sorry to be blunt
its been said over and over and over again
but pretty much 99% of photography is dead
and pretty much everyone who makes photographs,
unless they are some gallery or museum's darling
or have deep pockets or deep connections stuff
is wasting their time and effort because no one really cares ...
and if someone really cares will they do more than pat you on the back?
put up the $$ some people might say, and not just a few bucks, $$ for the time
and effort i put into making the photograph... (meh ! )
does that matter?
what do you do, just stop? or keep doing your thing even though
its gonna be in the dumpster …
i keep doing it, its one of those things .. i figure ill do for as long as i can ...
Didn't vote, but you are more or less correct.
People are inundated with images and video nowadays. Entitlement is a good word that describes the people of today. People are of the nature that they expect most of the media to be free and they hand out 'likes' like they cost a million dollars each. The best advice is to do your work for yourself and forget getting approval from others. Expectations are pre-planned resentments. If you do your art for love, with no expectations, you will never be disappointed.
Do we really need any more flower pix?? Years ago Flickr had 1.25 million flower photos just in one Flickr group. Tens of millions more flower pix out there online. Can you even look at a fraction of them? Sunsets? Almost a million on one Flickr group…tons of other sunset groups out there with millions more sunset pix. If that Fickr group had 10 million sunsets pix would that stop you from shooting another sunset? What about 100 million sunsets? Reality and practicality don’t seem to enter the picture when the subject is making pictures and producing art - our art is personal.
You see, none of this matters if freezing time is in your blood. If your dedicated to your art, you MUST produce and keep producing, whether you have an outlet or not to make $…or even have any practical use for your output. Irrespective of recognition, fame and riches, we all have one thing in common…as long as we can keep pressing the button and freeze time, we feel the better for it.
In a 1979 interview entitled
Inside New York’s Art World, artist Louise Nevelson
said: “I think that when someone is willing to live and die for something…that means it is in the genes.” That pretty much sums it up…many an artist is willing to live and die for their art. Whether painter, draftsman, photog, writer, musician, sculptor, actor or poet, artists use their art as a way to see, interpret and make sense of their world. If they are a true artist, they will do their art for free…just for the therapy value
Weegee on the subject…
“Sure. I’d like to live regular. Go home to a good looking wife, a hot dinner, and a husky kid. But I guess I got film in my blood.”
Artists’ have a long history of working for free or nearly so. They are driven to produce from an inner demon and must find an outlet for their production. The other choice is to let their art sit, be useless and probably die with them.
In 2018 the unfortunate reality for the photog is this…
Oh wait, that was the 1950s...
In any case, in 2018, the world is polluted with images. Generic photography has never been more worthless in our society. There are 2 billion+ cell phone cams out there. Sure everyone with a smart phone can’t produce great work. But even so, there is no shortage of decent photographs out there. Even toddlers can produce nice pix. And as we all know...even a monkey can do it.
In an intro to his review on Amazon of
Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939 by Virginia Nicholson, Lleu Christopher distills what fuels the bohemian life.
“Nicholson has a genuine appreciation for the bohemian spirit, and acknowledges the sacrifices made by many obscure artists, poets and others existing (often marginally) at society’s fringes. For some, the idealistic decision to forsake conventional society for a life dedicated to art, romance, poetry or perhaps a vaguer idea such as beauty or authenticity was never rewarded with any kind of material success. Was there any compensation for those living such marginal lives? Nicholson makes the case that for many, a life dedicated to art, romance and freedom is its own reward. For those who embody the bohemian spirit, material comforts and security are not worth the price of suppressing one’s creativity and individuality.”
Personally, I’ve worked on projects for 2+ years, almost going broke to fund it…and when it was complete, I failed to even give it away for free. The projects were landmark and had outstanding content. If you’ve seen my work you know I don’t sign my name to garbage. Yet, curators refused to even take a look at it.
But that is how it can be with art. Lots of rejection, so get used to it if you aspire to be an artist. Don’t take any of it personally, you have to suck it up and move onto the next project…
or don’t be an artist. Now when I speak of artist, I don't think of myself as some big artist. I am a social documentary photographer. But there is still art in the process, so I use the word 'artist' loosely.
Scape Martinez
“Never give up! Don’t listen to the haters. Don’t try to be an artist unless you can work and live in isolation, without any thanks….bleak, but needed until you get to the much lauded place.”
This
Jazz series will give you an excellent rundown of the trials and tribulations facing many an artist.
If you have not seen this series, I suggest you do so. You can get it from your library. Gives much insight into the artist.
If you have photography that you want to preserve, why not share it on the Internet Archive? You don't have to give away all rights. Just use the non-commercial Creative Commons option. "Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND" I tried with the Wikipedia, but they deleted virtually all my photos. 1-1/2 years of work wasted. So be careful where you put your time and work if you plan to donate it. The internet can be very impermanent. But whatever you do...do it for love.
