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B+W film photography inspiration from reading T. S. Eliot?!


andyedward

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I find some of T. S. Eliots poetry to be descriptive to the point where a vivid visual depiction of his words appears in my mind, and this reminds me of some of the work by great b+w photographers of Eliots era. I wish I had been alive during that era to photograph the subjects he wrote about, and wish I could photograph as well as he wrote.

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T.S. Eliot? I hope you don't mean 'Cats'!

 

Chris :)

 

I was thinking more along the lines of "Portrait of a Lady", the "Preludes", "Gerontion", or "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" from his more widely known work (I grow old… I grow old…I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Shamelessly resurrecting this thread, the imagery from T.S.Eliot is an inspiration, though I am loath to say is often an existing image fitting the words in retrospect. Perhaps unkindly a self fulfilling prophecy and nullifying the creative process where word should meet the image at creation. For instance the image below ring the words ...

 

"I keep my countenance, I remain self-posessed

Except where a street piano, mechanical and tired

Reiterates some worn-out common song"

 

What I have often contemplated is setting up my interpretation of Gerontion and be "Guided by vanities"

 

Food for thought

 

C

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One of my college photo professors teamed up with a literature professor (who was also an exhibited photographer) to teach a "Photography and Literature" course for several years in the 1970's.

 

Read (or write), and then take pictures to illustrate the text (literal, interpretative, whatever.)

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Photographs that attempt to reflect T.S. Eliot's poetry would likely include what elements? In Bateleur's photo we note the keyboard player, out-of-focus listeners, with the later in proper relationship, but to me the image is not profound within the context of Eliot's intent. Neither are any of mine.

 

What elements can embrace his work? Self questioning, anti-canonical form. An element beyond knowing, inscrutable. The fundamental ignorance of humankind which is its behavior, its being in a false state. God as fallacy. God as evil. Eternal cascading forgetfulness. The Laws of Nature as prison and deception.

 

Can you recall any photograph that expresses, or tries to express such?

.

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"I keep my countenance, I remain self-posessed"

 

Perhaps this is too literal but when I spot the 2 pairs of tiny hands at the end of the keyboard I think the grown up is doing a very good job keeping her countenance or at least her count ... she looks like she's struggling to maintain her own song and not be distracted by the little ones. I can also almost "feel" what I can only assume to be the children's mother breathing down her neck. Very uncomfortable image but I like it!

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Thank you both for your comments! Though it was not my intention when posting the image I realize that comments are so very valuable for the maturation of the visual experience and capturing it as a reflection of ones own expressiveness.

 

As an aside there was quite a cacophony from the piano and I waited for a pair of hands in the foreground to be whipped away before making my image.

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