The intimacy of sleep is a subject mainly found in snapshots as opposed to fine art photography, writes Robert E. Jackson. The reason is that to be a witness to such an action, the person holding the camera generally must have a close association with the person sleeping– such as being a friend, lover, or family member. There is a vulnerability to being caught unawares in the act of sleeping, yet there is also a beauty to which these images attest. While voyeuristic in nature, these photos derive from a sense of play- one of the defining aspects of snapshot photography. Such a relationship between subject and photographer as a dualistic (i.e. two person) act of creating a photographic image is pretty much eliminated now in snapshots, as selfies are all about the photographer and the subject being the same person. Part of the “me” of the contemporary photographic narrative as opposed to the “we” of older snapshots.
- Flashbak
