2021 Show at the York Public Library, Excerpt from York Public Library Show
written by Betsy Cromley
For some photographers such as Annette Brennan, the truth-telling record of the photograph remains important. The artist’s eye is engaged by the nature of the scene and the patience to wait for the exact moment. Light at just the right time of day, a bird or animal captured just as its pose conveys its essential qualities—photos that capture a fleeting slice of reality and its beauty testify to the photographer’s skill.
The naturalistic subject matter preserves the appearance of a bird, a flower, a landscape as we remember it. The photograph triggers memories in the viewer of related scenes and moods. The altered photograph’s task is not to preserve memories but to instigate a chain of associations in the viewer’s mind, akin to the associations our dreams conjure up. These transformed fragments of memories become new ways to remember the world.