Aspergers should not be seen as a "condition", but a favourable trait.
I respect your opinion and approach to dealing with AS, but I'm of the mind that, on this planet at least, it's something we have to work around and certainly not a superhuman power. We'd all be in Bill Gates' shoes if it was!
...never feel like you're isolated or "doing it tough". That only happens if you bring the roof down on yourself.
'Doing it tough' is the very root of my problem, yeah. I suppose it comes down to the fact that my favourite photographers at the moment and the kind of work I'm aspiring to emphasises simplicity - David Ward and Jeffrey Conley for example. Their work in particular clearly isn't the materialisation of an overly methodical mind. This kind of clarity of vision, I believe, might be impossible to achieve with 'our' type of convoluted thinking - as much as we try to absorb the work of others and assimilate, eventually our hard-wired way of solving problems seems to take over. Personally, I've found that I'm only able to make photographs concerned with simplicity when I'm unashamedly mimicking. This is almost a reflection of the strategies aspies use in social situations. When I'm doing my own thing, being myself with the camera and exploring my own style, the work that arises is somewhat chaotic. Not always, but a great deal of the time. I've certainly not reached any level of artistic maturity yet, so don't get me wrong, I accept that for any practicing artist there's a long and winding road ahead and the destination is always somewhat of a mirage! I'm convinced however, that the result of Aspergers in art is one of a different visual language and one that many serious and well-read practitioners with AS might find themselves disappointed with or confused by. The mental 'strain' that I mention then has a lot to do with attempting to bypass 'AS photographer mode' and along with everyday life and work, it all becomes a bit exhausting, to say the least.
I don't want to sound defeatist, I'm certainly not about to give up on my photography, but I'm convinced that without bypassing the AS on some level while making photographs, the work is in essence, outsider art. Those 'neurotypical' universalities don't seem to exist in the work, as the language of art, just like the language that we speak and express, has to be processed and learnt in a similar way for us to communicate efficiently with images. For some, making images that 'speak' in a radically different way is fine if not favourable, as you mention Poisson Du Jour, but it can be a great drawback for any wider recognition and acceptance of work.
I'd certainly be interested to read an academic study that goes into some of these things.
You're thinking too much about it.
Perhaps the passage above confirms that!
Not sure what some of your symptoms are but while engrossed in some things like photography other things like social issues may disappear for a time. Sort of like the stutterer who can sing flawlessly. Other things on his mind.
I've found this to be true to an extent. Of course, a lot of people find landscape photography (my practice) therapeutic and I'm of that mind too... although I'm careful not to become too 'new age' about it. On the other hand, photography is inherently a pretty antisocial hobby and a magnetic one for anyone on the spectrum, as people have mentioned. Thanks for your response.
Personally, I'd worry less about the Asperger's aspects specifically and more about the very difficult question of whether to try to make a living at the art you love (and quite likely starve in a garret) or fund your passion with a day job (and accept a lot of time spent apart from the work you really want to be doing). Neither, probably, is particularly easy for anyone, but the balancing act is really individual and I think basically orthogonal to Asperger's.
This is probably the most constructive advice I could receive on the matter, so thanks ntenny, and everyone else.
