Ryan Kraus

Portals and Screens Project Statement 

September 30th 2024  

Prof. Viktorsha Uliyanova

The Portals and Screens project was challenging for me because of the time I needed to commit. As a photographer, I tend to create works in public and during trips. For example, during my most recent trip to Ireland, I shot 15 rolls of film through cities and the countryside. This project proved difficult as I had to force myself to get out and shoot. However, there were many positives to this aspect, including new technical skills, new ways to view the world, and a fresh approach to planning projects.

For Portals and Screens, I decided to dedicate two main project shoot days along with my regular shooting. The first shoot involved light painting, and the second utilized an external Profoto flash. The light painting photos didn’t translate well to paper, but digitally, they were on par. These two shoots helped me get into the groove of shooting, and I was able to create a narrative for myself. I feel that street photography has a narrative based on others and what the elements provide.

Throughout this project, I stepped out of my comfort zone and shot most of my photos alone. I believe loneliness is reflected in the final four photos. In each image, there is a trace of a person, but none are visible. The photo of the windows shows a coffee pot and a newspaper, implying someone was there, but they are absent. The photo of the chair is full of rips, tears, dents, and stains. Someone must have sat there at some point, but they aren’t photographed. Is their imprint still visible? Can you imagine the person who sat there? The photo of the mirror also fits this idea. Mirrors were created to allow people to see themselves, but this one doesn’t. As a viewer, I ask: What would this mirror look like with you in it? What would it look like with anyone in it? Would the effect of the photo change if a face were present? I wanted to explore the portals of humanity that allow us as individuals to see into the past, the present, and the future. One may consider a portal, to be a way to peer into various realities; I wanted to translate this idea into my images.

The final photo is a portrait that shows the artist holding a mirror at head height. The mirror, which normally reflects oneself or someone else, now blocks you from seeing who is behind it. The mirror the artist is holding reflects the once gravel road, now overgrown. This ties the project together with the idea of how people have used these objects—mirrors, chairs, tables, and the road—but time has passed since someone was last there. The time that has passed, whether long or short, changes the object as seen by the photographer.

Use the Portals and Screens project as a way to view scenes, or portals into scenes, absent of people but bearing the imprint of humans. I wonder what a photograph with no human imprint would look like. I wonder what a portal with no human imprint would look like? Is there a way to create this? Can you capture something so raw it lacks any trace of human presence?

—R

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