Sunday at the Guggenheim (bloggish)

[megan]

Nov 7, a Sunday, Reg and I went to check out the Aztec exhibit at the Guggenheim. I always forgot how dizzying the Guggenheim is. And what a strain on the glutes.... you're engrossed in art and suddenly you look away, and you've wound yourself a few levels up, and take a quick breath of horror in and grab the edge of the walkway. Vertiginous. Is that a word?

I couldn't resist ducking into the photo gallery, though. There was a show of hands, so to speak. A show with the theme of hands. Various contemporary photographers contributed images involving hands, much like our phot project, but much more worked into. The photograph that struck me the most was a color mural-sized print of the back of a house in Canada, and a straggly looking young man dressed in worn clothing not quite fitting him, standing by a door with a hole in it. In the lower right corner was a smaller, cropped image of him receiving a small package through the slot. A drug transaction, but jarring reality. Interesting.

Made me think - maybe we could do something like that in this forum? Not to compete with the photo project... I haven't completely formulated the idea yet. I don't know what I'm trying to communicate. Because by just choosing a subject and working on it would be a photo project. But I'm thinking of taking it to another level? Like pick something, like hands, and over a set period of time develop the series together?

I don't know. Maybe it's not do-able in an internet forum. Maybe there's no interest. But inspired by the museum, in part, and by the previous "pop art" post in this forum, I thought maybe it could be a good experiment. But maybe all aspects of it are already covered elsewhere on PR.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Megan

[mtb'n ski]

I would be up for something like that.

[darkman]

It may be an interesting idea. I would propose that we have a curator that picks and chooses the images so they make up a flow, or have a required similarity. IMO, if you don't do that it will be the same as the photo project with all of its zillion variations each month. Or like the circles AND (not OR, geesh) squares month with my local club...

Maybe something like a day in life (or similar idea) that people can submit pictures of people throughout the day. Then the curator can pic and choose the images that make a cognizant flow.

I saw a photo exhibit by David Douglas Duncan in Lucerne of Pablo Picasso. It was called the Picasso museum, but was pretty much just years of photos by DDD layed out in chronilogically. It's like you lived a section of his life.

I elect you as the "curator." ;)

Mike

BTW, what is bloggish?

[Irakly Shanidze]

sounds very enticing... ity would be nice, for instance, to have an assignment and a time period during which photos could be submitted, but they would not appear in the gallery. only after the deadline all (or maybe not all, but the best) photos would be revealed. his way no ones work would influence someone else's. results can be very interesting and unexpected.

[megan]

Yeah - all of the input so far is interesting.
the idea of "curator" is a good one....
Just in case I wasn't clear, though, let me expand a bit.
My thought is for the project to be more "in depth" than the photo project. Instead of just going out and shooting a roll or two [card or two...] of hands [for example], we'd post somewhere - here, or critque forum, or in our personal galleries - and talk about it and proceed from there. You know? Not just shoot and let it be what it is, but truly develop the work and series for the time frame involved.

Now, I know we all have busy lives outside of PR. So the amount of dedication is up to those who would participate. So i guess it could be structured, though, so that once a month [or more frequently if desired] we'd discuss how the project is coming for each person involved. That could be accomodated by a sticky thread in this forum. It could mean a roll a month for one, or 5 cards a month for another. But I think it would be an interesting way to grow together, and see each other's vision develop, so to speak, and the final result would be some artwork. Photographs. Whatever your current level.

It's just an idea. And I apologize for not discussing the idea with the other 2 mods beforehand! It just sort of popped into my head as I typed.

Megan

[megan]

It may be an interesting idea. I would propose that we have a curator that picks and chooses the images so they make up a flow, or have a required similarity..... Then the curator can pic and choose the images that make a cognizant flow.

BTW, what is bloggish?

Yes! that's exactly it. For example, all of the photos in this exhibit involved hands, but the interpretation was up to the artist. There was the huge mural print I described, but there was also another artist that did a sort of Muybridge progression series of 2 hands lighting a match. VERY different photographs, but of the same subject.

Heck, we could even be brash about it and use "Hands" as the subject.

As for "bloggish," I use that to describe one of my long, meandering posts, modeled after a blog [web log], sort of. But I guess what I end up typing is more live journal-ish? I don't know, heh heh, I use it to describe my online babbling!

Megan

[Chunk]

Yeah - all of the input so far is interesting.
the idea of "curator" is a good one....
Just in case I wasn't clear, though, let me expand a bit.
My thought is for the project to be more "in depth" than the photo project. Instead of just going out and shooting a roll or two [card or two...] of hands [for example], we'd post somewhere - here, or critque forum, or in our personal galleries - and talk about it and proceed from there. You know? Not just shoot and let it be what it is, but truly develop the work and series for the time frame involved.

Now, I know we all have busy lives outside of PR. So the amount of dedication is up to those who would participate. So i guess it could be structured, though, so that once a month [or more frequently if desired] we'd discuss how the project is coming for each person involved. That could be accomodated by a sticky thread in this forum. It could mean a roll a month for one, or 5 cards a month for another. But I think it would be an interesting way to grow together, and see each other's vision develop, so to speak, and the final result would be some artwork. Photographs. Whatever your current level.

It's just an idea. And I apologize for not discussing the idea with the other 2 mods beforehand! It just sort of popped into my head as I typed.

Megan

I like the idea Megan. If we want this to be a medium of growth I think it would be a good idea for the artist to submit a small explanation of where the idea for the particular shot came from and what was done to develop the idea. I think this and any discussion about it should be available only after viewing the photo - I like to respond to an artwork visually by myself before reading this kind of stuff about it.

I also think that the subject "Hands" gives a great deal of latitude and should allow a good variety of treatment.

I think the idea of a final, curated presentation (which could perhaps be saved along with the Photo Projects) is a good one to keep it form being just a collection of similar photos, but I think an open platform for discussion during the development would be helpful for learning for many of us. While I understand the feel for the need for this to be juried, I think that the inclusion of at least one submission by each of the active participants would be good.

I have a few ideas - let's go!

[megan]

Great!
Let me get through this holiday weekend and we can get active on this!

Megan

[megan]

But what do you say that we start after the holidays?

Megan

[darkman]

But what do you say that we start after the holidays?

Megan

It may be better to put out the theme (or whatever you decided to call it ) before the holidays. Many of us get time off then. And you know, there's nothing better we would like to be doing than taking pictures

Mike

[opus]

Can we use a picture we've already taken if it fits? Not like we wouldn't take new ones too. But if something fits, can we use it?

[drg]

If I may jump in here . . .


"instead of seeing a single world, ours, it is multipled before us so we see as many worlds as there are original artists"

(forgive any unintended mangling of Marcel Proust.)


What better place than an Internet Forum or community to explore a topic. One might wish to define or frame the topic so that it would be at least a guide to the participants. The "curator(s)" might even work to evolve the topic as time progresses.

"Empty Hands"
or
"Hands at Work" could be examples, though these might be to limiting or narrow for some tastes. This could certainly focus the project and give it some value beyond just another gallery.

Would this take the form of reshooting (where possible) submission/compositions or showing progressions of the particular image/composition based on community feedback/critiques?

One other suggestion or question would be to define how much (or little) post processing should be allowed. If it is to be limited to basic presentation type (cropping, color/contrast/balance correction for web/computer display, etc.) or if more complex techniques such as overlays, color replacement, masks, digital montages, and whatever favorite or custom filter from PS should be allowed. Sharpening might even be an issue.

I think that this would be an excellent undertaking and I'd certainly be glad to help form a statement or thesis for this if that's the direction it takes.

- C (drg)

[Chunk]

One other suggestion or question would be to define how much (or little) post processing should be allowed. If it is to be limited to basic presentation type (cropping, color/contrast/balance correction for web/computer display, etc.) or if more complex techniques such as overlays, color replacement, masks, digital montages, and whatever favorite or custom filter from PS should be allowed. Sharpening might even be an issue.

I don't understand why you would want to limit this to what tools might used in producing the final artwork. Overlays, color replacement, masks, montages, etc. are all techniques that have been used to produce photographic artwork for many decades. Are you suggesting that a handcolored piece would be OK but a digitally 'handcolored' piece would not? I'd think we could all learn more by being inclusive rather than exclusive.

[drg]

I don't understand why you would want to limit this to what tools might used in producing the final artwork. Overlays, color replacement, masks, montages, etc. are all techniques that have been used to produce photographic artwork for many decades. Are you suggesting that a handcolored piece would be OK but a digitally 'handcolored' piece would not? I'd think we could all learn more by being inclusive rather than exclusive.

I apologize if I was unclear in what I was trying express. IF this project is to encourage growth of the medium of photography as art, and it is to be more than just a public gallery, then some guidelines, or (dreadful word coming up here) rules need to be in place whatever they might be.

Though a photo of nature may be the most powerful piece submitted, if the call is for B/W urban landscapes in a show, it doesn't follow the guidelines and will most likely not be presented. That just address one basic type of technique.

A curator doesn't just hang work. There's editing and selection involved. In order to do this effectively whether at the Guggenheim or online in a graphical billboard some criteria are used to make the resulting collection effective. On the other hand, if its a commision (or an assignment if you prefer) you are sort of stuck with what you get. This issue is also important in whether you present to public all of the submissions or if a jury or curator has made selections.

I was intrigued that this might be something more than just another place to post images.

The limitation you speak of often can enhance some portion of the creative flow.By taking responsibility for use of technique (or a tool or a filter or a chunk o' chalk) and by doing so refining the vision a stronger work can be the result.

These guidelines or rules or limitations, define the scope. It could be as I offered merely a phrase that define such as Hands at Work, or it could have greater scope and address issues of technique.

Merely suggestions or questions to find out what direction this might go.

- C

[megan]

Can we use a picture we've already taken if it fits? Not like we wouldn't take new ones too. But if something fits, can we use it?

Sure, you could use it as a starting point, but the idea really is to, for whatever set amount of time we choose, to focus on one subject and develop a final piece or series of pieces from it. Not just put up a photo and be done with it after a month like in photo project, but a longer-term developmental thing. A long-term photo project where we all develop our vision on a particular subject, critique images over the months, and then arrive at a really well-thought out and developed final piece/series. Does this make sense?

Megan

[Chunk]

Merely suggestions or questions to find out what direction this might go.

- C

Sorry I misunderstood.