The Persistence of Vision

Our images not only freeze time so that others can continue to see what we captured in a past moment, they also create a way that we can look back at our younger selves, where we were, where we came from, and the ways we have either changed or held on to the essence of who we were, how we saw, and what we hoped to convey to others.

“Persistence of vision” usually refers to the way that our brains momentarily retain an image so that our world doesn’t go dark every time we blink. We see the world around us as a continuous, live stream of motion. We can experience the result of this phenomenon when we look at a flipbook of drawings that appear to be animated. It’s also part of the reason we see movies and TV broadcasts as a continuous stream of lifelike motion as opposed to a series of still images flashing before our eyes. I’ve been thinking about how the term could also be defined as the persistence or continuity of our intentions, motivations, and ways of seeing that become part of the images we create.

When we create a photograph, we always begin with an intention. What is the photo for? What are we hoping to convey? What technique do we feel will work best to create the image and convey the mood? In the case of the ICM photos I made all those years ago, I made them because I wanted psychedelic imagery for my light show. If I had not had the motivation of my light show project, I would probably never have created the images at all. In this case, my intention and motivation to create images for my show were the result of my motivation to produce a small body of abstracts photographs I needed for the show. These ended up being a collection of images that I still treasure.