Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2020
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.F.A.
Department
Fine Arts
Degree Program
Studio Art and Design, MFA
Committee Chair
Carothers, Mary
Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)
Eckert, Mitch
Committee Member
Eckert, Mitch
Committee Member
Reilly, Elizabeth
Author's Keywords
Photography; large-format; straight photography; focus stacking
Abstract
American Nocturne is a photographic meditation on the nature of America. There is a long tradition of American photographers looking around their localities to look for this feeling. Using the aesthetics of straight photography, I have worked with a largeformat view camera to search for America. The prism through which I view America is a mixture of both a veneration, an abiding fascination, and at the same time a deep ambivalence towards an overbuilding, overproducing, and over wasting culture. My hope with American Nocturne is to present my view of America, with its contradictions and its beauty. For me the power of photography lies in its ability to make sharply focused and clear images. To further this nature of photography I have mitigated the shallow depth of field of the large format by taking several photographs across various focal planes and combining them into a single seamless photograph with an almost infinite depth of field. The result is an unusual clarity and fidelity, which reaches closer to the inherent nature of photography. In my thesis I describe my detailed working process, and look back at the modernist heritage of American straight photography. I examine some of my inspirations and their work to draw from and use it to further my own vision.
Recommended Citation
Saeed, Zahid, "American nocturne." (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3390.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/3390
