NORMAN SEIDER

摘要

I really don't think of myself as a photographer. I think of myself as a filmmaker making still movies. However you define it, I'm a storyteller attracted by mystery, antiquity, and echoes of the past." Such is the self-assessment of Norman Seider, a longtime commercial and documentary filmmaker (whose work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC) who turned to stili photography in 1987 as the next stage in his creative evolution. It's no surprise, therefore, that he compares his photographs to opening scenes in films. Filmmaking taught him to see the world in terms of cinematic movement, to pay attention to detail, to look beneath surface realities in search of personal narratives. Yet Seider's pictures aren't limited to a single interpretation. He believes that the interaction between the viewer and his imagery is the prime determinant of its meaning. "A well-wrought opening scene in a film creates communication and intimacy with viewers because the image triggers emotion or feeling or memory," he explains. "A photo can also be thought of as an opening scene. Instead of the camera providing the subsequent shots, the mind provides them. Instead of a film scenario unfolding, viewers create a scenario."