Ryan McIntosh: These Ideas Were Not Mine, Yet I Had Them
“…Each venture
Is a new beginning…
…what there is to conquer
by strength and submission, has already been discovered
once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope
to emulate - but there is no competition -
There is only the fight to revere what has been lost
and found and lost again and again…”
T.S. Eliot
Marshall Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of photographs by LA-based artist and printmaker Ryan McIntosh. Showcasing over two decades of work ranging from abstraction to topographic urban studies, the installation juxtaposes his exquisite silver gelatin prints alongside masterworks of his artistic predecessors including Robert Adams, Edward Weston, and Minor White, among others. Writing by the artist pertaining to the selected works will be paired along side, reflecting on the influence and importance of each photograph.
Reception with the artist: Saturday, April 12th. More details are forthcoming.
FROM THE ARTIST:
Despite constant technical advancement throughout the history, photography has always functioned with the same role of discovering and revealing meaning from the details of our current life. Unlike any other art medium, it is dictated by its need to remain attentive to facts, information and the appearances of the world and time in which we live. Although photography can attempt to look forward or back in time, it is best suited looking head-on at this exact moment of our existence.
All art comes out of a background of convention established by one’s predecessors. Nothing is fully original, and everything can be traced back to something that came prior. This comparison is inevitable, and necessary. With some knowledge of photographic history, one’s inspiration and influence becomes apparent when the photographers work is studied next to the work of others. As photographer Robert Adams stated, “Though art must always be new, it is in profound ways never new.”
From the age of sixteen when I was first exposed to fine art photography, there were certain photographs made by my predecessors which have forever haunted my mind, both consciously and subconsciously. Although never attempting to emulate another photographer images, I can easily identify when certain photographs have directly influenced my photographic vision. As I have always aligned myself with “straight photography”, there are only so many subjects in which one can point the camera before drawing comparison to a previous photographers work of similar subject. This has never deterred me from photographing a certain subject, as I’ve always felt it’s how one see, not what one sees, that makes any photograph interesting.
Reflecting back on nearly 25 years of image making, I attempt to trace back these visual influences to ten specific photographs that have inspired and affected me. In some cases, these photographs share a similar sense of concern, while other photographs I may have detested and rebelled against. In the end, these photographs helped me continue.
