civilized ku # 127 ~ Liberty's face

Wandering around Lady Liberty's island • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 126 ~ the huddled masses yearning for lunch

Hugo eats a pizza • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 125 ~ have some fun

On the ferry to the Statue of Liberty ~ NYC • click to embiggenI think that it would stating the obvious to say that a picture with people in it is different from one without people. But, beyond the obvious visual content, it seems to me that the underlying dynamic of a picture is radically changed, especially so considering this characteristic of the medium:

The advantage photography has over any other art form is its ability to free a moment in time, allowing the viewer to see things which would otherwise remain hidden. ~ Lician Perkins

If one is inclined to believe that the medium of photography is capable of "allowing the viewer to see things which would otherwise remain hidden", and I place myself firmly in that camp, then a picture with people in it has so much more potential to unmask the "hidden" than say your typical landscape picture. Not that the best of landscape pictures don't have much to reveal, it's just that potentially, to my eye and sensibilities, each and every person depicted in a picture has something "hidden" to reveal.

Consider today's diptych. IMO, a talented writer could easily write a very involving short story from the wealth of "revealed" information in those two pictures. One could easily spend a considerable amount of time getting to know each and every person depicted therein.

Of course the "knowing" that one intuited and the short story would be completely fictitious. But, once again to my eye and sensibilities, that's one of the great beauties of the medium - that a picture is both true and false.

That is to say that on the purely visual level, the picture is very true. It depicts a moment in time with a great deal of clarity and precision. An attuned viewer can feel the weather and the gentle roll of the boat. One can see a potpourri of nationalities and ages as well as some apparent relationships. There is an obvious and almost singular air of focus on the part of the crowd. And then there is the object of attention, the Statue of Liberty. The very attuned viewer might also notice what is missing in the righthand picture - near the left side of the skyline, the World Trade Center buildings are not where they are supposed to be.

All of that is true and the stage is now set for the fun to begin.

Now, I am not about to tell you what fun you can have, but I will say that amongst the many story possibilities to be "seen" that affects me is the one that this diptych mimics from approximately 120 years ago - the huddled masses yearning to be free entering NY harbor and being greeted / welcomed by Lady Liberty. What a sight, what a moment, repeated over and over again, that must have been.

a f***ing idiot ~ moose are returning update

Last week I made an entry about attempting to picture a moose in the wild. In that entry I mentioned the idiots who shot a moose in our area.

Well, those jerks still have the honor of being the worst, but the moron pictured here (from the front page of today's Lake Placid News) is running a close second.

The thing that makes this all the more idiotic is the fact that several onlookers were yelling at and imploring the woman to back off and leave the moose alone. To which she replied, "I know what I'm doing."

The one thing that makes this incident incomplete is that the moose kept her cool and didn't get violent. Not that I want anyone to get hurt (well maybe I really do want that), but if that happens, I certainly hope that the horse doesn't get injured.

Update on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 09:31AM by gravitas et nugalis

Aaron bags a moose - most likely a calf of the cow pictured above.

civilized ku # 124 ~ even more NYC trees and foliage

Even more NYC trees and foliage ~ Battery Park, NYC • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 123 ~ more NYC trees and foliage

More NYC trees and foliage ~ Battery Park, NYC • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 122 ~ soft and hard

No. 38 E. Houston with morning newspaper ~ East Village, NYC • click to embiggenAs mentioned, I'm back from 3 days in NYC. As per my usual wont, there are many pictures to share. At times I feel like Dominic Rouse who stated ...

Images ooze out of me like puss from a running sore.

... although, I am not certain that I would express the idea with that degree of implied affliction.

Nevertheless, it does seem that I just can't help myself when it comes to making pictures. I've said it before - it seems like every where I go and every place I look, I see something to picture. Not that a place like NYC is lacking for picture possibilities. In fact, I would imagine that whatever your picture-making bent, there is subject aplenty in NYC.

One NYC subject that has captured my attention is that of the trees and foliage which are to be found throughout the city. Setting aside those trees/foliage planted and nurtured by public works, it's rather amazing what private citizens are doing with trees and foliage. It seems that they are engaging in a well organized attempt to "soften" the sea of concrete, brick, and glass which forms the visual makeup of the city.

But, I really doubt that it is an organized activity. Rather I would suggest that it is a reaction to the "cold" nature of the seemingly endless environment of "hardness" by individual actors who unwittingly act in concert. The net result, at least to my eye and sensibilities, is a very visually, emotionally, and intellectually engaging idea which would make for a great body of work.

Like I need another idea.

I'm back

The Cinemascapist at the Collette Blanchard Gallery ~ NYC • click to embiggenAaron's opening was very well attended. It drew a very interesting crowd and he sold some prints that night (as well as some pre-opening sales made by the gallery). This opening took place almost exactly one year after his first NYC show and I must say that both his work and his presentation of it have evolved considerably. I guess that's why he's had a few repeat collectors buying his work.

In any event, the gallery owner/director believes that she can sell at least 1/2 of the prints available in the show - that would be 30 sales (10 prints, editions of 6). Now that would be quite something.

Update on Monday, November 17, 2008 at 10:39AM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Matt asked: "How do you catch a collector's interest enough to keep them coming back for more?"

my response: On one hand, that's simple enough to do - just make interesting pictures and have really good gallery representation.

On the other hand, the really complicated and difficult part is to just make interesting pictures and have really good gallery representation.

I'm not attempting to be amusing because it's true - it does seem "easy" once you've made interesting pictures and have really good gallery representation but either and/or both of those prerequisites are not so easily accomplished.

That said, I'll be making an entry this week about the inside look I've had over the last year into the NYC Art/gallery world.

Featured Comment: Martin Doonan asked: "What is the print nearest left?"

It's this one - incident at the flume