Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Eric Welch wrote: > > I fail to see how candid portrait fails this test. Candid > and portrait are opposites in my book, contradictory and absurd as a > combination. Like jumbo shrimp, military intelligence, and more erudite > combinations if it weren't so late that I can't think of them. Eric, the two you mention are contradictions in terms, not oxymorons. The requirement is that the adjective be used for effect. jumbo shrimp are simply big crustaceans (relatively). though having served time in military intelligence perhaps disqualifies me from this discourse!! The cliche example of a true oxymoron is "silent thunder." Thunder obviously isn't quiet, but "silent thunder" is a little like a zen koan--you can't think it, but it helps to throw you into perception beyond the rational. It is not a scientific definition of an event, but a way to communicate more related to art. I recommend reading Peter Beagle's book "The Last Unicorn" for the most exquisite use of metaphors and occasional oxymorons. Not the movie, the book! Or try Trevanian's novel "Shibumi" for some concepts of perception and consciousness of great value to photographers (that our Japanese friends probably understand innately), and which relate to the spirit of oxymorons. Of course, I like the book for my empathy with the main character as a world-class lover, but that's a topic for another post when my mind is not, perhaps, in a crystalline fog of self delusion. donal - -- __________ Donal Philby San Diego www.donalphilby.com