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This is darkness.
Darkness has no dimension.
There are
simple creatures who live in the eternal darkness of their own
bodies. There are others for whom nature has devised a window
to the mind. Complex. Sensitive. Efficient. But used only to
observe what is present; unconcerned with the past, unmindful
of the future.
Of all the
creatures there is one whose vision embraces more than that --
much more than that.
The eye. A
simple tool for measuring; the use of which some are skilled
and some are not. The eye. A complex instrument for the contemplation
of the unknown. The mysterious. The beautiful.
Long gone
from his ancestral home, man can no longer easily penetrate its
dark shadowed corner. Those who live in its limitless chambers
can but in them there is no wonder. The thirst to know is man's
alone.
That has led
him to devise the means to enlarge his vision. To reveal what
he cannot see with the unaided eye so that he might know and
understand.
Generations
of learning, yet we are born without knowledge. All we know we
acquire. Observing. Exploring. Experiencing.
There are
objects which suggest imitation and imitation is the beginning
of leaning. There are objects which exist to be chased and sometimes
to be watched with wonder and envy and speculation.
Only man can
envision the future. Where once there was nothing he builds and
gives reality to his vision.
There are
natural objects in which the knowing eye reads the distant past.
The forces once greater than the comprehension of man. Of events
unseen by any living man. Constructive, violent, destructive
beauty. Molding. Altering. Shaping the face of the earth.
There are
man-made objects whose complex and delicate symbols, to the unknowing
eye, mean nothing.
But all men
are gifted to the alchemy of sight; the power of seeing one form
in the shape of another. Of bringing an object to life in the
eye of the imagination.
But reality
inevitably returns. Man struggles to preserve his visions and
his dreams. Man recognizes the strength of reality. He accepts
it and becomes part of it. Seeking always for a more perfect
perception of reality we grow impatient with our physical limits.
Some events
occur too quickly for our comprehension. The camera slows down
the truth so we can see.
Of all the
images which flow by in endless procession there are some we
wish to keep, a particular moment. So we preserve the image as
a tangible memory.
In all living
things there is hidden promise of growth. A growth too slow for
the eye, almost invisible. The camera speeds up the truth. Our
vision is enriched so we can see and understand.
Knowledge
has no boundaries. The horizons are forever receding. The more
we are able to see, the more we look for. The more we question,
the more there is to question. The more we contemplate, the greater
is our need for contemplation.
Once firmly
believing that he stood at the center of the universe man has
learned how small is his place in the totality of all there is.
But man's
spirit knows no boundaries and his vision, aided by the searching
eye of the camera, penetrates ever further into the reaches of
the universe.
For there
is so much to see. So much to learn. So much to know. And the
promise of knowledge and beauty is the reward of the searching
eye.
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