civilized ku # 47 ~ the $64,000 question, or, would I give myself a 1-man show at MoMA?

Everything every which way • clck to embiggenRobert asks; "So your own work, this photo in particular, where do you think it stands? Decorative or more than that?"

Robert was not actually referring to this picture - everything every which way - he posed the question on the green chair and towel entry of earlier today. But, here I sit on Friday night in an empty house - the wife and step-princess are off to the Jersey shore for a week of sweltering beach fun - so, with plenty of time on my hands, I thought the question important enough to warrant a journal entry reply.

Let me state right from the get-go that this is not an easy question for me to answer but I'll give it an honest effort. It's not easy for me to answer because, ultimately, I don't think it's for me to decide whether my picture(s) are 'Decorative or more than that' - that judgement is really for viewers of my picture(s) (not to mention the test of time) to decide.

That said, let me offer the following personal opinions about my picture(s).

First and foremost, my intention with my picture(s) is to illustrate and illuminate. To picture the object of my gaze (referent/subject) in a visually interesting/intriquing way, which serves as a 'prick' (the punctum) to engage the intellect and emotions of the viewer. To engage in a manner that is quiet and contemplative, not screaming with shock-and-awe phototechnics. To engage the intellect and emotions in a manner that attempts to reconcile Art with Life.

At the risk of sounding immodest (why not, I've rarely be accused of being a shrinking violet), I know from feedback and comments (online, gallery goers, portfolio presentations, etc.) that my picture(s) 'connects' beyond the obvious to many viewers. I also know from feedback and comments that my picture(s) make pleasing visual use of the 2 dimensional surface of a paper print. 'Unconventional' use, perhaps, but whatever else they might be, they just look good hanging on a wall.

So, I believe that my picture(s) serve both a decorative (illustrate) and a fine Art (illuminate) goal.

At least that's how I see it.

Update on Saturday, July 28, 2007 at 12:19PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Jame Robinson wrote; "I am glad Robert asked the question, becuase I was curious about this myself. Because I have a past that can relate to such a scene...thoughts and emotions that are capable of resurfacing because of a personal history in the Adirondacks...this was a way of looking at and being drawn to the familiar, some might say mundane. Not that I have never seen, necessarily, a green chair and towel, but the fact that something otherwise mundane just became attractive, emotional, and possibly even narrative based on my own Adirondack experiences makes it work for me.

I know "that light" and "that forest" and the beauty of stepping out of an island forest onto the smallest of beaches for a swim at dusk or at dawn. I have reflected on "that beach" endlessly...I never saw it through a photograph of a green chair and a towel hung up to dry. Based on what I bring, this one is Art for me."

my response: Jame, thanks very much for the response. FYI, all - opposing/other points of view are also welcome.

civilized ku # 46 ~ totems

Rainy day at the Old Forge hardware store • click to embiggenMike Johnston's recent post, The Moon and Venus, on his blog, theonlinephotographer, raises the issue of '.... Like it or not, I would say that for most people who use cameras, most of our pictures have purely personal meaning. Take this shot for instance ... chances are you'll have forgotten it completely by this time next week ...'

Well, I'm like 'most people' - my pictures do have personal meaning but I also like to think that they are not so much of the navel-gazing variety as to not speak to the 'universal'. That said, I also think that my strength, photography-wise, is in my body of work. Sure, I have some very nice 'stand-alones' but, for me, projects and series are the thing.

Here's my current dilema. I have returned from last week's trip with over 500 pictures, at least 45-50 of which make a very nice series about the experience of a place called Inlet. Now, if I doled these pictures out, 1 or 2 a day on The Landscapist, it would take a month to convey a real sense of the place - way too long to test anyone's attention span on the fast-and-furious blog-o-sphere.

So stay tuned. There's an Inlet Gallery on the way.

civilized ku # 45 ~ the mighty Penn & the mighty pen

Summer seduction & The Mighty Penn • click to embiggenI'm back in the saddle again ... but this time I'm a bit restless because the saddle's got a burr in it. Rather than just a single-pointed burr, this one is more nettle-like - lots of little irritating hairs - so it's a bit complicated to figure out.

One thing I do know about it is that one of the more irritating points is about The Landscapist. After having some time to speak a big part of my piece and, in the process, deal with and resolve some personal hanging chad issues (photography-wise), I am re-evaluating the idea of blogging. The thought process revolves mainly around the concept of what's in it for me?

From all of your many email cards and letters I know that many of you enjoy and appreciate The Landscapist. By all accounts it gives cause for many of you to think about the medium of photography beyond the equipment/technique/entertainment bounds. Good for you. I'm glad to be of service.

As much as I enjoy climbing into the pulpit (almost everyday) and sermonizing, I need more than just the wife to tell me I'm full of s*** (or whatever). By all accounts, you're out there thinking and I really want to read and see what it is you're thinking about. Chantal did a great job last week of doing just that. Don't more of you have something to show and tell? The Guest Photographers Forum is open to all (just ask for the keys) and I think I would also like to extend the invitation for journal entry content from anyone who is interested.

In the best of all worlds, I would like to assemble a cast of regular contributors - and not-so-regulars as well - who can add their occasional 2 bits/bytes to the proceeedings.

Any takers?

And, PS - is the Mighty Penn really America's Greatest Living Photographer?

Update on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at 09:23AM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Robert wrote; 'The Vogue looks so out of place... which is probably the point. Hey, did I get it right?'

my response: well, sort of. The Voque was rather 'out of place' - not exactly the type of reading you expect to find in a cabin on an island in a 'wilderness' setting. But.. the genius being in the details, what struck me as really odd was the cover article about photographer Irving Penn - I felt kind of like Rick in Casablanca ..."Of all the gin mills in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine..." I mean what are the chances that of all the rental cabins, in all the Adirondacks, a Vogue magazine 'walks' into mine? And not just any Vogue, but one that has a cover article naming Irving Penn (the mighty) as 'America's Greatest Living Photographer'.

Weird karma.

civilized ku # 44 ~ I'm back

On top of it all • click to embiggenI'm back and sorting through about 500 pictures from our trip. Hugo and the wife and I flew half way home in a seaplane. Does Hugo look like he's having fun?

Much thanks to Chantal for a job well done. I have yet to spend time reading everything in-depth but I am especially intrigued by the Hilliard interview. I have the book and its one of my favorites. Cinemascapist Aaron also has it. He contacted Hilliard and introduced him to his Cinemascapes and Hilliard sent Aaron a very generous note of encouragement.

Good stuff, Chantal, and thanks again.

civilized ku # 43 ~ dead end thinking

Sidewalk and shrubs • click to embiggenIt has been opined elsewhere that ... photography is about creating meaning from one fleeting instance, where all events preceding and following it are irrelevant ...

IMO, this fuzzy-headed statement is a rather succinct definition, probably an inadvertent one, of pictures which are created for 'entertainment' - i.e., as decorative art. Pictures which have no depth of meaning whatsoever other than what a fast and furious glance might reveal.

While photography certainly has a unique relationship with 'time' which differs radically from all the other visual arts, one which rips and isolates a single moment from the stream of time as we know it, to say that that one moment is all that matters is rather ridiculous. Why? Because, with a kind of cause-and-effect manner of thinking, much of the meaning and depth of a picture comes from its time-fragmented relationship to what has come before and what might follow its "frozen" moment and how all of that relates to what it means to be human.

This characteristic of pictures as Art (as opposed to decoration) works together with photography's other characteristic of framing (which rips and isolates a single fragment of space from the physical universe as we know it) to weave a spell of an implied/suggested relationship to time and space. In most cases, it is precisely what came before and what might come after the 'decisive' moment that a skilled photographer is trying to help us 'see'.

This is exactly what happens for those with an imagination and curiousity when they view a picture which is created to engage rather than deaden a fuller range of the senses and the mind.

Think about it.

Update on Monday, July 9, 2007 at 10:15AM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Paul Maxim wrote; ... I would suggest that even the most mindlessly snapped image does have some context (although admittedly the "snapper" is probably totally unaware of it) ... Context. My point, I guess, is that it's there even when people aren't looking for it, or more importantly, even when they aren't trying to express it.'

My response: Paul, IMO, it is ever thus with photography because of one of its other characteristics - the one that distinguishes it from the other visual arts - its relationship to the referent, the thing which is pictured. With the exception of pure abstractions, every photograph has a context with time, space, culture, etc. This is true whether the maker of the picture, as you point out, is aware of it or not.

civilized ku # 42 ~ once again, small is beautiful

Adirondack rustic in the making • click to embiggenOne of the totally wonderful things about living in the largest wilderness in the east is that wood is in plentiful supply so, when we decided to rustic-up (replace) our front porch, we have been able to 'buy local'.

In this picture, everything below the roof joists is cedar purchased from local mills. The cedar decking is from one of the 'big' lumber companies. The cedar posts and the rough-cut 2×10 pine header is from a 'nut-job' about a mile down the road by the name of Howard Aubin - our local black-helicopter, the government's coming to take me away today, hate the APA with a passion conspiracy freak. He doesn't smell too good either.

That said, he's as honest and hard working as the day is long.

In the true Adirondack rustic building tradition, we're kind of winging it, design-wise, with the porch. But with Howard so close and ever-willing to rip to order, it's working out very well. We get to a point where we haven't really thought ahead all that much and we just sort of make it up on the spot and then I run over to Howards and have him whip up whatever we dream up.

As I said before, small is beautiful.

civilized ku # 41 ~ a walk in the forest #8

Traces and evidence of a different world • click to embiggenI'll be gone early tomorrow (Friday) so I'm posting this on Thursday evening. For those who have been following the walk in the forest/abandoned mill series, all of the pictures from the walk (for those of you coming from theonlinephotographer, they are all made with the Oly E-510) can be viewed here.

There are a number of pictures that have not yet been posted here and I think it's interesting to see them all together without words. Let me know what you think.

civilized ku # 40 ~ a bug's life

Ron watches me watching bugs • click to embiggenLast evening during dinner we discovered these guys doing whatever it is they are doing. Whatever they are doing, they were still doing it this morning.

Maybe I left the cap off the Viagra.

There were 3 teenage girls at the table and the conversation rapidly devolved into giggles. They eventually deduced that the bugs must be gay because whatever they are doing, they are doing it cheek-to-cheek.

In any event ... Obladi, oblada, life goes on, rah. Lala how their life goes on.