I don’t like to use the word art when describing my work or the word artist when describing me.
The use of those words, to me, seem to be an attempt to artificially elevate something or someone to more than it or they are.
Here’s a blog post that resonates with my thoughts about art. http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/im-sick-of-pretending-i-dont-get-art.
In a nutshell, some things called “art” don’t seem, to me, to be very “artful”.
Sam- I look forward to your weekly broadcasts. I completely agree with this statement. I think there are some artists who use photography or photograph and create art. Myself, I am just a photographer. It is not that I don’t want to create art w/ my photography, but it is not what I do. But, I am not done living and what my work develops into the days to come has yet to be finalized.
Thanks for what you do…
Hi Doug,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
These quotes sum it up for me. In short, it’s all about personal expression and a way of doing something.
..the goal of art was the vital expression of self. – Alfred Stieglitz
“…My whole point is to transcend the subject.{}…Go beyond the subject somehow, so that the composition, the lighting, all around, reaches a certain point of perfection. That’s what IÕm doing. Whether it’s a cock or a flower, I’m looking at it in the same way. {}…in my own way, with my own eyes. It’s different from other people’s, otherwise I wouldn’t be having a show at the Whitney. – Robert Mapplethorpe – Chau, L., “Robert Mapplethorpe”, Flash Art
“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” Elbert Hubbard
I think after you strip away all of the glitz, glamour, cash and connotations associated with the word ‘art’ art is nothing more than doing something in your own way.
I think we are all artists and art is all over the place. From this perspective art is nothing special to me. What’s special and interesting to me is how we each communicate from our own unique perspective.
Have you ever visited the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore? It’s an amazing place full of personal expression.