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If there are diverse kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing place, then we need to learn to value the different ways each of us sees a single place that is significant, but differently so, for each perspective.
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Michael Kenna's Silent World « Previous | |Next »
July 4, 2008

Micheal Kenna explores a meditative and silent world in black and white. His pictures are absent humanity but contain the urban, suburban and industrial components of human society. The landscapes are very contemplative in what are often very crowded areas.

Kenna's work is in contrast to Alexey Titarenko's which are filled with layer upon layer of human movement in a public space. Kenna's work is dominated by the absence of human movement in photographic space and consequently is less ghostly and more serene despite the similarity of the landscapes chosen.


I find Kenna's images quite beautiful and more attractive than Titarenko's despite the latter's being more visually grabbing initially. In graphic design a strong principle is not making the viewers eye 'work'. The purpose of white space is to please and sooth the eye so that it runs automatically through areas. It is the subjective difference between a work being easy or hard to look at.

Kenna's work is very easy on the eye.

| Posted by cam at 12:54 AM | | Comments (4)
Comments

Comments

cam,
also take a look at Mohammadreza Mirzaei's photos: http://www.mrmirzaei.com Really interesting. they are all in the presence of humans, but still so close to Michael Kenna's aesthetic! no wonder that kenna loves Mirzaei's photography!!

Kris, Very nice. I couldn't put those on my wall though. The people appear too isolated and alienated. It would be hard to look at or have around all the time.

Cam,
Michael Kenna's b/w work is very interesting. Long exposures at dawn and dusk. Romantic moody, yet formally sparse, with a meditative (Zen) quality to them.

I don't much about him. Do you? He sure is prolific in terms of publications. I came across this account

The Japanese 2002 work is sparse and minimal. It moves away from a modernist aesthetic to a Japanese one. West meets East.