Bucky Miller
A response to Michael Martone
My photographs primarily function as raw material for sequences that I equate to poems built of pictures instead of words. As such, I am completely fascinated by the potential interaction between photographs and language. To me, the most effective visual response to a written piece (or vice versa) is one that is not illustrative but mutually enriching; it should enhance the content of the original while allowing the original to enhance it.
I read STILL a handful of times before attempting to respond. I did not want to fall into an illustrative trap so I allowed the imagery of the piece to temporarily fall away and focused on the underlying feeling. For similar reasons I decided to mine photographs from my recent archive – with an arbitrary 4-month window – as opposed to going out and making pictures specifically for the piece. This was not much of a departure, as I am always finding ways for photographs to somersault out of the event of their making. A long sequence seemed too heavy in concurrence with Martone’s story, so I limited myself to two pictures. Coincidentally, those photographs ended up having been made in two of the story’s prominent locations. They act as brackets; as things to consider before, after, or in harmony with, the written piece.
Los Angeles, 2013
