Paintings vs. Photos

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 76837

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Serena Moonsilver"
<serenamoonsilver at y...> wrote:
> I've not seen this posted, but I'm sorry if it's been discussed:
> 
> Why is it that painted portraits can talk but photos can't?  
> ...edited...
> Thoughts,opinions?
> 
> Serena

bboy_mn:
Here is my best guess as to the difference between a photo and a portrait.

Photo - cathces the essense of the moment.

Portrait - catches the essense of the person.

In the photo that Colin Creevey took of Harry and Lockhart, the images
in the photo are acting according to the essense of those people at
that moment. Harry wanted out of the photo and Lockhart desperately
wanted him in.

Photos are also capable of portraying an implied 'essense of the
moment'. In the news articles about Harry that were bad, the photo
acted shifty and sullen. In the photos of Harry that accompanied good
articles, the photos were happy, bright, and smiling. It's possible it
was the same photo each time, but the 'actor essense' of the photo
followed the context.

So not only do photos capture the essense of the moment they portray,
but they will also portray an essense that reflects the context in
which they are used. This is part of the foundation for my belief that
enchanted images are more like actors playing a role. (more on that later)

A portrait is capable of portraying a person's essense with a much
greater scope. First because the artist pours his time and talent into
the portrait, and because, to complete the 'living' enchantment, a
piece of the living person is added to the portrait image; finger
nail, hair, piece of skin, drop of blood. 

So a portrait truly does contain a piece of the living person that it,
as an actor, can draw on. That piece of the person is like a life DNA
in that it truly contains the essense of that person, their
personality, and their life; and therefore is able to project itself
as a seeming extension of the original person.

For more discussion of portraits in general and on my portraits as
actors theory, here is a link to a recent thread-
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/74923
This is the beginning of the thread, my post have been re-titled-
'Re: Portraits - living and dead'
'Re: Portraits - Additional: Actors Playing a Role'

Just a thought.

bboy_mn