When is Something Real? Is Reflected Reality Real, Too?
Susan says, “What is really real? Belgian painter Rene Magritte titled his painting of a man’s pipe, ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe.’ (This isn’t a pipe.) No, it is a painting of a pipe. Yes, this photo is a image of a real brick and mortar building and an unreal picture of a reflected man looking at a reflected stop sign on a reflected busy street. The building in the photo isn’t real. It is only a photo of the building. Is the reflected man less real? Will the reflected cars stop for the reflected stop sign? Is Magritte’s pipe real? Here is an interesting way to begin a discussion on the nature of reality or as Magritte would put it, ‘The Treachery of Images’.”
Lucia says, “Instead of creating a wide shot of a street in downtown Portland, I decided to capture part of the scene in reflection. I didn’t move in too close to exclude the lampposts, because I wanted to show the reflection in its surroundings. By doing so, I placed the dreamy quality of the reflection within the real street scene. Yet, as Susan asked, ‘what is real?’ I wonder what it would be like to walk through the reflection and experience everything as a dream, like Alice through the looking glass. Dreams can influence reality. No? You have a vision and you work to make it a reality. I agree with the Magritte quote, if images are treachery, they can wreck havoc by upsetting your normal state of being and influencing you to move forward into uncharted territory. Then you’ll take on a new reality.”
