The Certainty of Nothing continues her intrepid investigation into the limits of the photographic medium. Her palpable agency and precise command belie her playful and organic methodology. With a replete tool kit of mediums and materials, Fifield transforms encounter and experience to illuminate meaning and connectivity across cultures and time. 

In this book group, Sandi Haber Fifield discusses, among other things:

Coupling images

Visual Gestault

Photo as source material

Magic happening in the studio

Stages of engagement with one’s work

Connotation and codification of color

Importance of slowing down

Working with the print vs the screen

“Shifting till they sing.”

Closing quote by Claire Ping for Musee Magazine:

“She uses various techniques to reconstruct images collected over time and create what may be termed visual poems, lyrically opening up new possibilities for looking or even thinking about perception…They suggest the radical potential of the photographic medium to expand our imaginative horizon, and challenge everyday vision.“

Referenced in the episode

The New Museum Triennel 2021 - Soft Water Hard Stone

Marty Forscher 

Books by Sandi Haber Fifields

2013 After the Threshold, Kehrer Verlag

2011 Between Painting and Picking, Charta Books

2009 Walking Through the World, Charta Books

1997 Defining Eye: Women Photographers of the 20th century

“Nathan Lyons: Selected Essays, Lectures, and Interviews” (2012) edited by Jessica S. McDonald

Visual Studies Workshop

Nathan Lyons book

Erin Shirreff

Sandi Haber Fifield Website | Instagram

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