Toni Ahvenainen
Constructions of the mind
Season of Tilt
Week 20, Saturday
With these last photographs I've explored my life within a framework one could call 'wretchedness of life'. Using nature as a symbol of Hobbesian idea of the war of all against all (bellum omnium contra omnes), I wanted to create a discourse that self-purposely portraits my personal memories and feelings in a somewhat nihilistic light that has little faith for humanity. I wanted to create this discourse of mans subordination to nature just that I could tear it down at the end. Because the thing is that the truth about the world and life is what people believe it is and the every branch of science has its own philosophical interpretation of it. While science is good at explaining different phenomenon's of life, I'm more doubtful about the philosophical frameworks different disciplines create and interpretations of social order they convoy with them. Man creates knowledge and philosophical constructions to free himself from the compulsory nature of the world and life. Yet, all these philosophical constructions can be turned against man by, for example, showing how he is subordinated to structures of society, nature or mind. There are a lot of 'shackles of mind' to choose from which were created by science, like vulgar sociology, biological determinism, positivism of natural sciences, social contract theories a la Hobbes, economical necessity of scarcity, unfulfilled desires of Freudian psychoanalysis, selfish genes, etc., you name it. Who believes all them must be deranged himself too. They tell us something about the world and life, but at the same time cover it up like clouds in the sky – and we can only see something of the sunlight that scatters through the clouds.
Freedom to think and experience starts when one learns to deconstruct these constructions of the mind what we have learned and internalized before. With this process the past, together with personal memories and feelings, is opened again for reinterpretation. One doesn't need to be subordinated to ideas what one might have believed before. And in the end, the mystery of life remains to be explored again.
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Finally, this is the last post for Season of Tilt. When I was originally planning this season, my preliminary name for it was 'Season of Modern Lomography' and I played with a idea that I could turn my modern Sony Nex-5N into lomography camera by purchasing suitable special lenses. When I did some searching I found that Lensbaby optics would suit me best, but there were a bit too costly for my little blog adventure. Therefore I decided to approach Lensbaby with a sponsorship proposal and they were very kind to support my plan (Thanks Keri!). Eventually the content for Season of Tilt turned out to be something else what I had originally thought, modern digital camera doesn't turn into Holga with some lenses only. But I think the final result is still very good overall - at least I'm happy with it. Being sponsored by Lensbaby also meant that I was acting in a different, one might say more professional, role as a photographer because of the commitment involved. I believe that in some ways it has developed my identity as a photographer. I created these pictures 'on demand' and kept demonstrating the possibilities Lensbaby products offer. It has been a fun project and I hope that those who follow me here, at forums or in Flickr have enjoyed it as well. However, ending this season will not mean that I will stop using Lensbaby. I like them a lot (Edge 80 being my favorite) and I know I'm going to keep using them in other project from time to time. I'm sure I'll be posting something taken with them in future too.
Next week Wednesday I will start a new season with new photography. I can't say much about it yet, other than it will have a different mood altogether. Stay tuned..
Year of the Alpha – 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com
Constructions of the mind
Season of Tilt
Week 20, Saturday
With these last photographs I've explored my life within a framework one could call 'wretchedness of life'. Using nature as a symbol of Hobbesian idea of the war of all against all (bellum omnium contra omnes), I wanted to create a discourse that self-purposely portraits my personal memories and feelings in a somewhat nihilistic light that has little faith for humanity. I wanted to create this discourse of mans subordination to nature just that I could tear it down at the end. Because the thing is that the truth about the world and life is what people believe it is and the every branch of science has its own philosophical interpretation of it. While science is good at explaining different phenomenon's of life, I'm more doubtful about the philosophical frameworks different disciplines create and interpretations of social order they convoy with them. Man creates knowledge and philosophical constructions to free himself from the compulsory nature of the world and life. Yet, all these philosophical constructions can be turned against man by, for example, showing how he is subordinated to structures of society, nature or mind. There are a lot of 'shackles of mind' to choose from which were created by science, like vulgar sociology, biological determinism, positivism of natural sciences, social contract theories a la Hobbes, economical necessity of scarcity, unfulfilled desires of Freudian psychoanalysis, selfish genes, etc., you name it. Who believes all them must be deranged himself too. They tell us something about the world and life, but at the same time cover it up like clouds in the sky – and we can only see something of the sunlight that scatters through the clouds.
Freedom to think and experience starts when one learns to deconstruct these constructions of the mind what we have learned and internalized before. With this process the past, together with personal memories and feelings, is opened again for reinterpretation. One doesn't need to be subordinated to ideas what one might have believed before. And in the end, the mystery of life remains to be explored again.
---
Finally, this is the last post for Season of Tilt. When I was originally planning this season, my preliminary name for it was 'Season of Modern Lomography' and I played with a idea that I could turn my modern Sony Nex-5N into lomography camera by purchasing suitable special lenses. When I did some searching I found that Lensbaby optics would suit me best, but there were a bit too costly for my little blog adventure. Therefore I decided to approach Lensbaby with a sponsorship proposal and they were very kind to support my plan (Thanks Keri!). Eventually the content for Season of Tilt turned out to be something else what I had originally thought, modern digital camera doesn't turn into Holga with some lenses only. But I think the final result is still very good overall - at least I'm happy with it. Being sponsored by Lensbaby also meant that I was acting in a different, one might say more professional, role as a photographer because of the commitment involved. I believe that in some ways it has developed my identity as a photographer. I created these pictures 'on demand' and kept demonstrating the possibilities Lensbaby products offer. It has been a fun project and I hope that those who follow me here, at forums or in Flickr have enjoyed it as well. However, ending this season will not mean that I will stop using Lensbaby. I like them a lot (Edge 80 being my favorite) and I know I'm going to keep using them in other project from time to time. I'm sure I'll be posting something taken with them in future too.
Next week Wednesday I will start a new season with new photography. I can't say much about it yet, other than it will have a different mood altogether. Stay tuned..
Year of the Alpha – 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com