urban renewal # 1 / ku # 781 ~ art? photography? both? neither?
Friday, September 17, 2010 at 10:51AM 
Without the APA ~ Whiteface and The Flume - somewhere in my head, in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Stormy sky ~ Lake Placid Resort GC - Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenI am about to do something that I rarely do* - enter a picture in a juried event.
Actually, 2 different juried events. 1 that is conducted by an Arts organization, the other conducted by a Photography organization. And, therein lies my dilemma. Let me explain ...
As noted and discussed in previous Landscapist entries, there are picture-makers who are artists and then there are artists who use photography. The distinction between the two can be rather complex. However, 1 particular difference is most often apparent - picture-makers who are artists tend to picture what they see, most likely with a very focused vision in a very specific genre, whereas artists who use photography tend to make pictures wherein the concept that drives the picture-making is the most important thing.
FYI, in the post-Szarkowski era, concept driven pictures are very much in favor with the Arts community / movers and shakers.
This distinction is not to say that the twain never meet although the concept MO most often mixes with the picture-makers who are artists crowd rather than the picture-what-you-see MO does with the artists who use photography crowd. That's because, in practice, concept driven picture-makers tend to "construct" their pictures with either staged picturing subjects or post-picturing manipulations of one kind or another, sometimes both. Neither technique lends itself to the notion of picturing what you see.
All of that said, it's back to my dilemma ... considering my 2 "picks" (see above) for the juried events, IMO, there little doubt that Without the APA is much more concept driven than Stormy sky is. Therefore, it seems obvious that that picture is much more suited to the juried event that is being conducted by the Arts organization. As mentioned, the Arts crowd really likes concept-driven work (of any art genre).
But, here's the real dilemma ... I also believe Without the APA to be the better choice for the juried event being conducted by the Photography organization.
Why so? Well, as I was purusing my collection of pictures - almost 3,000 pictures - for likely candidates for submission to the events, I was struck by the fact that, while many of my picture-what-I-see pictures are good (maybe great?) pictures, they make their strongest impression as part of a body of work rather than as stand-alone, AKA- "greatest hit", pictures.
Since I was entering in the Single Image category (in the Photography organization event), IMO, the Without the APA picture is the best picture for that juried event as well as the Arts organization event (which only accepts 1 piece per artist) .
That's because, in addition to it's concept-driven character, it is also a very good picture. It is, in a word, "interesting". As discussed in civilized ku # 669, the picture contains many of the qualities that make a picture "interesting" - What makes a photograph interesting? I’ll count the ways: It can be our first look at something. It can be entertaining. It can evoke deep emotions. It can be amusing or thrilling or intriguing. It can be proof of something. It can jog memories or raise questions. It can be beautiful. It can convey authority. Most often, it informs. And, it can surprise. ~ John Loengard
So, Without the APA it is for both juried events.
*I am not a fan of juried events / competitions. In part, that is because, even though quite obviously some pictures / bodies of work are better than others (some much better than others), I really don't think of picture-making as a form of competition. And, in additional to that notion and considering my experience as a judge for many juried events/contests (some of both national and international scope), such events really are crap-shoots that are entirely dependent upon the personal biases of any given judge. Hopefully, those biases are informed biases based on knowledge of the medium and its history but ....
Reader Comments (6)
Man, you could really twist yourself into a knot trying to figure this one out. Certainly Stormy Sky is on the surface a more classic "Art" landscape photograph. So the photograph division might be more accepting of it rather than Without the APA. (I'm sorry I don't get the APA reference). Here I'm guessing about what photograph group considers 'good'.
Without the APA is much more of a statement and has a lot going on in it. There is a lot happening. So... who knows? And as you note there's no way to guess the outcome. Fair Forward!
Ahh, I've got it: American Poolplayers Association!!!
Uhhh ... damn it.
Well, I could say American Pale Ale, as a few of those could romanticize (read: distort) your view of a landscape, though I'm guessing Adirondack Park Agency?
Why bother?
I know a couple of anecdotes about artists that entered what they thought the jury wanted to see for several years, only to decide that if they were going to lose anyway they might as well enter what they wanted to; at which point they won.
I wouldn't over think it.
That's my church in the background...DUPC