Here are a few shots from the weekend. I figured I would show a pretty sunrise along with the other three creepy photos. The top two are from the Friendly Toast, the bottom one is the Memorial Bridge, and I found a chained up fridge in the woods near a boat launch. The bottom 2 are Olive... checking out her freshly carved pumpkin and painting.
Why Do People Take Photographs?
Early on it was an effort to record. As time has passed, photography has come to serve many functions, but I feel like I have a very punk/folk rock outlook on art as a whole... one reason why I want to become a teacher. I firmly believe that anybody can benefit from the process of creating art. It may seem foreign and strange at first, but you can do things with a canvas or camera that you may never be able to do with words. I also don't believe that you have to make art with the ideal that the finished product has to be "amazing"... or that anything otherwise would be a failure. Making art is a success as long as you care about it and work through some sort of thought or idea in your head. Art (like folk and punk) is for the people. Expression is important, and expression through photography is something brand new to me this semester, but I am beginning to see how people can become hooked on the fleeting moments and nostalgia of the medium.
Process
My processes with other mediums usually begin with a thumbnail and lots of scribbling and maybe even a botched start. Photo so far seems different because why would I sketch something when taking a picture is so much faster? Maybe this is a way for me to dig a little deeper into my process? It seems a little counterintuitive to me to draw something I want to photograph, but but maybe I'll start to think about that...
As far as project ideas go, I feel like I think things through best when I run and drive. I was driving when I thought of the urinals, and thoughts seem really clear when I run. I have to make notes after so that I don't forget my ideas, but just providing myself with time alone to think is a huge part of working something out for me.
Inspiration
I have so much inspiration in my life. My friends and family... The friends I lost in Iraq that I think about every day. My wife of almost eleven years and daughter Olive, that provide me with a constant feeling of comfort and chaos. It seems like boring domestic stuff from day to day, but I can't imagine where I would be today without their support. I was a good artist in high school, but I graduated a looooong time ago. When I was in Iraq, I decided that I would go to school for something I enjoyed... not just a field that I could get a job in.
Also... there is a band from Chicago called Tortoise. The album TNT will make anybody want to make art... I think. I haven't actually tested this theory out... yet.
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