Joel Quintans

A photograph is not only an image (as a painting is an image), an interpretation of the real; it is a trace, something directly stenciled off the real, like a footprint or a death mask. –Susan Sontag

Photography can never grow up if it imitates some other medium. It has to walk alone; it has to be itself. –Berenice Abbott

My fascination with photography has consumed a major portion of my life. I have always been intrigued with the photograph—the camera—the process. A fleeting moment captured forever recalling the particular time, place, and event. I utilized the camera through my education in Architecture and Art. My exploration continues professionally by combining images in my graphic design endeavors.

In the early stages of my development, I examined works by Cartier-Bresson, Weston, Arbus, Steichen, Avedon, Mapplethorpe, Witkin, Meatyard, Sherman, Serrano, Nicosia, etc. I enjoyed and intellectually absorbed the work of Judd, Flavin, Ruaschenberg, Duchamp and Cornell. I experimented with nontraditional photographic and assemblage. Through the years, I continued the attempt at perfecting the craft of photography.

As my investigation proceeds and develops, my current work de-objectifies the image. The viewer is no longer trapped and dictated by the image as object. Surface interpretation is not blatant. The image is no longer contained by frame, therefore the relationship between the image and viewer is direct. The peripheral view of a perceived moment becomes the focus and no longer abandoned. The viewer can now interpret freely, recalling memory and a personal, individualistic perception of reality.

Joel Quintans - article in Art Lies Fall 2003 (PDF, 2.5MB)
Joel Quintans - resume (PDF, 108k)
Joel Quintains - illustrated statement (PDF, 3.3MB)