The isomorphic nature of photography which simultaneously registers everything within the range of the camera as well as all that has been revealed by the light makes this medium most of all the carrier of information which also possesses the functions of a visual message (document).
     In photography which looks for artistic values, the relation between the photographer, the object and the image of the object is the key to their definition, as here the artist's personality is introduced into the pre-existing image of the object that gets transformed into the image/work The image/sign which thus comes into being lets us refer to the real world and to the meaning of the sign, lets us make out the idea and the problem contained in the work and allows for emotion and reflection. Therefore, it is "actualized" within a given concept and individuality of the artist, the originality of his language, expression and the power of the message. Photography as a specific model in contemporary culture in which everything seems to become outdated immediately, becomes a significant vehicle of communication and an important medium. Globalization, the Internet, cyberspace, domination of images and their extraordinary expansion slip out of our control, and the dynamic development of technology is the reason why new trends and tendencies quickly disappear into the past before they can take root in contemporary art. Invention of digital photography and its mass popularity reinforces the power and range of the influence of images, while the commonness and facility of the use of photography trivializes and depreciates its values. Due to the facility of "obtaining" digital images, photography in the classic sense of the term is liberated from the serfdom of accuracy and documentarism. It is now moving in the direction of free creativity and the production of its own, subjective images, while it presents the authors with an opportunity to make their comments on the world.
     The search for "values" is the search for one's private spheres of expression and creation; it is discovering that photography is a "mysterious" and sometimes magical being that reveals its identity only in part; and it is also the search for the wisdom of the message, its uniquness and specific originality. It is an Adventure within the sphere of art.

Witold Węgrzyn, May 2006