Blog #23 Go to the Show 

In this week’s blog, I want to share a few recent experiences in the form of photography exhibits that I attended. So last week I was in Chicago at the 42nd Annual Association for Behavior Analysis International Convention. There, I attended paper presentations, symposia and presented a paper, chaired a few colleagues' symposium, and sat on a panel to discuss international dissemination in my field of applied behavior analysis.  This was all fine and good and I had a great conference.  While in town, I managed to take advantage of a few photography events that the great city of Chicago had to offer. I attended two shows at the Art Institute of Chicago and one at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. This was an amazing feat that could only be accomplished in an urban environment where everything is within a 30 minute (brisk) walk from everything else.  

At the Art Institute, I viewed 100 pieces of abstract photographs by the famous Aaron Siskind titled Abstractions. This exhibition examined the New York artist’s abstract series that explored what he called “the drama of objects”. There were some interesting pieces, but many were so similar that they could barely hold my attention. Still, abstract photography is a bit of a niche genre within the medium and it was a treat to be able to view the pieces, unencumbered, and up close and personal.  This gallery was in the lower level where some pieces from the institute’s massive permanent photography collection were hanging.  Pieces from Diane Arbus, Daido Moriyama (who I greatly admire), icon Ansel Adams, Saul Leiter, Walker Evans, LeRoy Henerson, and others were framed and displayed. It was an eclectic group of images, all about A4 to A5 sized prints in black and white. All were stunning. Each was a virtual masterpiece in its own rite.  Pictured below is Leroy Henderson’s First Anti-Vietnam War March (1967).  

The other exhibit at the Institute was the Invisible Man, Gordon Parks and Ralph Ellsion in Harlem http://www.artic.edu/node/6233.

There were amazing photos from the 1940’s of Harlem, New York of the African-American Experience. I bought the book from this exhibit in the Institute's shop since I needed more time to absorb those amazing images. 

I almost didn’t get there due to time constraints, but the third show that I did manage to catch was at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Columbia College of Chicago) titled Burnt Generation: Contemporary Iranian Photography.  As a Westerner, Contemporary, Iranian, and Photography are three words that I never would have expected to see in the same sentence. The show included eight photographers, mostly men but some women.  These were beautifully rendered and powerfully stated collections of the struggle for woman’s rites, conformity to social and religious norms, and political freedoms that Iranians have had to endure in recent years. All of the images and stories portrayed were well executed and moving. You can see them here:

http://www.mocp.org.  It was so interesting that many of the collections within the group of photographers had similar themes even though there was huge difference between their styles and approaches to photography.  It was like they were all saying the same thing but speaking in different ​visual languages. My take-away is to get out of my comfort-zone once in a while to allow other artists to share their worldly views. 

It was such whirlwind of a trip, I am still digesting the conference and fabulous shows that I saw. There is something very touching and inspiring about seeing art up close. You feel a strong sense of the artist and effort that was given to travel, compose, shoot, print, frame, and display photographs that you cannot get from a book or a computer screen. Next time you have the chance, go to the show. You will be glad that you did.  First Anti-Vietnam War MarchLeRoy Henderson (1967)

Blog #22 On Photography

On Photography was a book compiled in 1977 from a collection of essays that were written between 1973 and 1977 by Susan Sontag. The book was chosen by The New York Times Book Review as one of the top 20 books of the year.  Susan Sontag is nothing short of a scholar on the subject of photography. She recants the history of the medium from its humble beginnings in 1839 France through the modern day. She eloquently compares and contrasts photography with painting, and discusses in great detail, the definition, impact, and effects of photography on the photographer, the field, and society. Sontag relates photography to philosophy and makes a thorough commentary on its impact on the world over the almost 150 years that had spanned its existence at the time that she wrote her piece. 

What Sontag does not do is debate the medium’s impact on art or challenge the contention that photography is, indeed, an art form. “Aesthetic distance seems built into the very experience of looking at photographs, if not right away, then certainly with the passage of time.  Time eventually positions most photographs, even the most amateurish, at the level of art” (Sontag, 1977, p.21). 

There are several references to the old masters such as Mathew Brady, Nadar, Weston, Brandt, Arbus, and the great Cartier-Bresson, to name a few.  She discusses in detail each of their contributions to the medium and how their styles or approach to making pictures helped to shape the medium as an art form.  It is not only what she writes about regarding the old icons of photography, but it is the way she writes about them. There is a familiar tone that she uses to describe them almost like they were her old friends. 

Sontag writes very philosophically and profoundly about the subject of photography and the impact that photography has had on society.  “Mallarmé, said that everything the world exists in order to end in a book.  Today everything exists to end in a photograph.” she writes (p. 24).  This statement is truer today than when it was written in 1977.  There are many other parallels to today’s world that can be made throughout the book.  References are made to world-travellers sharing images that far surpass those subjects that could be represented in traditional paintings. The camera helped to develop a new way of seeing.  Photographs created interest by displaying the new visual decisions made by the artist photographer. She describes formal treatment of photography and she perfectly describes photography as the bridge between art and science. 

On the subject of our collective conscience about photographs, she defines the very subject of humanity. “It is a quality things have in common when they are viewed as photographs” (p. 111).  All things in the world can be made into art, or at least more interesting when viewed through the lens of a camera. Some make images just to see how the world looks as a photograph.  

Sontag takes a deep dive into the topic of photography. The book is historical, profound, and takes a perspective and stance that is strikingly as current and relevant today as it was when it was typed four decades ago.  For the hobbyist, amateur, or professional photographer, On Photography is a must read. 

Exhibit at Art Institute of Chicago

Blog #21 Photography! But Why? 

In this week's blog post, I'm feeling very reflective of my recent experiences and many successful activities within the art of photography. Those include: an art show, publications, contest selections, paid portrait work, completion of the professional course in photography from NYIP, teaching a film class to students, building a darkroom, and others.  Riding the wave of these activities has caused me to become introspective all of a sudden.  But why? Why photography? What's it all for, anyway? Why is it that I feel the need to carry a camera and make photos, like everyday? It is simply fun? Or do I feel a compulsion to document my life so that when I'm old and senile I can scroll through hundreds of thousands of images to remember the good ol' days?

For some insight as to why I might be so compelled to make photographs, I sought the advise of my dear old mother. It's no coincidence that I'm writing this blog during the week of the Western holiday of Mother's Day. My mother graduated from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), a prestigious New England art school sometime in the late 1960s. She studied art history, design, fine arts, and painting. Afterwards, she was a painter for many decades.. When I was very young, she would take my into Soho, New York City to help her with art shows in galleries in the City. I had fun helping her set up and then she would let me kicking it around Canal Street while she did her thing.  Her style is abstract (see below). She still paints and has developed her craft over the decades although she mostly does abstract pieces.  She's 70 years old now and recently had a painting selected by the Boca Raton Art Museum in Florida. Over the years she has dabbled in sculpture, drafting, and interior design and decorating work. I never really asked her "Why do you paint"?.  In researching the topic for this blog, I finally got to ask her this question.  Her response was "To breathe".

When asked "Why do you paint"?, my mother responded "Why do you breathe?". "I have to", she continued. It was an emotional outlet for her. Painting and being creative makes her feel free and happy.  She views painting as work, however, not a simple fun pastime or hobby. The reason for this, she explained was because there are many decisions that she is required to make in the creative process. This can be the cause of some degree of stress and challenge. Nevertheless, there is a drive that pushes her to paint. It all started to make sense to me. 

As a photographer, I can relate. I will get dressed each morning, throw the camera over my neck, and head out into the unknown. It's become completely normal. I carry a camera to casual events, work, formal events, the beach, just about everywhere.  I get a weird sense that I'm forgetting something if I don't have it then I remember that and can (and do ) always use my iPhone. Sigh of relief, carry on. 

Photographers have at least as much if not more decisions to make in the process of making images. What camera should I use, full frame, medium format (120mm), APS-C cropped sensor, digital, film, colour, black and white, should I use a wide angle lens, a standard (50mm), telephoto or portrait lens? What about ISO, shutter speed, or aperture? Do I want a shallow depth of field (DOF - Focus)  or a deep DOF? Should I bring the flash today? These are the decisions that are needed before the shutter is pressed. After the shutter is pressed, there are countless (literally thousands) of possibilities that can be applied to process the image. Darkroom and digital processing have similar adjustments such as cropping, dogging, burning, adding or subtracting contrast, colour choices, black & white, and many other details. How will the image be displayed?  On screen, printed on paper?  What size? Should the print be made on matte paper, glossy, semi-glossy paper? What about the frame? The possibilities are practically endless. 

The basic premise, however, doesn't change for the artist regarless of the medium in which he or she or working.  We make images because we need to. Photography is quite literally life for some of us. Maybe we get paid sometimes, all of the time, or never. This doesn't matter, really. The point is that we photograph because live and live because we photograph. Creative activities are work.  We need to be creative and this is our avenue. It's that simple. You can debate cameras and the audience. all day long but it's hard to argue against the photographer himself or herself as the ultimate first and foremost audience for their own work. Does all of this sound very philosophical and profound? Maybe it is but that's the point. Sometimes, we need to ask the tough questions so that we can discuss the difficult topics, and then move on.

There are a few good articles floating around the internet this month on similar topics. Spencer Bentley from Petapixel wrote a really nice piece about how the camera type makes him feel. http://petapixel.com/2016/05/09/important-camera-feature-makes-feel/.  My take-away from his discussion is that the camera is the photographer's tool and there is a real visceral connection between the two. Sometimes we need to try different cameras to find the right one, or at least the right now one.  Dear Spencer, I feel you, bro. 

Another very talented and insightful photographer is Eric Kim. His recent piece titled "Shoot More, Worry Less" is aimed at those photographers, professional, hobbyists, or otherwise, who occasionally feel paralysed by the myriad of decisions that we are constantly confronted with. Should I even bring my camera out today? What if it rains? What lens should I bring? Ok, stop. Mr. Kim offers a rational approach to troubleshoot this potentially debilitating condition faced by many artists.   http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2016/05/04/shoot-more-worry-less/

In summary, we shoot because we need to. Don't think to much. Make beautiful images. 

Thanks for reading. May the light be with you, always. 

jhg

Original Abstract Painting by Sheryl Iva Greenberg