Arbus Retrospective Draws Criticism

[GregY]

He beeped when he should have bopped?

We've come a long way from a bad review of Diane Arbus exhibition...

 

[Arthurwg]

We've come a long way from a bad review of Diane Arbus exhibition...

It ain't over till it's over.

 

[chuckroast]

He beeped when he should have bopped?

I suspect he didn't not play when he was supposed to.

 

[GregY]

In keeping with the philosophical nature of the thread. Also attributed to Miles Davis:
"Don't play what's there. Play what's not there."

 

[snusmumriken]

Let's not bring "God" into this. It's messy enough as it is.

Sorry, I was thinking more of Shrödinger. Of course there’s always the question of who observes any deity.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Whales might -- we have no idea of their intelligence. But otherwise 'sound' and the concept of 'sound' is a purely linguistic construct of humans to help describe the act of interpretating some of the energy waves that impact their bodies. If there are no humans, there are no sounds.

I agree with you. Similarly, art is like sound. If no one sees the photograph, then there's no art. All you have is a picture, which makes the producer a photographer, not an artist.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Ahhhh...yes, and also gone will be words...so no one to sound off. Just the vibrations from trees falling in the woods, waves crashing onto shores, etc..

Words are the art of sound.

 

[chuckroast]

Words are the art of sound.

So you read out loud?

 

[Pieter12]

I agree with you. Similarly, art is like sound. If no one sees the photograph, then there's no art. All you have is a picture, which makes the producer a photographer, not an artist.

If no one sees the photograph, does it even exist?

 

[Chuck1]

They are still in a box in my closet

 

[Vaughn]

Words are the art of sound.

More the art of the mind...which the Greeks found superior to the arts of the hand.

 

[snusmumriken]

More the art of the mind...which the Greeks found superior to the arts of the hand.

I wonder, would the Greeks (ancient, not @nikos79 ) have considered an Arbus photo art of the hand or of the mind?

 

[nikos79]

I wonder, would the Greeks (ancient, not @nikos79 ) have considered an Arbus photo art of the hand or of the mind?

I am not sure about Arbus, possibly they would find inspiration to write some tragedies in these portraits. But for sure they would appreciate the geometry of Henri-Cartier Bresson.

Photography has very close bounds with reality.
Aristotle would love it.
Plato probably not unless it transcended the reality to reveal the hidden truth behind.

 

[Arthurwg]

Plato probably not unless it transcended the reality to reveal the hidden truth behind.

Would photographs be allowed in the Republic?

 

[chuckroast]

Would photographs be allowed in the Republic?

Only if you shot transparencies and used a projector to show them on the wall of the cave.

 

[GregY]

Only if you shot transparencies and used a projector to show them on the wall of the cave.

Cave ?

 

[chuckroast]

Cave ? View attachment 402063

It's ironic how much of this allegory still applies in modern times as we voluntarily enslave ourselves to social media and the acquisition of things:

Allegory of the cave - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[GregY]

It's ironic how much of this allegory still applies in modern times as we voluntarily enslave ourselves to social media and the acquisition of things:

Allegory of the cave - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Only the shadows and sounds are the prisoners' reality, which are not accurate representations of the real world."

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

More the art of the mind...which the Greeks found superior to the arts of the hand.

Poetry is the art of prose.

 

[chuckroast]

Poetry is the art of prose.

There was a young man from Kent
That carried his kit as he went
Making art as he strode
Along every road
Growling, "This 8x10 makes me most bent"

- A love sonnet by Chuck Of Roast​

THAT is poetry and arte' at the highest level...

 

[Chuck1]

There once was a girl from Nantucket,
I've never actually heard the rest of this one

 

[warden]

I’m back from my NYC trip and I have to report that I passed on the Arbus show. There was just too much competition from other shows and she didn’t make the cut. Maybe next time. Has anyone here walked the Arbus show yet?

 

[Pieter12]

I’m back from my NYC trip and I have to report that I passed on the Arbus show. There was just too much competition from other shows and she didn’t make the cut. Maybe next time. Has anyone here walked the Arbus show yet?

Only the one in L.A. But as far as drawing criticism, the L.A. show is accompanied by a 500-page book of collected articles and criticism of Arbus' work. From Sontag to ardent supporters, an interesting read on contemporary and more current reactions to her post-mortem exhibitions and books.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

There was a young man from Kent
That carried his kit as he went
Making art as he strode
Along every road
Growling, "This 8x10 makes me most bent"

- A love sonnet by Chuck Of Roast​

THAT is poetry and arte' at the highest level...

Nice.

 

[chuckroast]

If no one sees the photograph, does it even exist?

When this thread was fresh, I'd have said "yes", but I just read something that makes me reconsider that view:

Bell’s Theorem – Does the moon exist when we are not looking at it?

Dear friends,

words.mattiasdesmet.org

It would seem as someone (Alan?) noted upthread, that we materialize things when we observe them. I always thought this was an opaque corner of physics, but after reading the above, I have cause to reconsider my views.

But what this REALLY means is that I need more people looking at my pictures ...