact of the work comes when you see it full size, not as a small reproduction in a magazine. The appeal, Ben believes, was because the subject, his sister, was blinking at the moment of exposure. This, combined with a slow shutter speed of around 1/15 second, created a blur over the eyes.
Film Capture
“I was visiting my parents last Christmas and my sister had her hair done for a 1950’s Rockabilly thing, so I asked if I could take her picture. I sat her in front of a mahogany bed boar with window lighting- terrible conditions for a portrait – and used a 50mm f.18lens. The first frame has her looking left and slowly turning her head over her shoulder, and that’s the one with her eyes a bit blurry. I don’t know why it works so well!”
Ben enjoys working with film, in this case Kodak T-Max ISO 400. I use the same Nikon F100 I used through TAFE and a film scanner. I like the way film makes the image appear quite grainy, especially when printed large. It’s not that I don’t like shooting with digital, rather I have an approach that works for me, so I stick with it. I know you can probably replicate the grain digitally, but I don’t believe people care how it is shot.
“I used to analyse everything in a photograph, but I think it’s easy to get caught up with the technology. From the little I know about the art world, people just don’t care about how a work is created. In fact, I think some people who saw my exhibition believe my works were etchings.
“Growing up in the photographic world we become quite technical, but these things that only other photographers see. For instance, I don’t believe it matters what our work is printed on, unless you’re aiming for specific collectors of traditional photography. In the contemporary art world, it simply isn’t important.”
Textures & Layering
Ben often scans his negatives through a thin sheet of tracing paper, or a sheet of tracing paper, or a sheet of clear acetate that has been left in the sun to produce a slightly foggy effect. He also layers textures over his images in Photoshop, such as droplets on a shower mirror or paint splatters.
“I used to scratch the negative using etching tools or a sanding block to produce very slight sanding. You can barely see it on the negative, but when printed up larger it gives an impressionist look. I like the image to look a little damaged, but the effect shouldn’t be too obvious.
“Early impressionist photography had lots of small imperfections and although the photographers probably hated the result, for me there is something that gives them a timeless quality.”
The image after scanning when sandwiched with tracing paper is very flat, so Ben increases the contrast in Photoshop and darkens the image down. When happy with his work, 120 x 80cm exhibition prints were produced.
“It’s amazing what you can get away with when using film. In fact, this is what I like, the way the image starts to fall apart as you enlarge it.
Persistence Pays
When Ben first approached galleries to exhibit his work, he had little success, but he discovered a number of small artist-run spaces where anyone can have a show.
“It’s a bit like being a musician – you have to perform even if its only a pub gig. Performing helps you develop a style and the more you perform, the more people recognise you. Even if you exhibit with little success, at least people know you are practising. You have to keep slugging away.
“Then I got lucky. The Tim Olsen Gallery saw my work and asked if I wanted to join. The Gallery represents mainly artists and I’m the only guy who does photography. The deal is one show a year with an opening and hopefully we both make some money! The first show in May this year worked out well and my next show is in March 2011.”
With a gallery behind you, the mechanics of hosting an exhibition are relatively easy for the photographer. Ben simply creates the work to hang, but that’s it. My job is to make he work and their job is to get it out there.
“The gallery also handles the publicity, prints flyers, produces invitations, organises the catalogue and so on. I’m so glad I don’t have to do that anymore!”