ROGER SCOTT
...The majority of these vintage photographs were taken over twenty years ago for Roger Scott's first exhibition at the Australian Centre for Photography in Paddington.
In November 2001, the late David Moore launched the book Roger Scott: From the Street (Chapter & Verse, Sydney, 2001) with the following words:
..."Robert McFarlane quotes Roger Scott as saying, 'When I see something really good, I almost shake with excitement'. What a splendid expression of the creative act that is! The situation; the edge of the moment; the knowing; the arrow of light passing through the lens. Another quote from Scott: 'Life is a joy and we should live it.' That expresses something that I have felt often. In my time I have learnt a lot from children who see the world as a fun place with many ridiculous elements while most adults tend to lose sight of the wacky world in their search for success and a fat bank balance.
..."Roger Scott holds up a photographic mirror so we can see how delightfully odd the human condition is. But his photography is much more than an exercise in fun. The pictures are sophisticated, intelligently structured and their meanings and suggestions move outside the frame. It is implied that there is more for us to consider. The old photojournalism technique of tunnel vision - where everything extraneous to the message was deleted by cropping - is not apparent in the Scott pictures. They have a continuity and sometimes an ambiguous meaning. I love ambiguity in photography. This ability of the picture to suggest that all is not as we perceive it can subtly influence the mind of the viewer for deeper meanings.
..."I also like to think of Roger as a magician. Of all the visual, creative mediums photography comes closest to rendering apparent actuality so that we tend to believe in what we see. But some of these pictures make us doubt what we see as statements of fact. There is a sleight-of-hand at work that asks us to question the truth of the image. Roger pulls more rabbits out of the hat than any other photographer I know. Another point: these images are of our time so their future historical relevance has the greatest importance. Each of these statements is a small time capsule for the future.
..."I first met Roger in the early 1970s when he had pictures in a group show at the Kirk Gallery in Surry Hills. Roger's work was fresh, original, amusing and heart-warming. The man was retiring, gentle and respectful - all qualities which add to his way of seeing, for there was no malice in those images. They were documents of love from a lover of life.
..."I once asked Roger how he managed to be so inconspicuous when mingling with a crowd. He said he always carried a spray-can of invisible liquid. Also he carries a Leica or two with a couple of short lenses. In 1972 he wrote '... photographing people with a telephoto lens is more like being a spy than a photographer.' How many pictures does he shoot on a subject? Generally three only and the last is often the telling one.
..."Australia and the world would be less of an enjoyable place without the remarkable vision of Roger Scott. His pictures are our pictures because we are his subject matter. They will live forever. It is a pleasure and a privilege to launch From the Street. Thank you Roger for this visual gift."
David Moore

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