[pure-silver] Re: What is a "project"?
- From: "richard l. gifford" <rlgif@xxxxxxx>
- To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 04:59:33 -0600
You're probably not in the minority. "Project" in this
sense means more than one photo. Galleries etc. prefer
a theme of some sort so they have something they can
advertise. I shoot what I'm moved to shoot. I like
old barns, landscapes, creeks, trees, etc. and was
planning to shoot in my rural home County for practical
reasons. I was asking directions to examples of such
and found local folks using the darndest landmarks to
give directions (You go past the tree in the middle of
the road...) It soon occurred even to this converting
non-artist that there was more sense of place in the
landmarks than in the places. So I started a series, a
project with a unified theme but with a variety of
subjects, and wound up hanging a one-man show, "The
Lesser Landmarks of Mayes County", at an art museum.
I don't see any calls for exhibitions of beautiful
pictures, just themes, but Becky even managed to pull
that one off. I still shoot what moves me, but have
also started another project. There are lots of old
things around the state in the same category as one of
my landmarks, and interesting to research and locate,
and challenging to interpret on film. They fit my
style and also a theme. So some day I'll probably
mount another show somewhere. If exhibition is your
aim, concentrate on a project involving some coherent
theme, perhaps emotional, not necessarily physical.
Becky pushing the boundaries of what constitutes
"Boundaries" sounds to me like the sort of creative
thing galleries would like to see.
There is a practical side to having a project. I sell
my varied work at art shows, and I have difficulties
keeping a straight face when the discussion gets too
artsy. But the wannabe's and hangers-on have all read
about projects, and it seems to be all they know to ask
about, so a handy positive answer can save you from a
lot of inane drivel.
Regards... Dick Gifford
jeffrey wrote:
> Something I've noticed a lot in the art world is the word "project".
> (as a noun)
>
> Curators, contest jurors, fellow 'artists' seem to want to view your
> work thru the filter of it being part of some current project. The
> implication seems to be that we organize our artistic expression
> along some defined theme.
>
> Do most of you create work within 'projects'?
>
> To me, it's a more understandable expression in a medium like
> painting, where you are starting from scratch and creating a finished
> product. I would guess that most painters have at least a clue where
> they're going when they start a canvas.
>
> And certainly, there are a lot of photogs who have an idea for a
> picture and go out and 'build' it.
>
> Speaking only for myself, I shoot pictures pretty much as I find
> them. Sure, a beautiful day, or some thick fog, or some special
> event, may inspire me to shoot several rolls along a 'theme'. But I
> rarely know what I am going to end up shooting when I first leave the
> house.
>
> Am I in the minority by virtue of not planning out my photo outings?
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