Explore a place you see every day. | Assaf Evron | The Art Assignment

TL;DR

Assaf Evron, an artist from Israel, challenges us to slow down and truly observe by taking a photo, meditating on it, and then capturing the details we missed in a public place.

Transcript

SARAH GREEN: This episode of "The Art Assignment" is brought you by Squarespace. [MUSIC PLAYING] We're about to meet up with Assaf Evron, who's originally from Israel, but has lived here in Chicago since 2011. Before he started working as an artist, he studied philosophy and was a photojournalist for and Israeli newspaper. That experience informed ... Read More

Key Insights

• 💨 Photography has changed the way we perceive the world, offering details and slowing down our perception that we might have missed.
• 👀 Attentiveness and truly looking are undervalued in today's visual culture.
• 💦 Walter Benjamin's concept of the optical unconscious resonates in Assaf Evron's work, as photography reveals hidden information.
• 😘 The Blow Up assignment encourages participants to engage in a process of re-encounter and re-examination, leading to new perspectives and insights.
• 👻 Multiple cameras allow for different ways of seeing, challenging our preconceived notions.
• 🥺 Boredom can be a productive experience, leading to new discoveries and insights.
• 🌍 The assignment fosters an intimate relationship between the photographer and the photograph, capturing moments in the world.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Assaf Evron's background as a photojournalist inform his artistic work?

Assaf Evron's experience as a photojournalist influences his artwork by making him question the mundane and the non-moments, capturing what we often overlook.

Q: Why does Assaf Evron use multiple cameras in his practice?

Assaf Evron uses multiple cameras to encourage different ways of seeing, allowing for new perspectives and delays in perception. Each camera constructs a unique way of looking at the world.

Q: What is the purpose of examining a photograph for three minutes?

Examining a photograph for three minutes is a form of meditation, allowing the viewer to discover hidden details, like floating thoughts during meditation. It challenges our usual quick scanning and encourages deeper observation.

Q: What does Assaf Evron mean by the term "boredom" in relation to this assignment?

Assaf Evron sees boredom as a productive experience in this assignment. It allows the mind to release preconceived notions and opens up space for new discoveries and insights to float to the surface.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Assaf Evron, an artist from Israel, encourages viewers to question the everyday sights they often overlook.

• He uses various cameras to capture different perspectives and paces of seeing, allowing new details to emerge.

• The Blow Up assignment asks participants to take a photo, examine it for three minutes, and then capture the hidden details they observed.