Contemporary vision

Over the course of the last year and a half, I've submitted work to a good 2 dozen calls for artists and competitions in the US and my photos have found there way into 3 such group exhibits. In other words, my "hit rate", and self-confidence, is rather low. Nevertheless, I recently submitted work to two (no-fee) photography competitions here in Paris and, having seen the selected photographs, I'm left wondering how curators/judges go about choosing winners.

The selected work seems to be very digital, contrived. That is to say, all of the selected work appears to be technically well-executed, but rather plastic in appearance. Is this what constitutes a contemporary aesthetic?

For my part, I recognize that there is a lot of room for improvement in my images. Individually, from a technical perspective and as a series which conveys meaning. I aim to shoot deliberately and in a style that inherits from previous generations of photographers who inspire me. I have no interest in chasing trends but can't help but feel like I am taking the wrong pictures. I really loathe the idea of shooting what I think they want to see but the alternative seems to be continuing in total obscurity. Of course, I could just stop putting myself through the hassle of entering these calls, since they leave me questioning myself at the end of the day. For someone like me, who wants to have their work seen, what is the alternative?

George,

Don't beat yourself up over this. These competitions are mostly about generating income for the organizers! Your work, however is genuine and has substance. Let them eat cake..... left on the country roads by farm horses!

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

George,

Don't beat yourself up over this. These competitions are mostly about generating income for the organizers! Your work, however is genuine and has substance. Let them eat cake..... left on the country roads by farm horses!

Asher

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Thank you very much, Asher. I'm beginning to form the opinion that the various competitions and group exhibit calls are actually harmful, as in they stifle creativity. Not only am I left gutted when announcement day rolls around and I find nothing in my inbox but I also feel like a fool for (usually) paying for the privilege.

Unfortunately, no established photographer that I am aware of is willing to sit down and look at a portfolio outside of the big, expensive portfolio review events. A great many of the reviewers (the actual photographers, that is) came up in a system that allowed for mentoring and pay-it-forward review and critique. However, these same folks seem to want to monetize that which they received gratis and force emerging photographers into a horribly impersonal speed dating arrangement.

Like it or not, I'm the mark. Galleries and even other photographers have shifted their focus away from selling art to selling the promise of a place in the art world to wannabes like me...and that sucks.

George

I've seen your work and I really think you don't need to be so hard on yourself. I really like your style and way of photography. I think if we don't let others dictate who or what our own voice is then we are on our way to discovery with our own self. I love what I do. Took years to develop but I never got discouraged I just kept on doing what I loved and some measure of success came with it. Your art should be a passion and then let whatever happens, happen.

Charlotte-

George,

I think that a majority of these curators look currently for spectacular photos that draw attention, though not necessarily being good. Attention means revenue.
Many people look for sensational visual effects, this means attention, revenue.

A seemingly simple photo is often difficult to create. Elegant simplicity does often not draw the attention these curators need, but on a long term, these photos stay while the spectacular ones fade away...

Keep on with your good work and don't worry about this.

Best regards,
Michael

Michael,

From time to time, there are words of wisdom that deserve remembering. This one of yours fits in this category.




To get a picture noticed it has to have a draw. That can be as basic as the guy flashing open his raincoat on the grand staircase of a Saks or Nieman Marcus department store or a nude woman streaking through Wall Street! Attention-getting tricks work immediately, however, that moment of fame is short lived.

Timeless attraction is the challenge. Like my son says, "Daddy, There's girls for parties and then there's others for marriage." I'm still waiting!

Asher

I have read of many people who were passionate about the type of work they wanted to do. But recognition, initially at least, was not forthcoming. To put food on the table, they took up other work in their fields, however reluctantly. It was a price they were prepared to pay in order to pursue their dreams and/or passion.


Best of luck in your endeavors.

charlotte thompson said:

George

I've seen your work and I really think you don't need to be so hard on yourself. I really like your style and way of photography. I think if we don't let others dictate who or what our own voice is then we are on our way to discovery with our own self. I love what I do. Took years to develop but I never got discouraged I just kept on doing what I loved and some measure of success came with it. Your art should be a passion and then let whatever happens, happen.

Charlotte-

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Thank you very much, Charlotte. It's tempting to ask myself what I'm doing wrong when I should be concentrating on improving my images and sticking with what works for me visually.

Michael,

Sometimes I'm left scratching my head when looking at the resulting group of photos, almost seems random at times. This is actually a fairly common reaction that I've read in discussions on Flak Photo Network. A fair few photographers continue to hold their noses and submit photos, despite their better judgement. It seems continuing to play the group exhibit lottery is the only game in town.

I'll continue searching out no-fee opportunities and try not to let playing this game affect what or how I shoot. As for the speed dating portfolio reviews, I don't think I'll be attending any of those.

Thank you for the encouragement.

George. Are you listening? Hear this. The first mistake you made was to fall for the old competition angle and all it has to offer: sweet **** all. Better you ask your mother in law to move in with you.
The only advantage to you now is to know that there is no value in competitions except to the winner (marginal) and the morons who run them.
Summing up, George, get over it and do something useful, like teach someone what you know for free. You'll get a lot more satisfaction and respect from it.

George,

if you look for some attention (that's the purpose of showing), why not just ignoring the entire gallery business and focus on places where people like to be?

Example: I have a bunch of photos I would like to show on a real wall, not just on the WWW.
There is a restaurant where we go quite often and I could show these there. If I would just start preparing the whole thing...

Do you have places where you like to go often, to meet people you like and you like the setting?
If you have the possibility to show some of your work there, you will probably get a smaller public in numbers, but maybe more appreciation.

Don't change anything in the way you see and do your work. Pursue the path you see in front of you!

Best regards,
Michael

Funny you should mention that, Michael. There is a cafe on the corner that would be the perfect opportunity. There are a number of matted prints on the wall, which are a holdover from the previous owner. Based on conversations I've had with one of the bartenders, the owners are planning on re-decorating by painting the walls and presumably changing or taking down the prints. All of the current prints are B&W photographs of jazz performers and are about A3+ or so in size. I could very well approach the owner about replacing the 40 or so prints that are currently hanging in the space.

Likewise, there is hotel Lutetia nearby (I live on the edge of St. Germain des Prés), which exhibits photography in it's public spaces.

What's in for the publisher?

If you want to publish your picture (or if I want to publish mine, etc...), you will need to convince somebody to do the investment. Why would he do that? What is the gain for him?

It is not about the value of your picture, or anyone's picture, it is about the motivation of that person. You can have the best picture in the world, if there is no gain, it will not be published.

To better explain what I mean, I will give some examples of motivations. It is not only about financial gain.

It is about financial gain for a gallery. Running a gallery is expensive and if you don't limit to what your public buys, the gallery will go bankrupt.

For the curator of a museum, the gain is probably in the eyes of his peers: he needs to justify that you are an artist by placing your work in a historical progression of art schools. You'll probably notice that no artist made it alone in the past 150 years, but that all new ways of, e.g., painting started as a group of artist presenting themselves as a new movement.

For a political movement or lobby, they will exhibit your pictures if they correspond to the message they want to promote. For example, it should be relatively easy to have a documentary on the horrors of atomic energy published by ecologists, a documentary on the horrors of prostitution by feminists, a documentary on unemployment by the left wing, etc... There is a big market for that.

So, back to your pictures: which person could hang them on a wall and would be his gain?

Jerome Marot said:

What's in for the publisher?

If you want to publish your picture (or if I want to publish mine, etc...), you will need to convince somebody to do the investment. Why would he do that? What is the gain for him?

It is not about the value of your picture, or anyone's picture, it is about the motivation of that person. You can have the best picture in the world, if there is no gain, it will not be published.

To better explain what I mean, I will give some examples of motivations. It is not only about financial gain.

It is about financial gain for a gallery. Running a gallery is expensive and if you don't limit to what your public buys, the gallery will go bankrupt.

For the curator of a museum, the gain is probably in the eyes of his peers: he needs to justify that you are an artist by placing your work in a historical progression of art schools. You'll probably notice that no artist made it alone in the past 150 years, but that all new ways of, e.g., painting started as a group of artist presenting themselves as a new movement.

For a political movement or lobby, they will exhibit your pictures if they correspond to the message they want to promote. For example, it should be relatively easy to have a documentary on the horrors of atomic energy published by ecologists, a documentary on the horrors of prostitution by feminists, a documentary on unemployment by the left wing, etc... There is a big market for that.

So, back to your pictures: which person could hang them on a wall and would be his gain?

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Jerome,

I like this approach to finding how to use the needs of others to promote one's own agenda. It's an efficient idea. This leverage has a lot of potential if only one can think of how to apply it for one's purpose! This idea is ancient and used by the master military strategist Sun Tzu, who wrote "The Art of War".

You explain its actual application with examples of operational tactics, in a simple and useful manner. Kudos!

Asher

Jerome Marot said:

...
So, back to your pictures: which person could hang them on a wall and [what] would be his gain?

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Good question. I've thought about what you wrote and have determined that I am unable to answer that with my current series, it isn't aimed at anyone.

George Holroyd said:

Good question. I've thought about what you wrote and have determined that I am unable to answer that with my current series, it isn't aimed at anyone.

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Not quite true, dear George!

The pictures needed to be made, to be conceived, adjusted and materialized from your imagination to something tangible. That is an essence of the creative process whereby one can share one's wildest imagination with others who can carry your creation with them and then bring your thoughts to others. That's how it works!

As art being formed and exported from your mind and actually produced as a tangible object, it speaks to you as a created being during its birth and your respond and argue with it until it says, "No more changes, I'm done!" At that point it has met your expectations and dreams or not. If you get most of what you had imagined, then the work will survive and have its own life as ART. So who is it for? First and foremost and ultimately, for you! That intent and purpose is the authentication of art, otherwise its just work and craft, no less beautiful, but not invested with your imagination!

Now it so happens that you are a sentient, sensitive and empathetic observer of life around you, harsh and beautiful. That's what you show us from your tiny Parisian apartment. Guess what? Your work does indeed represent the status of many folk all over trapped in circumstances, but determined to make their mark in life. So your art will resonate with a lot of people. It does with me as it represents the start of my life, cramped in a small home with 8 children and limited funds. Consider all the young couples trying to get a child into a good school, or pay for their own education or else return from an office to write a novel or even, (god help us), formulate a new theory of space and time!

So you have a huge audience for your work. You need to get it out! Cafés, restaurants are easy choices for getting your output in front of people.....and its always welcome here! When you feel you are really, really, really, ready, your pictures already grace walls in public places around you, I'll consider forwarding your very best pictures to a publisher. Not a walkthrough or a promise to deliver, but to try! You need 4 or five solid collections and then we can make a good run. Just for you. Meanwhile, I'll check the exact requirements.

Asher

I am not advising to use others to promote one agenda, I am just trying to describe how publishing works.

I feel that I should cite a post from Tom Dinning here: I find it interesting, unique and stimulating to think that there is someone out there who isn't intent on producing photos like everyone else for some aesthetic reasons but for your own purpose.

Tom is of course right: if we produce images so that they correspond to what the publisher wants to publish, we don't produce out own images. But the opposite is also true: if we produce our own images, the chances to have them seen is slim. I don't think any artist has become famous by producing what he or she really liked without following a particular school or movement. At least not during their life.

Much obliged for the encouragement, Asher. I'm working on editing and possibly adding some previous shots to the 33 Meters Squared series based on some feedback I've received. I also have what might turn into a new series. I've got a few new images but not quite sure if it's anything yet.

George Holroyd said:

Much obliged for the encouragement, Asher. I'm working on editing and possibly adding some previous shots to the 33 Meters Squared series based on some feedback I've received. I also have what might turn into a new series. I've got a few new images but not quite sure if it's anything yet.

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George,

If there's one thing OPF can claim we seek to succeed in, it's nudging folk to set goals for their own dreams. Exporting those dreams and intuitions into sets of real pictures. that move the photographer him/herself, has the most meaning to us.

When one has that feeling of self-worth expressed in a pile of prints, one has something to show. Before that it's hope and wishes and that requires encouragement and nurturing without altering your course to materialize your own ideas. We have a responsibility to take you seriously and not try to interfere too much or get you to "perfect" your work and thus kill it.

We're all enriched watching your journey and enjoying the pictures you share. Accept that for now as you build further.

Asher