Diana Guzmán - Photo Book Review

Wynn Bullock

Wynn Bullock shows his interest in his search for understanding within all of his works. From his surreal still-lifes to his whimsical nudes and sets, Bullock seeks to find the relationship he has with the world around him. He never completely plans a set; he is moved by his emotions and reactions to what surrounds him, his camera, and his possible model. It is within this process Bullock finds a deeper understanding, a natural relationship, between him and his subject; whether it be from finding humanistic and natural forms within the core of an apple to seeing the similarities between a forest and his daughter, Bullock’s camera captures feelings, emotions, and beauty in its rawest form.
Although Bullock seeks truth, he does not stop himself from being an artist. He manipulates his photos and states he will do anything to enhance or create the mood he wants within his photograph – it is as if he uses his printing techniques to relay to the viewer how he sees the world, his own perspective of reality.
Bullock takes careful consideration to the tonal values within each and every one of his photographs, sometimes altering them in the printing room to create a more concrete and natural range. He sometimes uses these values to juxtapose images, whether it be intense black next to a near paper white or turning a day photo into a night scene. These processes give his image a surreal quality, as if his sets were scenes within a dream or fictional movie, often including a wide span of nature and a nude model. Even though Bullock uses the nude female anatomy often within his work, it is not in an erotic or pornographic manner; it is to express his unique perspective. He may use a nude to show the innocence of a forest or disclose the breasts of an old woman to show that beauty and grace are still present with age. The ability Bullock has to create multiple moods and meanings with the same female body is astounding and can force a viewer to pause and think about not only what is happening within the work but how they themselves view reality as compared to him.
Bullock’s perception of the female body and its beauty follows his work even when it comes to the simple snapshot of an apple cut in half. The forms within the core resemble the lines and forms of a human figure, one that is draped, yet ever-moving and stunning. No matter what Bullock gets a hold of, he always finds something new below, something to be learned, loved, and cherished. His photographs not only show a different kind of reality to him, but also one to ourselves.