John Sexton on Photography and Inspiration
BK: You once mentioned to me, and I think it’s a great term, that you try to make your prints “sing”.
JS: I think a print should invite the viewer to look at it, engage the viewer, and sustain the viewer’s attention. I have seen prints by others - and perhaps a few that I’ve done myself - that have etched themselves into my mind’s eye, and find it difficult to stop looking at the print. Occasionally I have seen black-and-white photographic prints that appear to be illuminated from within, that seem to have a life of their own beyond that of the subject matter, a radiant energy and luminosity. I like to think of the process of photography being as much about “listening” as it is about looking. Not necessarily listening with one’s ears, but being receptive with one’s being.
BK: Not looking, but seeing.
JS: Exactly. Experiencing what is in the image itself, in the light, in the dark, in the shades of gray. Just as music is not only the notes - but the silence and the resonance between the notes - the same applies to a photograph. If you’re lucky and everything comes together there’s an ambience, a radiance, of not just luminosity, but of inspiration.
BK: So do you think a great photograph is about the feeling it evokes?
JS: Absolutely. You can have a piece of writing that tells a story in a concise and compelling way and is quite informational. You can also have a piece of writing that tells the same story, but it’s inspirational. The latter will be the story that will be remembered. It’s not just about information, it’s about the ability to inspire - to expand one’s knowledge, awareness, and understanding. I think that great writing, great music, great photographs, great paintings, have a universal quality. I don’t know that you can consciously interject that into an image - the only way you might be fortunate enough to occasionally accomplish that is to make a lot of photographs.
BK: How important do you think it is in life to be inspired?
JS: I think that inspiration is a positive force in the world and is something that human beings can bring to the planet. Inspiration stimulates hope - it’s hope for a better future, it’s hope that tomorrow I’ll feel like I’ve done something better than today. I think that photography can, in an uplifting way, show us a promise of a better tomorrow. It can also, in a terrifying way, show us the importance of things that didn’t go right - it can inspire us to prevent those things from happening again. In the best circumstances I think we can inspire one another, and when you’re inspired you have the opportunity to do something worthwhile.
An Interview with John Sexton
Interviewed by Brian Klligrew
LensWork No. 46