Perspective matters – as photography fans and photo enthusiasts we probably know this already in one way or another. One guy, who highlights a totally new aspect of perspective, is Justin Bettman. His photo project SetintheStreet reminds us of the fact that not everything is the way it seems and that in the world of photography in particular there’s hardly anything the way it seems. “Social influencers” or bloggers are often strongly criticized because they allegedly transmit false realities about images in the social media. We often tend to forget, however, that all of us, consciously or unconsciously, sometimes or even mostly capture our own version of the world from our totally personal perspectives and present them this way to others. Justin Bettman’s art project consists of complex indoor spaces that have been made of discarded or collected material and pieces of furniture. The artist places them out on the road where he leaves them after taking his pictures. Passersby can then take their own pictures and share them with the hashtag #SetintheStreet.
I find this idea really fascinating. Also because the project made me think about it more closely. We often consider our own perspective of the world and the perspectives of countless others sharing them with us today on photo blogs, Instagram, Flickr etc. to be reality. We mostly forget that even these images have been constructed and that everybody has their own version of the world. Except, of course, when it’s an obviously staged “influencer” image! 😉
