What feelings/states of mind of the photographer are suggested by the image?

• Every mistake in the photo is intentional. The position where he was compared to the tree to the house. The residence he chose had a lot of vegetation and bushes around the front, looking like a mess when you turn the contrast up very high. There was always a second chance to retake the photo, to fix the focus on the camera and the pose where he stood, but he didn’t. To me, I feel like he is mocking the rules of photography, purposely breaking them and then putting “WRONG” in big, dark letters. He knows its wrong but that’s the point. The wrongness of the photo gives it character, a reason to be featured.

 

We know what Baldessari was thinking about when he took this series of images (because he tells us in the video above!). How does that influence our appreciation of the picture? Even if we hadn’t seen the video, does the word “Wrong” help us understand his state of mind ? Why?

• In the brief text box that was in the DX lesson, he says that he questions why we should to conform to conventional aspects. Why should our art should be judged? To me, he knows these photos are wrong, but it is right to him because it’s his art. Him calling his own photograph wrong helps us understand that it was on purpose rather than an actual accident.

 

Baldessari, John “Wrong” Photograph. Dragon’s Exchange, ISB, 22nd August 2024. https://dx.isb.cn/dash/#/classroom/648607/sections/lesson/344114/page/344116/edit, Accessed 22nd August 2024.