Secrets of the Diagonal
Thoughts about photographs by the Supreme Master Ching Hai in her book “The Noble Wilds“
Any good photographer knows about the effect of taking a picture at such an angle that the important details of the motif appear along an imagined diagonal. Through this diagonal composition everything along the invisible line or in its vicinity gets especially emphasised, attracts the attention of the observer who is drawn into the depth of the motif.
Regardless of whether the imagined line dictates an almost vertical or merely very slanted composition of the details the picture attracts not just the eye but the whole observer and his attention and feelings. In their imagination they will wander into the picture, happily feel deliverance from their earthly weight and maybe have an inkling of a different consciousness awakened deep inside. The strength of the diagonal picture composition lies in its following universal laws given by the Heavens to humanity as a help for orientation in nature.
The Supreme Master – who has more important tasks than going through photographic theory school – approaches her motifs with her absolute love for animals. As, however, the heavenly laws are also within her – within whom else? - she, lo and behold, intuitively took a picture that plays with two diagonals even because the 'path of feathers' takes a turn in a different direction in the background.
Apart from the beautiful text by the Supreme Master on the feather path picture I believe I keep hearing, “Look for us. We have scattered feathers for you so that your feet are protected. Please come.”
The pictures on the preceeding pages make it clear that the calls are coming from the swans hiding from possible dangers because they can't fly away anymore.
On the following page 272 we see two individually photographed swans showing themselves with their wings pruned by the loss of feathers in side view almost like on an ancient Egyptian frieze. Two side views of swans could have meant a group of swans having lost their wings in ancient Egyptian times. This could suggest that they were going through moult. Is the ancient Egyptian of the pictures a coincidence or is it a fragment of memories of a life thousands of years ago?
Thousands of years is the keyword to get to another aspect of the subliminal effect of the diagonal composition of the pictures.
For thousands of years, humans have been asking, “Where do we come from? Where are we going to?” The old religious masters of painting saw the diagonal composition as a bridge to the otherwordly and the transcendental in answer to the “where to?”. And the word 'bridge' still touches our spiritual subconscious today without us always knowing. The bridge has become an archetypical expression for the adventure of crossing, of the departure for the unknown.
Is that the other bank or the other world already. It's exactly there, on the other side of the suspension bridge across the lake, that the Supreme Master put up her tent to guard the swans (p. 248). This picture, taken in frontal central view, is not really an example for my theory, yet the edges of the bridge and its ropes make up four bent diagonals running into the background.
In the picture on page 276 the bridge is clearly portrayed in a diagonal way. The pictures 'duck path' (p. 3), 'way' (p. 32) and 'path of the deer' (p. 195) also follow the principle of the diagonal.
Together with the two pictures of the bridge taken by other people which feature the Supreme Master there are four pictures with the same motif in the book which implies that the theme of bridges is of special importance to the Supreme Master as well.
It is very difficult to comment on individual pictures because that means taking them out of their contexts with the beautiful texts by the Supreme Master and with each other. Nevertheless, I hope that these few thoughts about the pictures will not bore the Supreme Master.
~ Helmut Nitzschke, World-renowned Film Director from Germany
No comments:
Post a Comment