"The power of the equivalent, so far as the expressive-creative photographer is concerned, lies in the fact that he can convey and evoke feelings about things and situations and events which for some reason or other are not or can not be photographed. The secret, the catch and the power lies in being able to use the forms and shapes of objects in front of the camera for their expressive-evocative qualities. Or to say this in another way, in practice Equivalency is the ability to use the visual world as the plastic material for the photographer's expressive purposes."
i don't buy much of the stated aesthetics but there is some truth in it here & there. like i've said before, i don't put much credence in what artist's have to say about their work. the body of work white gave us says it all. a master of black & white photography & composition, he was buddies w/all the early greats & equal to them all too. the space he defines is elegant & complex while remaining accessible &, mainly, beautiful. as david hickey has pointed out, even this late in the game, beauty's appeal is still timeless & inescapable.
"The author presents them also as showing something of himself. In other words, these photographs originate in a known feeling state. They are not self-expressive, or self-searching; they are self-found. Communication is of no importance, evocation of little significance, competition nonexistent. They are shown as an event out of which Equivalence might occur. The possibility of the reader's being confronted with something of himself is their only reason for being reproduced. They will function as mirrors of the viewer, whether he admits it or not. It will not be pointed out which of the images knows happiness, the one that knows anger, or the one that knows sadness because viewers of photographs need the opportunity to learn faith in their own feelings."
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