On Creating Art That Is Not "Timeless"
Most of what I’ve written, photographed or created this year is very much dated. I’d say a good percentage of anything I’ve created is dated and not "timeless" in the way that much "great" art is described.
Most of what I capture with my camera is too literal. My subjects are not abstract. There isn’t much for the viewer to interpret – the message is there.
There was a time where I’d be hard on myself… why can’t you just make pretty photos? Why does every frame have to have some type of message?
My point being – I’m not as hard on myself now. I’m speaking a language. The viewer will either get it or they won’t, and they'll like it or they won't and either way, it’s ok. My work isn't for galleries, it's for you and me and the person finding the hidden zine in the pasta aisle at the grocery store or pharmacy.
Speaking of zines: writing, cutting and pasting them together has provided a salve for me this year. And, it feels that it could possibly become a crime in the near future to write, publish and distribute thoughts on a U.S. administration that clearly is fascist. Or, is it already a crime? All those history lessons (read: Joseph McCarthy), and all that money paid to a university so that maybe I’d learn “my lesson" and know how to be a good American - well, it didn't quite work out that way.
And to that I say: Whatever.
I encourage anyone that identifies as an American artist to reflect in their art what is happening in the United States right now. We're at a point where it's imperative to document what is taking place in "the land of the free."
Keep creating.
Most of what I capture with my camera is too literal. My subjects are not abstract. There isn’t much for the viewer to interpret – the message is there.
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| 2017. |
There was a time where I’d be hard on myself… why can’t you just make pretty photos? Why does every frame have to have some type of message?
My point being – I’m not as hard on myself now. I’m speaking a language. The viewer will either get it or they won’t, and they'll like it or they won't and either way, it’s ok. My work isn't for galleries, it's for you and me and the person finding the hidden zine in the pasta aisle at the grocery store or pharmacy.
Speaking of zines: writing, cutting and pasting them together has provided a salve for me this year. And, it feels that it could possibly become a crime in the near future to write, publish and distribute thoughts on a U.S. administration that clearly is fascist. Or, is it already a crime? All those history lessons (read: Joseph McCarthy), and all that money paid to a university so that maybe I’d learn “my lesson" and know how to be a good American - well, it didn't quite work out that way.
And to that I say: Whatever.
I encourage anyone that identifies as an American artist to reflect in their art what is happening in the United States right now. We're at a point where it's imperative to document what is taking place in "the land of the free."
Keep creating.
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