The best documentary work is as complex as its subject matter, does not attempt to fully resolve itself, and forces the viewer…

“The best documentary work is as complex as its subject matter, does not attempt to fully resolve itself, and forces the viewer to interpret the work and engage with the subject matter independently. Filmmakers Dziga Vertov and Werner Herzog come to mind. Why no still photographers? Because the best still photographers have fled from any association with ‘documentary’ as the field has become increasingly parochial, stiff and old-fashioned. Still photographers are the most conservative and least ambitious of visual artists because they are tethered to the photojournalistic tradition and to the general public’s misunderstanding of the medium as a tool of faithful communication. For documentary to be born again, those practicing it and those looking at it must accept that truth cannot be found or created within its bounds, only art.”

–Gregory Halpern in what I consider a must-read piece onAmerican Suburb X  (viabryanschutmaat)