Grant Erhart

Bio

Grant Ernhart is an artist living and working in San Francisco. He graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with a BFA in Photography. To see more of his work visit www.granternhart.com.

Statement

One morning while running in Golden Gate Park I came across a person sleeping on the forest floor. The way that the person was so tightly wrapped in their sheet and the beautiful quality of the light as well as the muted colors seemed almost mythological. Recognizing the potential for making a strong image, I immediately wished I had my camera so that I could make the picture, while another part of me questioned the morality of that impulse. As I continued my run I turned over those feelings in my head. The artist in me recognized something ironically beautiful about the situation. A scene that once photographed could potentially transcend the reality from which it was taken. Thanks to my art education I made all kinds of art historical references that further compelled me to make the image. However, these reasons were met with just as many potentially moral reasons for not taking the photograph. For example, if I made this photograph would this image ultimately be an act of exploitation? I lead a comfortable life. I live in a warm apartment, with food in my refrigerator and a cozy bed. Not even once have I been forced to sleep on the ground. I was not sure that I felt right taking a picture of an unsuspecting person with whom I felt I had so little in common. Upon finishing my run I went home, showered, ate lunch and, ultimately, decided that on my way to work I would stop by the woods with my camera and tripod. I had told myself that if the person were still there I would make the photograph.

While, I decided to take this picture, I do not in any way feel that I am speaking for this person. I feel empathic toward him or her, but that does not give me the permission to think I am speaking for them. My empathy provided me with questions about what I saw and those questions in part motivated me to create a photograph. By taking this picture, I am pointing at something that I have seen which made me think and, as an artist I offer it up to a greater audience that they too may wonder.