FASS Art Gallery presents - By The Way: Unnoticed and Untold

By The Way: Unnoticed and Untold

The work presented here is a selection from different series, namely “Abstraction”, “Contemplation”, “Momentary”, “Rhythm”, “Tension” and “Traces”. I have been developing these series over the course of several years, and most of them are still active projects. As a selection, this body of work represents different but at the same time closely related approaches to what I strive for in photography.

The compositional form of these images is central to their communicative content. I never feel satisfied with a photograph if it communicates merely via its depictive content, even if the real or fictional story it tells is a most intriguing one. I still look for the meaning beyond; the added meaning created by the way the content is presented. My images build on patterns, and their formal structure is always an integral component of the resulting photographic meaning.

I am interested in how the patterns that usually go unnoticed in our surroundings may become the carriers of meaningful stories when they are transformed via photographic images. I look at the unnoticed patterns as stories untold, as potentialities never actualized. There are countless such patterns and stories around us, and I try to notice and actualize at least some of them. I believe we should sharpen our ability to notice and uncover the details; the transformation of neglected scenes into photographic images revitalizes them with more than a mere second chance. It provides them with a stronger and more pronounced reality as being selected, interpreted and offered for further interpretation. They are now noticed and told, transformed and ready for a new reality.

Biography

Zsolt Bátori was born in Budapest, Hungary. He first studied literature and linguistics at university, and later earned his PhD in philosophy at Rutgers University, NJ, USA. He specializes in aesthetics and the philosophy of art, and he is especially interested in the visual arts, design, and photography. During his doctoral studies at Rutgers, Zsolt also attended a number of courses in photography; although he never had the time to complete a degree in art, he continues to complement and enrich his theoretical work with an active photographic practice.

Zsolt has been teaching philosophy, philosophy of art, visual communication and photography theory courses at various universities in the United States and Hungary. He is currently an associate professor at Budapest University of Technology and Economics and a research fellow at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. He has been involved in developing, accrediting and directing art and design theory as well as visual communication programs. Zsolt’s current research is focused on the question of interpreting and evaluating photographs. He has also been exhibiting internationally as a fine art photographer. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Society for Aesthetics and the International Association for Aesthetics.