Lynn Reynolds


	Lynn Reynolds Lincoln, Nebraska
		Listen to this artist. (AU 80K)
		E-mail this artist at 1sr@riker.ps.missouri.edu.

I feel that intentional photographic meaning cannot be taken but must be constructed. In my view, the dream of the all-inclusive, wholly-autonomous photograph has never been anything but a generalized vehicle for stereotyping. I question whether any photographer can truly anticipate (or intend) a specific outcome over merely having the faith that with enough contact sheets something superficially beneficial is bound to happen. It is an irresponsible assumption to believe that photographs uniquely have the power to reference only themselves. Could it be possible that photographs have greater potential in referencing other photographs?

In this context, photographs could allow the spectator not only the resource of relying on similarities in formal relationships but also in subject matter comparisons for determining related meaning(s). In contrast to straight photography, the difference here is that the photographs would not only reference photography but other photographs within a specific group. Admittedly, dangers do lie in the traditional use of photography as a visual record. It is this misperception which has the potential to inhibit any type of photographic grouping by allowing them to be superficially misinterpreted as a construction of meaning with the primary goal being that of narrative connotation only. I do not intend my work as primarily a record or a narrative. By the same token, I do understand my work to be a provider of clues with the power to engage or allow the spectator into an open interaction of personally connecting with my imagery.

The subject matter represented in my work stems from the everyday. It is the personal ideas behind these scenes/objects which are of genuine interest. These ideas are the direct connections to my interpretation of the world around me. Many of the scenes represented are those including family, friends and scenes of rural lifestyles. It is this record of the common which allows individuals other than myself the opportunity to decode and attach alternative meaning to the images which I produce.