Hi all:
Greetings from sunny Trexlertown, PA - where, having finished my asiago cheese bagel, I sit listening to R.E.M.'s 'Life's Rich Pageant.' It just doesn't get much better than that!
Still no new prints to show - something about this image I mentioned in my last couple of posts is bugging me. I've worked the image to the point where I'm ready to move forward - if I want to. But really, I'm not sure I do. Technically, it looks like my work in some ways, but it isn't really screaming out to me the way my other work does when I feel like I'm onto something. I should probably do a test print or something - but I'm having a hard time getting motivated to do it.
As a means of distraction, I took in 3 more rolls of film to scanning guru Tom - who didn't look happy that I was adding 10 more scans to his pile. Maybe it's because I showed up without calling first - which isn't the usual arrangement. He's a nice, talented guy - not someone I want to piss off. An e-mail apology might be in order. Anyway, the story of this film is that I shot it when I was last in Chicago - much of it at the same site as some of my other work. But, when I dropped off the last batch of images with Tom, I forgot/misplaced them. Once I got there, I thought to myself "dude, I know you shoot selectively, but you sure as hell shot more than THAT! And what the f--k happened to that one image, and that other one...?" I found them a short time later, buried in a drawer for safekeeping - all processed, but still uncut and in the canisters.
I have higher hopes for this batch - though I was more excited about a few of these when I first saw them than I am now. I'm starting to think it's my mood or something - I've been a little bit of a crank lately (and yes, more than usual you smart-asses!)
My new goal, which I just though of while writing this entry, is to have my portfolio completely revamped by the end of the year. Seems like a tall order, since the work on the site spans 10 years. But, I really want to replace some of the older work and get things more cohesive-looking. I've been told that people can see an evolution of my work, which is good, but the time has come to switch out some of that older stuff - even though I still like some of it.
I've been thinking about an article I recently read in Aperture Magazine. It was a review of an exhibit at The Whitney some time ago called "We Are All Photographers Now." The show was predicated on a very interesting concept - thousands of images were submitted by amateurs and professionals, most of them electronically. Much of it was consumer/user-generated content from cell phones, low-end digital cameras, etc. Anyway, the article talks about how the role of the museum has changed (no longer the most-effective venue to reach a wide audience, purely prestige now, etc.) and the fact that, as the title states, everyone is a photographer now. However, as I read the article, I was reminded of a famous quote by Robert Heinecken: "There is a vast difference between taking a picture and making a photograph." I believe this now, more than ever - for every high school student doing amazing things with a homemade digital camera, there are millions and millions of pictures that are simply...pictures. Commercial and stock photography is another discussion (shrinking client budgets, etc.), but in the art world, the cream still rises to the top - it might just take a little longer to find it.
Speaking of cream rising to the top, a colleague of mine introduced me to the work of Ashley Taylor- a photographer out of California who uses a Polaroid SLR. I don't know her - but I'm guessing she is heartbroken over Polaroid going out of business. Anyway, I have a lot of respect for Polaroid shooters. The Polaroid Transfer process was demo'd for my class in art school back in the mid 1990's - before anyone had heard of it. It was the first time I realized the power of using photography to create a unique image, rather than an edition of mostly homogeneous prints. This idea would percolate with me for many years - and I can draw a direct line from the work I do now to that very moment (though no Polaroid work is involved in my work currently).
Anyway, a lot of people shoot Polaroid, but few do it as well as Ashley. My old, crappy laptop is not cooperating, so I can't post her work here. But, check out her site: http://www.4blankwalls.com/ Click on photos and then Polaroids - and enjoy! New i-book is in the works, so these issues should end shortly.
Well kids, that's all the time I have today. Headin' to a BBQ. I'll have some tasty meat and beer for everyone (vegetarians and vegans, I'll have your share too :)
-Marc
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