Images can be read, and words can be seen.
Álvaro de los Ángeles
Documenting is one of the most common tasks in photography. Many professionals focus their work on series: windows and doors, flowers and orchids, puddles and reflections, corners, and more. These universal, and sometimes scientific, themes often reveal much about the life stage the photographer is currently in and are typically temporary explorations.
But why do humans obsess over documenting in serial form?
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Ed Ruscha. Twenty-six (Abandoned) Gasoline Stations. 1962
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From my perspective, documenting with images is similar to collecting objects. It’s an activity for orderly and meticulous individuals, often driven by an obsession deeply connected to what is collected and a personal attachment to the chosen motif—an attachment that may arise from nostalgia or associative memories.
This deep motivation to focus on what obsesses us often stems from happy childhood memories, things that are fading away, or things we don’t want to lose sight of. Additionally, recording and documenting are closely tied to the human need to preserve, hold onto, and keep memories present.
Stanford University conducted research on the testimonies of several art collectors. Many interviewees attributed their desire to own certain artworks to nostalgia for a memory, often from childhood, which reminded them of a happy time in their lives. They also attributed it to preservation, feeling a responsibility to safeguard certain objects that held significance for them.
Bernd and Hilla Becher. Water Towers.
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Bernd and Hilla Becher photographed a series of industrial buildings in black and white, using well-defined patterns, slow shutter speeds, and excluding people from their pictures. As good collectors, they were obsessive and rigorous, turning their work into an almost scientific endeavor. Their images were clear and modest, which was innovative for contemporary photography.
In their work, they documented industrial monuments from their childhood era that were soon to be demolished. Like stuffed animals, these cold, lifeless buildings were full of extra-photographic data that suggested and evoked differences beneath the concept of uniformity.
This type of photography plays with the concepts of presence and absence simultaneously, presenting situations that no longer exist while linking the act of collecting to memory and the recovery of history.
DIn this way, creating a series of images reflects a sense of belonging to a particular place, lifestyle, or way of thinking. Thus, the document, the image, and the photograph become Art.
Search for, discover, classify, and group your own motif. Decide how you will approach it—whether as research, a study, or a narrative—while ensuring you observe the world through your unique gaze.
This post is a personal interpretation inspired by the third session of the course Understanding Art: Records, Documents, and Stories, taught by Álvaro de los Ángeles at IVAM.
