Asheville Black & White

Todd Smith

Asheville Black & White

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aul Simon’s clever lyrics aside, everything does not “look worse in black and white”. In fact the absence of color can produce an improved and more striking visual result simply because color can distract the eye from seeing formal relationships that only appear - or appear more dramatically - in shades of gray. For example the beauty of a facial expression or a subtle body gesture may be out-shined by colors that only diminish the graphic power of the subject-as-form. The following portfolio is a collection of images that fall into that category. Although the originals were taken in color, they simply (to my eye) look better in black and white.

In the late 60s when photography was beginning to be seen as an ‘art’ commodity worthy of gallery exhibitions, one assumed that only black and white prints qualified for that designation. Consciously or not, the NYC art establishment adopted Marshall McLuhan’s idea that when a particular medium ceases to be functionally relevant it then becomes a candidate for ‘Art’. In this case color replaced black and white as the predominant form of photography in commercial print media. To some degree this still holds true and perhaps this collection of my work is a nod to McLuhan’s insight.

On a more mundane note, this body of work is not a social commentary on racial relations in the South nor does it contain any pretense of being a cultural document of Asheville. Rather, they are unabashedly personal photos taken at fairs, festivals, flea markets, and everyday street scenes in Asheville over the past ten years. I hope the pleasure I felt taking and formatting them comes through in the book.

Todd Smith Asheville, NC Fall, 2016