Components of Photographic Design - Promised Closure

For those of us who are landscape or fine art photographers, we attempt to define and convey the meaning of Nature.  Some of us attempt understanding through studies of line and form. Others use abstraction and color.   But how we find or portray the meaning of Nature or for that matter, how others find meaning in our photographs, is nothing short of a study of what it means to be human.

Let’s start with a really basic tenet. 
Let’s define:  Closure as the attainment of the meaning we seek.
Composition which has elements of predictability is one example that simplifies closure. On the other hand, Dissonance makes closure more difficult.

When Closure is too hard, we may simply reject the image as so much clutter. We say that the image is too busy, or that it’s chaotic. 

When Closure is too easy, the stimulus doesn’t hold our attention.  We say the image is flat, or it isn’t alive.

But, as much as we seek Closure, we also have a recurrent willingness to delay it.  Certain stimuli have the capacity to hold our interest even after repeated exposure.  Detrie refers to this as “Promised Closure.”  

JK Rowlings perfected this to an art form in the Harry Potter book series.  Peter Jackson did so with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Or should I have said, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and J.R Tolkien?  What makes Promised Closure so appealing in each of these situations is the security we experience that things will eventually reach closure.

Of course, Closure itself is influenced by many factors, including culture.  For the moment, let’s compare Peter Jackson and JR Tolkien. Even though the story lines are the same, I would speculate that despite the success of the movies, not many of us flocked to the book store.  Weighing in at nearly 5 pounds and almost 1200 pages, our society now favors a more visual - a more concise approach - even to art. 

How are we as photographers to make sense of this?  Let’s acknowledge that Closure or the promise of it is hard to master.  We can acknowledge that at any point in time, only a handful of movie directors are masters of their craft. 

In my opinion, there are several master photographers who have, over time, repeatedly demonstrated a mastery of Promised Closure.  Perhaps the most notable is Jay Maisel whose awards include the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Society of Media Photographers, and the Infinity Award of the International Center of Photography.  I have always been amazed how Jay’s images initially appear so simple.  But just as you are about the turn away, you see something else.  This can happen 2 or 3 times before you finally reach Closure, even for an image as simple as a white arrow on a green background. 

Ansel Adams was a master of layer upon layer of information and light.  Once you engage an inspection of Half Dome, you find additional details wherever you look.

Greg Gorman achieved the same end with his high contrast B&W portraits.  Stark outlines of the human form transition into greater detail as the eyes hover.  Even though I have seen Greg’s images many times, it wasn’t until I had retouched dozens of them did I appreciate that many of them had a common theme where a  “positive” image on one side of the face often transitioned to a “negative” image on the opposite side.  Clearly intention, it is an excellent example of how some details are only seen after many views of the same subject.  I contend that this is the truest form of Promised Closure, the capacity to hold our interest even after repeated exposure.

The problem with making these tenets sound like scientific principles is that Closure is an individual response.  Master craftsmen learn how to speak to an element of the population.  They would likely be among the first to acknowledge that their art doesn’t speak to everyone. 

I can recall a situation in my own life where a friend of mine asked how I could stand to see the same movie over and over again.  This from a person who is an accomplished pianist.  My response was how was it that he could listen to or repeatedly play the same piece of music over and over again.  In this context, Soren’s response to Promised Closure is different from my own. 

Why don’t we call it quits for this particular podcast.  Next time, we will explore how we process sensory data and create meaning therefrom.  How’s that for an example of Promised Closure???

Before we close, I would like to ask you to do me a favor.  Simply email one friend interested in photography and provide a link to my site.  Thanks for your help.  Until we speak again.