Lately I've been uninspired photographically. I miss making pictures, and I have come up with many excuses not to. I need to come up with more excuses to make pictures. Teaching wears me out. I wish my art could stand alone as an income, although I would miss the classroom time with my students.
I made this image on Friday at the high school I work at. This kids inspire me to be a better person. I have really enjoyed working with them over the past two years.
I've been reading a book by Chaim Potok called 'The Gift of Asher Lev'. It's the sequel to 'My Name is Asher Lev'. It's about a Hasidic Jewish boy who is interested in art, and makes art that shuns him from his Jewish community. It's about his struggle with his desire between Art and Religion. I find it fascinating. The book has been talking a lot about Picasso, and in the book Asher actually went to the Picasso museum in Paris. I've been there. I want to go back. I think I need a trip to the Art Institute.
I took all the pictures I made off my wall. It felt like a baptism. I completely rid my walls of my old ways of thinking.
Time to make new work.
2 comments:
Hi SB,
Even if I made enough money to survive without teaching, I would still want to do it in some capacity. I enjoy the dialogue and exchange with other people.
Taking your work off of the walls sounds like a good idea. It's like wiping the slate clean. Maybe you need to photograph something different? Maybe just shoot some film without thinking about why you are doing it. That helped me a lot when I finished the park stuff and was trying to figure out what to do next.
Personally, I would like to see you visually loosen up, like some of your early Cabrini work. Your recent portraits are beautifully made and allow the viewer to consider the subject more than the way that you photographed them, which can be nice. Maybe you should make some work where the design of the picture is the most interesting element?
By the way, this portrait is very nice. The way his air is pulled back resembles a pope's hat. This, combined, with the quality of light, and his quiet stare off into the distance makes him seem very holy. It's a nice and refreshing way to think about teens, whom are generally marginalized and made to look like delinquents. The wonderful thing about your work is that I can tell that you spend time with, think about, and care about the individuals that you photograph. This can't be said for the majority of contemporary photography...
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