Photography and Fine Art.......

...... can be seen as opposite ends of a continuum, with the former having its roots and tradition firmly grounded in representation, where the viewer is asked  to step into the shoes of the photographer and share that moment. Portrait, landscape or documentary photograph, all share this modus operandi.

At the other end is expression, where the artist works to express his/her own voice, and the camera moves from being an object in its own right, a vital and important participant and contributor, to a capture device, used to gather material for later manipulation, for the artist to use in expressing him/herself.

Tony Bridge

Thought for the day......

Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.

– Tom Stoppard, “Artist Descending a Staircase”

Thoughts on deconstructing the photographic image.

The majority of photographic images one views on a daily basis is for the most part self explanatory. It serves as a conveyor of information. Journalism that we watch on the daily news every evening, advertising attempting to sell on on a product and so on. Other forms serve the scientific community, documents various events like family, weddings, travel and other snapshots that become records of our past lives.

Fine art photography, that which serves no utilitarian purpose, attempts to go one step beyond that which is depicted. As Minor White put it "Vision without association - pristine vision." Alfred Steglitz photographed clouds and titled them "equivalents." Minor states "When a photograph functions as an Equivalent we can say that at that moment, and for that person the photograph acts as a symbol or plays the role of a metaphor for something that is beyond the subject photographed." He goes on to say "One should not only photograph things for what they are but for what else they are."

So what else can they be? Here I'll use an example of one of my own photographs. I usually tend to leave most of my work untitled but this particular photograph I titled "Trinity."

Attempting to deconstruct this image one immediately can see there are three focal points or subjects in this image. The iron cross, the Citroen or CV2 as it is commonly called and the fire hydrant.

The iron cross can be construed as a symbol for Christianity. The CV2 a means of modern transportation. And the fire hydrant a means of salvation. Without the fire hydrant's presence we could possibly be consumed by fire.

The term trinity in the Catholic faith refers to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In their order of appearance and size they can be construed as the Father (God), the largest, the CV2 (Jesus, the Son), our means of salvation and transportation to heaven and fire hydrant (the Holy Spirit), the fiery means to kindle our passion to reach heaven.

Or they could lack any of these meanings and be just what they appear to be. Three objects aligned against the wall of a small church in a French church's courtyard. The interpretation for the most part is left to the viewer. Did I see these objects with the symbolism as described above when they caught my attention? I'll leave that to your imagination.

Suggested reading:
On Looking at Photographs. 
Text by Bill Jay and David Hurn. 
LensWork Publishing, Portland, 1999. 96 pp., 6½x9½". 
Following their highly successful first collaboration, On Being a Photographer, this volume presents Hurn and Jay's discussions about the medium itself. Topics include photographing and the act of looking at photographs, along with more closely focused examinations of content and meaning, the rarity of true merit, the place of art in photography, and the role of morality. 

Photographer/Artists Statements

Recently a friend and fellow photographer/artist has been struggling with rewriting a revision to her artist's statement. I can sympathize with her since I've never been able to structure anything I've been fully satisfied with myself. Every time I think I've put something together and go back to read it some days later I find it a bit elitist and pompous at the least. Art speak has never been part of my vocabulary. Actually I feel my best vocabulary is that of the visual vocabulary. As the photographer Edouard Boubat put it "Don't try to explain the photograph; let it keep its mystery." Or better yet the phrase that is widely attributed to Frederick R. Barnard reads  "A picture is worth a thousand words." 

So I thought I'd do some investigations into what other photographers/artist had to say about their work and found statements that ran from the ridiculous to the absurd. Below are some of my findings.

"This ongoing series explores how the past remains with us, if only in shadows. These images capture fleeting memories, spotted from the corner of an eye that vanish the moment we turn to really look. And yet they remain, for the imprint remains with us. We are living in the present, but the past reminds us that it is part of us, too, as is the future, and we of them."

Huh?

"With this body of work as with my former series, I captured these visions entirely in-camera using a collection of hand-made film cameras and lenses that are frequently unpredictable and technically challenging. The cameras are primarily made out of plastic, vintage camera parts and random household objects and the single element lenses are molded out of plastic and rubber. Learning to overcome their extensive limitations has required me to rely on instinct and intuition – the same tools that are key when trusting in the unseen."

I think we should take up a collection for the former so they can purchase a decent camera and lens. Film cameras are quite affordable these days.

"I have always felt a close kinship to animals in my waking life and in dreams. As a child, I was fascinated by the Native American belief that upon birth an animal's spirit enters into that person in order to keep each person strong and wise as well as to excel in matters of attributes given to that animal. I'm not sure I grasped the concept entirely at that young age, but I am certain the belief took root deep in my unconscious, as animals have had a profound impact in my dreams and in my life."

I remember some Bob Dylan lyrics that went "I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours!" But without seeing these images I would guess the above photographer loves photographing wildlife?

"With this series as well as On Waking Dreams, I wanted to find a way to portray these types of dream-like visions, but entirely in-camera, rather than with post-processing manipulations. To achieve this, I created twenty hand-made cameras and lenses that are frequently unpredictable. Learning to overcome their extensive limitations has required me to rely on instinct and intuition - the same tools key for attempting to interpret dreams."

Interesting! I guess this photographer hasn't heard about Photoshop.

"When the Face of Night exposes the soul within, it is only then that we see clearly what is beyond the expected. This is a portfolio of work consisting of a series of black and white candid, night photographic images that are intended to provoke compelling, mysterious emotions of uncertainity."

I'm uncertain if the viewer of those images were provoked in that direction.

"This artist's images...exude a...sense of expanse and the quiet buzz that consumes the mind when one considers something trapped between bleak and magnificent."

Really?

"This artist calls on the rich visual history of film and narrative photography in her works, often citing personal and fictitious memories of childhood. In the Sparrow Lane series, she maps out the transition to womanhood through the story of a group of intensely curious adolescent females exploring their domestic surroundings, like a Nancy Drew story: revealing hidden passages, mysterious clues like skeleton keys and golden lockets. For this artist, these discoveries and mysteries are metaphors for rites of passage and the inevitable loss of innocence. Her coordination of rich, stylized color palettes, elaborate sets and dramatic lighting recall Hitchcock thrillers, fashion photography and tableau photographers like Gregory Crewdson."

Sounds to me like these images would make a better novel than a photo series.

"I am deeply interested in people. People are everything to me, they are my source for happiness, sadness and of course inspiration. My aim is to create "real" images, I attempt to expose what is going on deep within the psyche of my subjects."

"Real" images? Does photography not create "real" images?

Ben Breard, owner of the Afterimage Gallery, made some recommendations for photographer's websites.

"Pompous artist’s statements: Get rid of those long, rambling poorly written statements that take you days to write and end up saying nothing of substance. The worst offenders are landscape photographers; no one gains oneness with the universe by looking at your picture of a rock. People really say things like this! Most all these statements I read are all similarly metaphysical and preposterous. Often artists’ statements are indeed necessary, but sometimes simple facts or biographical information will suffice. Assuming he would hear something profound, an interviewer once asked the late Imogen Cunningham what thoughts go through her mind when she trips the shutter. She replied that she simply thinks to herself, “I got it!”

He also includes must-have words for your artist’s statement: universal, all-encompassing, transcendent, mystical, deepening, glowing, unchanging, photographic, visionary, luminous, spiritual, life-affirming, artistic, intrinsic, insight, reality, perception, experience, concept, unveiling, realization."

Many of those "must haves" sound a bit like art speak to me. And below is a bit of that "absurd" I spoke of earlier. This website asks:

What would you like someone else to say of your work?

This is possibly the best way to get to the heart of why you took these photos. If you would love for someone to say “these photos bring sunshine to my home”, then you already have a pretty good starting point for your statement. Lead off with something like “I have done my job as an artist if these photos bring happiness and warmth to your home”.

Actually a chord of firewood, preferably oak or cherry, would bring more warmth to my home than most photographs. Thanks but no thanks. And the last of the "ridiculous to the absurd"..........

"Okay... This is my little narcissistic page where I get to talk about myself for a few paragraphs. Many photographers have grandiose statements about art, spirituality, and the symbolism of the universe. In comparison, my aesthetic is very simple and straight-forward: try to capture interesting places and moments in time and make them as beautiful as possible. Since we can't always be in the places we love, we can at least take the image with us to remember and share with others. (Oh wait... that does sound a bit grandiose.)

I have enjoyed hiking and exploring mountains, canyons, and cities since I was very young... always taking photographs, but it was only a few years ago that I began taking it seriously. I find it quite rewarding to continually search for that elusive perfect shot..."

Now that's my kind of statement. Well..... actually if I were a snap shooter it would suffice. And the elusive perfect shot? Perfection is an absolute and there are no absolutes. Photo books and websites are filled with dewey spider webs and endless sunsets. I'd rather watch the sun set than photograph it.

Now here is what I call a straightforward artist's statement. Clear, concise and to the point. As the Brits say "Spot on!" This artist's statement comes from Lorrie McClanahan. A painter and photographer I know thru Flickr. Lorrie is from Fort Worth, Texas and I'm amazed with her energy and output. Lorrie's website is at: http://lorriemcclanahan.com/home.html

"I’ve lived in a construction zone for over four years, observing and photographing the stakes, flags, cones, and excavations that accompany this activity. I’m fascinated by the hot pink and orange markers and tolerant of the mess, which for me has a strangely compelling beauty. This changing landscape has revealed to me that destruction is an inherent part of building, just as the dual forces of construction and destruction are a part of life in general—and the creative process in particular.

For years I’ve cut up paintings for collages. Now, through the use of a camera and computer, I’m able to do this with abandon, knowing that I have a usable record of the original. I use painting, photography and digital media, by themselves or mixed, to produce any given image. I enjoy embedding actual and digital fragments from older works into newer ones, creating continuity where there are no obvious connections. Paintings that no longer exist take on a new life, and in this sense destruction hardly seems possible. Likewise, I've come to see that the notion of original work is nebulous and pliable.

The images and media I use overlap and dissolve. In the process, so do distinctions between what builds and what breaks down. Just as processes and mediums bend to take on other identities, so, too, do ideas about what is lost and what remains in a piece of art or our own lives. Fragments resurface like human memories, merging to form something new and unexpected."

As for my artist statement I think I'll keep it simple. "I photograph. Therefore I am!" Opps! I Googled that and found there are 7,290 results for that statement. Just goes to show that there is nothing new in art or artist's statements!

The visual art PoP?

For those techies who suffer from Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) fumbling through your 4, 6 and soon to come 9G cell phones, iPods, iPads and Kindles this art is for you! Or maybe this just might be art for the populous? Hence...... (Really) PoP Art!

All this said with tongue in cheek of course.

A few thoughts on the popularity of the works of Takashi Murakami

Having recently been introduced to and later thoroughly researching the works of the artist Takashi Murakami I’m wondering what all the buzz is about. In many cases he is regarded in the art world as “the next big thing.” But looking at his work all I see is redundancy. The old echos of of Pop. It has been said that what is old is new again but I believe that what is old is just that. Old. Just another rehash. Murakami, in a video interview, himself stated that it might be once in a hundred years that one or two artists might bring something new and innvovative to the world of art. Might this be an excuse for his repetitions?

Upon my first viewing of his sculptures the first artist who came to mind was Jeff Koons. His large scale metal works are the closest knock-off of Koons work replacing Koons’ rabbit with a mouse on steroids.

    

Koons’ Rabbit                           Murakami’s Mouse

His work also rivals Koons’ in that his amount of output is astounding. And like Koons he probably has access to an unlimited amount of financing and a labor force that would rival that of the building of the pyramids. Deep pockets must have realized the potential of profitability of mass manufacturing of Louis Vuitton fashionable artifacts like the pillows, wallpaper, handbags, T-shirts and woman’s accessories trademarked with the Murakami signature.

And speaking of universal signatures how about Mickey Mouse?

And it’s variation on a theme......

An inexhaustible supply for variations.

Where can it all end? Or will it end?

Murakami’s duplicities are reminiscent of Warhol’s soup cans, the scale reminiscent of Rosenquist’s billboard paintings, and the saleability being that of the smiley face of Harvey Ross Ball.

The commercial potential of Murakami’s Pop re-dos could put American commerce back on the map! He certainly has all the chutzpah which rivals that of P.T. Barnum who was quoted as saying “There’s a sucker born every minute!”

So is this where art in the twentieth century has taken us? Is the joke on us? The Pop artists of the mid twentieth century held Edward Hopper in high esteem and considered Hopper as the father of Pop. Seems Koons and the Pop artists of the last century have become the mentors for Murakami with his take on Pop reinventing itself on steroids. Thinking that great art should build on what came before it I see Murakami’s work just giving a new face to an old art form. But hey, who can pass up the big bucks in a suffering economy. And the suckers are eating it up!

Waiting for the next big thing. Waiting...... waiting.