On Photography

On Photography

By Sam Stiner

The reason I choose to make abstract work is because I have felt for a long time that the contemporary relevance of photography, has made representation in artwork uninteresting to me to create. I have a deep appreciation for representation in art and have a great appreciation for contemporary representation of the human form. However, I am not interested in traditional representation of humanity. I am drawn to abstractions drawn from humanity. I believe this gives my abstractions more power and weight.

[“untitled,” by Sam Stiner Photography]

However, in my practice of photography I tend to the abstract as well. Focusing on small liminal space landscape photographs. In the above photograph I use the found object where the street and the earth are mixing. Taken in 2020 near the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work is representational of the writer’s block that came with the confinement of quarantine.

[“untitled,” by Sam Stiner]

While the pandemic was accompanied by level of uncertainty, it was also a time of great personal growth for me. The above photograph of flowers growing in the cracks of the street, discusses the resilience of the individual and society. My photographs are explorations of liminal space, that demonstrate a relationship between the representational arts and the non-representational arts.