The Referent Part 1 - Introduction

Introduction

This is the first essay in a new series about the Referent.  This new series builds on The Language of Art, my previous series of essays.  I introduced the concept of the Referent in this previous series.  However, I only touched on it briefly, limiting my coverage to a single essay out of the 12 essays featured in that series.  After completing this previous series, I realized I had more to say about the Referent because the subject addresses a much larger scope than I originally thought.  As my reflection progressed, I started seeing the Referent not as an isolated concept within the domain of the artistic language but as one of the main elements of that language.  The Referent is not just part of the vocabulary or the grammar of art.  It is not just a word or a grammatical concept.  It is the engine that drives art. It is the motivation behind the creation of art. It is what makes us want to create art.

If you are new to this concept and if you wonder what the Referent is, you need to read my previous essay on the subject, which you can find on this site.  However, because a basic definition may be necessary to some, let me say that the Referent is what we refer to when we create art, hence the name Referent.  What do I mean when I say that we refer to it?  Simply put, the Referent is what is in our mind while we create art.  It can be present consciously or unconsciously, but it is there during all stages of artistic creation.

Professional artists know this.  They may not call it the Referent, because this is a term I introduced, but they know that art is driven by a specific motivation that originates way back in our past.  We are not just inspired by the beauty of a specific sunset for example.  While this may be the inspiration for a specific photograph, a deeper and far more remote motivation is also at work. 

If you are new at this, if creating art is something recent, or if you are not yet intent on creating art, you may doubt that you have a Referent.  This is often the case with beginning artists, regardless of age.  In fact, this is the most often asked question or rather objection.  I hear it frequently: I do not have a Referent.  I do not need a Referent.  I do this because I like it.  It is a hobby, not a profession.  I don’t need to complicate things and turn an enjoyable activity into a headache-inducing one by forcing myself to think deeper than necessary about it.  I do this to relax, not to engage in philosophical musings.

These statements are not malicious.  The individuals mentioned above truly believe what they say.  All this is true for them.  However, if you share these beliefs, let me ask you this question: why did you choose to create fine art photographs?  Why not engage in fine art woodworking, or in fine art ceramics, or in any other fine art medium?  Why did you choose photography specifically?  Was it an accident, or worse a mistake?  Was it caused by a chance encounter in a bar late at night?  Did you have nothing better to do? And if so, why did you spend untold amounts of money on camera gear?  Why did you engage in gear acquisition to the point where it turned into a syndrome?  Why did you attend workshops, watch online tutorials, read eBooks, and do one-on-one consulting about fine art photography?  Why are you reading this essay? Why not instead attend one of the millions of workshops on subjects other than photography, watch online tutorials, read eBooks, and take part in consulting opportunities on an innumerable number of other artistic mediums?  Again, why fine art photography?  Unless selecting this specific medium is a mistake, there must be a reason.  That reason, whatever it may be, is your Referent.

For most of us that reason comes in very early.  It surfaces as a taste for fine art and it manifests itself by embracing a specific artistic medium.  For example, many fine art photographers have been interested in art since their childhood.  Many have done photography in high school, be it for the school newspaper, for a camera club, or for personal reasons.  Some worked for a camera store or as photographers for a newspaper. Some have done photography in the armed forces if they served in the military. Nearly all stopped because life happened and they had to earn a living doing something other than art because art would not pay the bills in their estimate.  However, their Referent did not die.  It was not eliminated by life.  It stayed dormant until one day, usually when the pressure of generating an income subsided, it surfaced again and demanded attention.  

Not A Mistake

Why start fine art photography again after retirement or when financial pressures ease off and leave you with free time to do what you want? Why not instead start something different, something new, something you have not done before?  Why fine art photography, specifically?  There is no shortage of hobbies out there.  Why do you keep coming back to photography, over and over again, despite the twists and turns that life throws at you, despite the hurdles that at times make it impossible to create photographs?

If choosing fine art photography as a hobby was a mistake, then the time to correct that mistake is after a long hiatus.  Retirement is the perfect example, but there are many other opportunities to move on to something new, something you have not done before.  There are many opportunities to say: been there, done that.  Let’s do something else now.  I tried it, it was fun, but it is now time to do something else.  Out with the old and in with the new.  Soapstone carving, macrame, pottery, decoupage, here I come.   Goodbye photography.  Can’t wait to try all these other mediums!  

But it wasn’t a mistake.  It was a passion.  It was motivated not by the desire to try it all, but by the insistence of your Referent and the necessity to satisfy it.  A referent that does not quit, or rather a referent that cannot go away because it is too powerful, too personal, and too deeply engrained in your being.  A Referent so much part of you that it defines who you are. That Referent is why you keep returning to fine art photography.  

Why The Referent is Ignored

The main reason why the Referent is ignored, dismissed, or otherwise not accounted for is because most people do not know what it is or even that it exists.  The purpose of this series is to remedy this situation and explain what the Referent is.  The goal is to bring the Referent out of the shadows of art.  To describe it in minute details.  To explore the different aspects that it takes, the various situations it is found in and the implications that come with it.  This is why I decided to write a series about the Referent rather than let it go after a single essay. I will start the process of describing the referent and exploring its nature and meaning in the next essay, starting with its main characteristics. 

Conclusion

The purpose of this first essay is twofold: to convince you that the Referent is real and to lay the groundwork for a new series.  The first of these two goals can be tested easily.  If I have not convinced you yet, re-read the essay, then ask yourself why you do fine art photography.  Is it a mistake or is there a specific reason and if so, what is it?

The second goal is just as easy to justify.  As you can see, the Referent is not just the subject of this series; it is also a point of departure that will allow me to explore diverse aspects of art. One of the first will be the artistic tenets that govern the creation of art.  There will be many more afterward because the Referent, being the initial motivation for creating art, has a tentacular reach into the furthest areas of the artistic domain.

About Alain Briot

I create fine art photographs, teach workshops with Natalie and offer Mastery Tutorials on composition, image conversion, optimization, printing, business and marketing.  I am the author of Mastering Landscape Photography, Mastering Photographic Composition, Creativity and Personal Style, Marketing Fine Art Photography, and How Photographs are Sold.  All 4 books are available in eBook format on our website   Free samplers are available.

On our website, you can find more information about our workshops, photographs, writings, and tutorials, as well as subscribe to our Free Monthly Newsletter. When you subscribe, you will receive 40 free eBooks.

Studying Fine Art Photography With Alain And Natalie Briot

If you enjoyed this essay, you will enjoy attending a workshop with us.  I lead workshops with my wife Natalie to the most photogenic locations in the US Southwest. Our workshops focus on the artistic aspects of photography.  While we do teach technique, we do so for the purpose of creating artistic photographs.  Our goal is to help you create photographs that you will be proud of and that will be unique to you. The locations we photograph include Navajoland, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and many others.  Our workshops listing is available at this link .

Alain Briot
September 2024

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