A CONTRIBUTION [back]

XINJIANG FOREST (2006)

XINJIANG FOREST #1

When I first looked at the photograph of the leaning tree I simple saw it for what it was---a leaning tree. But as I continued to look at the photo questions came to mind. What kind of a tree is it? How is it surviving in such a desolate looking place? How tall is the tree and what is at its base? Why did the photographer do such an extreme cropping of the photograph?

The photo is identified as having been taken in China in the Xinjiang Forest in 2006 and is # 1 in a series. That seemed strange since in the photo of the leaning tree there are no other trees. I was puzzled until I took note of the poetic caption the photographer provided, The pictures do not lie, but neither do they tell the whole story.

Indeed pictures do not lie. The camera records what is in front of it at the moment the photograph is taken. However, the photo by itself does not tell the whole story and can be misleading, as it was when I first looked at it. I have no idea what lies outside of the frame of the photo and can only guess and probably never know. Since the photo is one of a series, I could assume that some of the others show parts of the forest. Could it be that the leaning tree is one that is being transported from the forest or to the forest to be planted. This could explain why it is leaning and in such a desolate area. It would also explain why the photographer did such a radical cropping of the photo. By doing so he has intentionally mislead us and by adding the poetic caption has sent us on a journey of understanding.

As a result of my viewing experience with the leaning tree photograph, I am reminded how easy it is to fool the eye---Tromp l’oeil and its long and interesting history. It is also a reminder of the importance of a caption and how the caption becomes part of the photograph in gaining insight in the photograph. Leaning tree is a contemporary tromp l’oeil.

Georgia O’Keeffe reminded us that we do not spend enough time looking at flowers. The same can be said in looking at photographs.

Richard D. Zakia
Professor Emeritus
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
August, 2010

Personal Note

After sending his contribution to this gallery, Dr. Richard Zakia asked several pertinent questions about this photo to which I did my best to answer. Then he suggested that I should also include my notes at the end.

About my photograph and it's subject, I can tell you that this tree was on the edge of a small forest in a mountainous area in eastern Xinjiang. If I took the photo on the opposite direction the forest with its fall colors would appear in the photograph. I intuitively came to the conclusion that to show that forests are becoming an "endangered species" I would make my point showing the empty vastness where before used to be a true forest. That tree was exposed to the winds and close to that tree there were any other to make the soil enough consistent to support such a large tree. If it rains a lot and if there is also strong winds I am sure that this tree will collapse and eventually dies. I remember once to photograph in a late afternoon the Pisa reclining tower, also a surviving. Unfortunately I left the films and other personal stuff of a whole trip in a black hole drawer in hotel in Florence. I tried to recover my belongings, but you know how things are in Italy... To photograph that tree in Xinjiang was in a some way to travel back in time. The point I wanted to make did not need me to show the whole tree. This tree was not going to die naturally and vertically of old age. It was going to die prematurely as a consequence of man's actions.

Photographically speaking, to photograph in this small forest was a way to connect with the american landscape masters, whose work I came in contact at RIT. There in Xinjiang I was part of a group of photographers, and in this small forest I escape them and I could enjoy photographing. There is a lot that can be said about being in a group of photographers. And it's not allways nice.

If you want to see a couple of images of that Xinjiang Forest please explore this link:
http://www.juliodematos.com/e_gal_landscape_xinjiangforest.html

Júlio de Matos
August, 2010