Abby Chambers - Daniel Reuter - Post 1

Daniel Reuter

1) Which of the artist’s many technical choices are of interest to you and why?

What really caught my eye about Reuter's work is how dark it is. His photos are so dark and low contrast that I almost have to strain my eyes to see everything in the photos. Once I read the description of his series, I think I began to understand why he chose to create such low contrast, dark pictures. These photos were taken in Iceland, but they're not the big tourist attractions. They're small little corners in places that don't attract people. They're places that get looked over and don't cause a lot of interest, so Reuter made his photos dark and low contrast to reflect that. 

2) What do you believe are the artist’s conceptual and/or thematic intentions?

Continuing on from the first question, I believe that Reuter was trying to say something about the areas of Iceland that don't get tourism. He's trying to show all the other parts of the country that not many people get to see; he avoids the big tourist spots. He's trying to point out that tourists rarely get to see "all corners" of Iceland; they just skim over the country. Reuter took the time to find all of these places that don't attract people and photograph them so people get to see "all" of Iceland. He made them dark and almost "uninteresting" at first glance, but when you actually look into the photographs, you start to understand what he's trying to do. He does a great job with the symbolism of the dark photos. 

3) How do you personally respond to these choices and intents?  

I appreciate what Reuter is trying to do with this series of photos. I also appreciate what he's trying to say about tourist culture. People don't get the full experience of the places they visit. I love the symbolism of the dark, low contrast nature of the photographs and I think it captures his message perfectly. I didn't quite understand why he chose to do that at first, but once I read his description it all made sense. Overall, I really enjoy this set of photos by Daniel Reuter.