Bio

Johanna Siegmann – Artist’s Statement

I crave that moment which is different from every other moment. The instant after a subject thinks they’re done, and they relax, reveal, respond with total candor. I like to help them discover that the limits they set for themselves are way too low, too safe, too ordinary. Too limiting. The moment where they surpass their own expectations is as exhilarating to me as it is to them. The moment when they discover the beauty I see in them often moves me to tears.

Like most people, I am attracted to beauty. But not the perfect beauty seen in glossy glamour magazines, or in Hollywood’s increasingly constricted version of it. I seek the beauty created by jubilance, life force, intense curiosity, mischief. I like my beauty served with a dose of humor. A perfectly captured moment contains the flaws of life, the uncertainties that make it human, and therefore, accessible. Under the right circumstances, and with the right encouragement, everything and everyone is beautiful.

My philosophy applies to all my photography, whether it be people or landscapes. But I am also drawn to drama – the drama of space, and lighting, and wardrobe. Perhaps that is why so many of my images tend to be dark, lighting-wise. Well-lit images reveal everything. I want the viewer to have to look harder, longer at the image, and to fill in what is missing with their own thoughts, ideas, philosophies. And yet, I hope they are able to recognize something of themselves in the picture. I want interaction from my images, not just a passing acknowledgement of a scene well lit, or a landscape nicely captured. I want the viewer to be transported there, to ask questions, to have curiosity about what they are viewing. And to reward them with the surprise of discovering something not at first obvious in an image. For me, photography is participatory cycle which starts with an image and evolves into a dialogue with the viewer.

All my images are for sale. Please contact me for purchase, use, or licensing options.