Dispatches From The Studio
At the start of 2022 I have been reflecting and planning on what I want to work on and accomplish in the new year.
Some thoughts on the 5th anniversary of the death of Carrie Fisher
"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
To produce work that hopefully resonates with my audience it has to resonate with me first.
My feelings and emotions allow me to find a vibe and then use that feeling in my art as a catalyst and conduit to connect to my audience with.
Art, when it is at its best, not only visually impresses but also tells stories, shares ideas and communicates moments.
Edward Van Halen, who passed away last week at the age of 65, was an incomparable guitar hero who singlehandedly redefined what's possible with a guitar, launched a new aesthetic of playing rock music and created a new kind of guitar in the process. He was the ultimate disrupter. A rock musician and pioneer of epic proportions who challenged the "norms" and left the tattered and torn under his tapping fingers and bombastic solos.
Several years ago I started to embark on meandering, yet purposeful, photo excursions along the highways and byways of the KC region. The purpose of these wanderings, initially, was to capture whatever interesting subject matter that would pass in front of my lens. When my daughter got old enough to join me...the trips became about so much more than just taking photos.
"It is an artist's duty to help man endure by lifting his heart." ~William Faulkner
Sometimes I take a photo and its message and meaning are immediately apparent. Its story appears, along with the composition, and inserts itself into the proceedings early in the process...all tied up in a neat little bow.
On other occasions the true meaning and essence of a piece takes some time to percolate through the ether and make itself known.
Case and point with the photo - "The Thanksgiving Passage"....