After my friend Paul Ruby read what I wrote about the opening of my exhibition he wrote me:
billie
it sounds like you are getting a lot from this adventure.
lots of praise from people you respect,
you get to put a mile marker in the ground,
and if you are interested - maybe you will sell some.
what do you want from photography
(you got me thinking).
the exhibit was a lot of work.
exhibits are a lot of work.
regards, paul
Paul writes in his own voice but he often asks some pithy questions that go to the heart of an issue or an image.
He is so right. Putting together an exhibition is a lot of work...mental, physical and emotionally and it is expensive. Everytime after I have put together an exhibition I always say, "No more. I'm not going to do it again. The next time someone asks me, I'm going to say 'No'." When Nancy Goldesberry asked me about doing the current exhibition, I started to say no but suddenly ideas started coming into my head. I had wanted to make large prints from the negatives made in the Garden of Sir Edward James but up until this year I had not had the printer or the software to do it the way I saw it in my head. I guess the challenge and the opportunity just overcame my "No's." Not only did I have a vision of the way I want the images printed but soon I knew how I wanted them framed and it wasn't the least expensive way.
But the real question from Paul is, "What do you want from photography?" I'm not sure how to put that into words or if I even can put it into words. This is one of those issues that I'll probably write about in my personal journal of morning pages for a while. This is definitely one of Paul's pithy questions that seems so simple on the surface but it isn't.
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Billie, the question "what do you want from photography?" has a parallel with all artists. I've talked to a number of artists, read some, and given it some thought - for what it's worth. Artists want to share their work with other artists and with the public. They want to express their vision and ideas. Sure, they want recognition from their respected peers. They want to sell because it is a form of valuing the work, but having shows, entering shows, blogs is ultimately a way of communicating -so others can see the exciting and interesting things you see - that otherwise they might never be able to see.
Billow
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