I have always had a fascination with modern life and how constant change has affected and altered us, and the perception vs. reality of our daily lives. But have our human needs really evolved?
I am largely interested in exploring this frenzy and flow of contemporary times, and how we interrelate with society at large. The inundation of our culture with media and images serves to isolate us at times, rather than connect us.
My work is a complex investigation and interpretation of our shared reality, of our relationships and interactions that are such an important part of this transient existence. With people all around us, and the overabundance of aural and visual stimulation and the pace of modern life, is it possible we need and find solace in being alone? It seems that we must escape at times, maybe by retreating into ourselves, or into our electronic devices, which possibly we find so addicting they cannot be ignored.
I use the camera in quite non-traditional ways. My education at the Institute of Design had a strong basis of classical “straight” photography but there was a strong encouragement to experiment, very understandable, as the school was founded by Laszlo Maholy-Nagy from the Bauhaus. There, Arthur Siegel took me under his wing, and along with Aaron Siskind, I was pushed hard to perfect my craft. I approach my subjects and the art of photography, I believe, in much the same way as the Impressionists did painting. As photography then made it unnecessary for painters to work in such a realistic manner, I don’t have a need as an artist to be restricted to just using the camera in a conventional manner.
Website: www.schiff-art.com