It seems that my writing yesterday must also have been in response to Mike Johnston’s distinction between artist and photographer. This is a little different take on the idea of the artist working in isolation, burying the mistakes and emerging into the world with a fully conceived body of work.
Again, I don’t think it’s ever been like this for artists. Our online world is public in a way that the world has never known before, but just because my acquaintances now can be found around the world rather than just around my city, I maintain that my peer group gives my support and feedback in the process of developing art.
Perhaps what is missing is the editing process of creating a portfolio or hanging a show. We tend to work continuously with the flow marked by occasional important images. I’ve tried a few times to go back through the few hundred images I’ve created, but the result is a personal collection.
I’m paid well at my job. I get pleasure from making the images and motivated by working through problems. Obviously now I’m taken by black and white images where structure creates gesture. These urban and suburban fragments are what are in front of me and the camera, the light and form have always been of visual interest.
So photographers, if you want to be artists, simply work on the problems that are attractive. Once it gets too easy or boring to create a particular kind of image, move on. Ask the next question. The old answer is now personal history.
