picture window (sort of) # 12 ~ let the howling begin
Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 09:06AM 
Covered bridge • click to embiggenWhile reading some quotes about photography, I came across 2 - under the heading of "Anonymous" - that, IMO, are related:
The type of photographs you make, the subjects you single out, reveal the person inside of you.
Of what use are lens and light to those who lack in mind and sight?
IMO, the reason that overwhelming majority of pictures made - by those trying to make art/Art - are trite, boring, repetitious, imitative, smaltz-y, unimaginative ... (pick your own "poisonous" word) is simply because .... (CAUTION: here comes the elephant in the room that no one talks about in the photo blog-o-sphere) .... well, "the type of photographs you make, the subjects you single out, reveal the person inside of you." and, just by taking a look at the state of human affairs, it seems quite obvious that there are lots of persons who "lack in mind and sight".
In a rather ironic way of looking at Art, it could be said that, if the best of Art deals with "what it means to be human" - and, increasingly, it seems that the sine qua non of humanity is avoiding reality - then all those ubiquitous (and brain-dead) pretty pictures of blazing mountain sunsets must be the real Art of our times.
Or, so it seems to me but, then again, maybe I'm just in a foul mood 'cause the Pens didn't win The Cup.
gravitas et nugalis
Hey people - some absolutely great comments from everyone.
For those who are just cruising my pictures or my words, take the time to read these comments.
Reader Comments (6)
I'm glad someone brought this up...of course it will not be painful for anyone to hear it because no one these days would ever believe that their world view lacks in "mind and sight." Even if they read the same 5 books, watch the same 5 movies, listen to the same 5 bands and think the same 2.5 thoughts, everyone is unique and beautiful and has a unique view of our world.
It makes me think of my favorite passage from John Spivey:
"On my way to black belt one of my teachers said, 'Anything you choose to study and master can be a Way. But if if doesn't lead you to find out who you really are, then it's just a clever behavior.' Monkey like, jump up and down for an audience clever behavior. Clever, clever monkey business. Do you really Know, or are you just clever? There is no end to the desire of cleverness, a drug to the spirit"
But then again..maybe the world is a shallow place? Maybe we have "progressed" (declined?) to the point where there is no perceived value in reality? Wouldn't that be scary?
Does this lead to a discussion of what people actually need vs. what they feel they want. If the masses are so devoid of any attachment to reality, why is reality TV so popular. I understand that it is the most blatant example of avoiding reality, but perhaps there is some underlying notion there that what people really long for is reality..we are just afriad of what we might see.
A. If you're a truly interesting person inside, you have the capability of making great pictures.
B. If you're only an average person inside, you can/cannot recognize or appreciate great pictures.
If both A and B are true, then I need to start taking some sunset photos.
"If something is good people like it." - John Giorno
Reality is a far strange artifact. But to the point, there always have been people trying to see some kind of psychological causality chain connecting an art work to his maker. Fortunately behind an artwork there is only the back (if it is two dimensional) i presume that this saves us a lot of hassles.
Anyway, speaking of what can be considered art or not, i have come to the idea (not strictly mine) that art is at most a convention between art estimators. The more estimators accept to call your work art the more your work could be considered artistic. But as you said a couple of posts ago you are in communications not in art :-D, i have found this healthier.
But to stay on the ironic side some times ago i came across this video, i found it pretty "realistic", can't remember the blog i saw it in the first time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDo_vs3Aip4
Mirrors and windows here is the phrase that occurs to me here.
To photograph the ideal sunset is to join the party and collude in the avoidance of reality. But if our photographs are mirrors then they should reflect this bogus and hollow party for what it is. And if they are windows then they should make us look hard at ourselves and help us understand why we do it.
A friend of mine (a write) and I were talking about self portraits and noticing that there are no "sunset" images involved in self portraits. Most self portraiture work is about people with inner demons or race/gender/social issues...but I think what he said can relate to this thread...
"there seems to be some law in the universe that happiness goes from in to out, and darkness goes from out to in; or that light gets sucked in, like into a blackhole. it would make sense then, that the artist, oft-tormented, turns the brush or words or camera onto him or herself and takes a look. chances are they're not going to see shiny-happiness. "
and this from dostoyevsky, "man is only unhappy because he believes himself to be unhappy. were anyone to tell him otherwise, he would awaken at once."
I just wanted to say that this is a great point that you bring up. I've learned the most about myself from the photographs I take. I wonder what my latest series reveals?