museum
So What Is Fine Art Anyway?
Before I knew exactly what the term meant, I was always uncomfortable referring to my work as ‘fine art’. I always thought it was arrogant to believe that photographs produced by a rank amateur, such as myself, could be referred to as ‘fine’ anything. The mere mention of ‘fine art’ to me conjures a mental image of George Bellows or John Singer Sargent paintings hung in posh metropolitan art galleries.
The definition of fine art varies as much as the person asking the question. It generally refers to works produced by the artist’s own hand as opposed to copies reproduced by a machine, like a magazine or a sales brochure. Does that mean that your vacation snapshots qualify as ‘fine art’? Of course it does. Fine art merely indicates how the print was made, but not necessarily its artistic quality. The term is frequently used as a marketing tool because it sells art.
There are a few highly acclaimed photographers in the art world. Ansel Adams, Arthur Stieglitz, and Dorothea Lange have certainly made their mark as photographers and artists, but what is a true measure of success? Is it the artist’s ability to immortalize subjects from a bygone age? Is it technical brilliance? Perhaps the size of the prints that an artist has sold or the reputation of the galleries where they exhibit their work. In Internet circles, the aesthetic value of a photograph could be measured by the number of comments it draws on Flickr or Facebook. Are these artists just experiencing their 15 minutes of fame or will their images become recognizable icons of their generation enjoyed by audiences decades, or even centuries later?
Artists who rely on their work to earn a living are at a serious disadvantage over those of us who have a day job. For the professional artist, there are deadlines, fickle clients, deadbeats, unscrupulous agents, and the persistent threat of copyright infringement or outright theft. For those of us who simply enjoy creating photographs, we have the luxury of time and total freedom from market forces. We blithely snap away at subjects that we want to photograph while experimenting with different image developing processes and techniques in our free time. We don’t have to sell art to eat, but selling a print feeds our ego.
Making a respectable living producing ‘fine art’ may be one measure of success, but enjoying what you do and winning a contest or two along the way is another. If you are proud to sign your name to an image, you can claim to be a ‘fine art’ photographer. How successful you are is up to your audience.
The definition of fine art varies as much as the person asking the question. It generally refers to works produced by the artist’s own hand as opposed to copies reproduced by a machine, like a magazine or a sales brochure. Does that mean that your vacation snapshots qualify as ‘fine art’? Of course it does. Fine art merely indicates how the print was made, but not necessarily its artistic quality. The term is frequently used as a marketing tool because it sells art.
There are a few highly acclaimed photographers in the art world. Ansel Adams, Arthur Stieglitz, and Dorothea Lange have certainly made their mark as photographers and artists, but what is a true measure of success? Is it the artist’s ability to immortalize subjects from a bygone age? Is it technical brilliance? Perhaps the size of the prints that an artist has sold or the reputation of the galleries where they exhibit their work. In Internet circles, the aesthetic value of a photograph could be measured by the number of comments it draws on Flickr or Facebook. Are these artists just experiencing their 15 minutes of fame or will their images become recognizable icons of their generation enjoyed by audiences decades, or even centuries later?
Artists who rely on their work to earn a living are at a serious disadvantage over those of us who have a day job. For the professional artist, there are deadlines, fickle clients, deadbeats, unscrupulous agents, and the persistent threat of copyright infringement or outright theft. For those of us who simply enjoy creating photographs, we have the luxury of time and total freedom from market forces. We blithely snap away at subjects that we want to photograph while experimenting with different image developing processes and techniques in our free time. We don’t have to sell art to eat, but selling a print feeds our ego.
Making a respectable living producing ‘fine art’ may be one measure of success, but enjoying what you do and winning a contest or two along the way is another. If you are proud to sign your name to an image, you can claim to be a ‘fine art’ photographer. How successful you are is up to your audience.
Silverdale Art Walk
I rather like the Silverdale Art Walk. Local merchants in the Old Town Silverdale area jury the work of local artists to display in their establishments. There are hors d'oeuvres and sometimes even wine tasting. It gives local unknowns, like yours truly, a chance to show their work to a broad audience while the sponsoring merchants promote their businesses. There are painters, sculptors, photographers, sketchers, and multi-media artists scatters throughout the area. It’s one of my favorite venues.
My work will be exhibited at Monica’s Waterfront Bakery & Café near the waterfront park. I shot a number of images while I was in the DC area last year so I will have a few of those on display along with some of my other favorites. Some are monochrome and some are color. Some will be framed and some will be simply matted. I will also have a number of my ‘minis’ available for sale.
The show is on Friday, March 12, beginning at 6:00 pm. If you can make it, please come. You may find pleasant surprises that are not on my website. At the other venues you will certainly see art that has nothing to do with photography.
My work will be exhibited at Monica’s Waterfront Bakery & Café near the waterfront park. I shot a number of images while I was in the DC area last year so I will have a few of those on display along with some of my other favorites. Some are monochrome and some are color. Some will be framed and some will be simply matted. I will also have a number of my ‘minis’ available for sale.
The show is on Friday, March 12, beginning at 6:00 pm. If you can make it, please come. You may find pleasant surprises that are not on my website. At the other venues you will certainly see art that has nothing to do with photography.
Industrial Baltimore
February 04, 2010 - 21:34 Filed in: Assignments
One of my favorite places to shoot is Baltimore. Although access to this marvelous city is not so easy since I returned home, I learned much about Baltimore’s contributions to industry, and ultimately our quality of life. In addition to the legendary advancements in transportation, railroads in particular, the first practical refrigerator was invented in Baltimore. ‘Off the rack’ clothing was developed by Joseph Banks in Baltimore. Edgar Allen Poe lived and died in Baltimore. Paint. Skin cream. Neon lights. Industries involving canning, printing, metalworking, cargo-handling, ship-building, transportation, food processing, baking, machine tooling, banking, pharmaceuticals, and public utilities if not invented in Baltimore were perfected or industrialized there. It is truly a fascinating place for an engineer or someone old enough to ‘remember the day when . . . ’
With the exception of a few photographs shot with Fuji’s Velvia 100, I used monochrome film throughout my adventure. I tend to favor railroad subjects, but I also enjoyed wandering through industrial museums, historic sites like Fort McHenry, and famous landmarks like the Bromo Seltzer Tower and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Monochrome gives images of our history an ethereal quality. Velvia film is warm enough to give the color images a warm and familiar feel. Perhaps it is because gas or incandescent lighting was popular way back when.
Part of the experience of using film is seeing what happens next after it is processed. How did the grain in the negative contribute to the texture of the print? Was the depth of field too deep or too shallow? How did the colors in the viewfinder translate into the monochrome tones that I saw in my mind’s eye? Did the HC-110 developer work better than the Edwal FG7? Did the Rodinal developer bring out just enough grain and acutance in the negative without too much contrast?
All part of the adventure.
Washington DC
January 18, 2010 - 09:08 Filed in: Gallery
After processing the many rolls of film that have accumulated over the last several months, it became obvious that I would need to create at least one new gallery. Late last year, my day job required that I spend much of 2009 in the Washington DC area. I worked in Annapolis, but I did have time on the weekends to explore the region where our nation grew its roots. Processing film in a hotel room is impractical at best and my scanners wouldn’t fit in my carry-on luggage so I left my darkroom at home. I simply mailed the exposed film back to my understanding wife to throw in the freezer until I could get to it.
Most tourists visiting our nation’s capitol photograph the many museums and monuments and I was no exception. For the night shots, I used both color and monochrome. For shooting structures, I use monochrome film to highlight the tones and lines of the masonry. Color film was best for capturing the red, white, and blue colors that symbolize the United States.
It’s good exercise to walk around DC and Baltimore lugging around a Domke bag full with a Mamiya M645, three lenses, film, and the usual accessories. It keeps my massage therapist in business anyway.
I still have several rolls of film to work through, so more galleries may pop up. It is a work in progress.
Most tourists visiting our nation’s capitol photograph the many museums and monuments and I was no exception. For the night shots, I used both color and monochrome. For shooting structures, I use monochrome film to highlight the tones and lines of the masonry. Color film was best for capturing the red, white, and blue colors that symbolize the United States.
It’s good exercise to walk around DC and Baltimore lugging around a Domke bag full with a Mamiya M645, three lenses, film, and the usual accessories. It keeps my massage therapist in business anyway.
I still have several rolls of film to work through, so more galleries may pop up. It is a work in progress.
Aberdeen Proving Ground
January 10, 2010 - 15:49 Filed in: Assignments | Military
I spent five months on the east coast of the United States last year, and I have finally started to process the film that I have had to keep in the freezer. I am pleased with a few frames that I took at the Army Ordnance Museum at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. You can find “Grim Messenger”,” Leopard Skin”, and ”Study In Grey” in the military gallery. More to come as time permits.
