Too much information. Like with conversations, art can have it, too. And often does.
A fundamental principal of all art forms is, the things you leave out matter as much, if not more, than what you put in. Movies keep audiences wondering about things not on the screen. In music, it's all about the spaces between notes that matter most. And in comic books, events that take place between the frames provide the real interest. All this leaving out of things lets our imagination do the filling in and to run with it.
Plenty has been written about all this, and I probably haven't read all that much of it. But I've experienced enough of other people's art to know how important it is. We all bring our own experiences and emotion to art, and all of that has to be allowed the freedom to participate. Include too much information, too many notes, to much detail, and there's not much left for the viewer's brain to do but get bored.
And photography is particularly susceptible to TMI, because it was developed partly for the very purpose of recording details accurately. Throw in obsession about lens sharpness, color accuracy and all that, and we have a whole culture partly devoted to TMI. Intentionally out of focus images, motion blur, blown highlight or crushed shadows all seem part of a fringe subculture at times.
But thankfully I think all of that is changing, and as more people become more exposed to technically "incorrect" photos, the more they will thrive.
Composition plays a part, too. Not the rule of thirds, but things like a subject looking "off screen." A viewer of the photo will wonder what the person is looking at, and even fill in a little story of his or her own. The unseen object of the subject's affection transforms into the object of the viewer's affection.
Or take a dog running down the street alone. Where is the owner? What is the dog running from or too?
There is no "right" answer, because there is no "one" answer. There are only viewers, who may or may not provide their own input. When they do, it's pure magic.
Maybe TMI could also, if we're lucky, stand for "too much imagining."
A fundamental principal of all art forms is, the things you leave out matter as much, if not more, than what you put in. Movies keep audiences wondering about things not on the screen. In music, it's all about the spaces between notes that matter most. And in comic books, events that take place between the frames provide the real interest. All this leaving out of things lets our imagination do the filling in and to run with it.
Plenty has been written about all this, and I probably haven't read all that much of it. But I've experienced enough of other people's art to know how important it is. We all bring our own experiences and emotion to art, and all of that has to be allowed the freedom to participate. Include too much information, too many notes, to much detail, and there's not much left for the viewer's brain to do but get bored.
And photography is particularly susceptible to TMI, because it was developed partly for the very purpose of recording details accurately. Throw in obsession about lens sharpness, color accuracy and all that, and we have a whole culture partly devoted to TMI. Intentionally out of focus images, motion blur, blown highlight or crushed shadows all seem part of a fringe subculture at times.
But thankfully I think all of that is changing, and as more people become more exposed to technically "incorrect" photos, the more they will thrive.
Composition plays a part, too. Not the rule of thirds, but things like a subject looking "off screen." A viewer of the photo will wonder what the person is looking at, and even fill in a little story of his or her own. The unseen object of the subject's affection transforms into the object of the viewer's affection.
Or take a dog running down the street alone. Where is the owner? What is the dog running from or too?
There is no "right" answer, because there is no "one" answer. There are only viewers, who may or may not provide their own input. When they do, it's pure magic.
Maybe TMI could also, if we're lucky, stand for "too much imagining."
