- Spend a lot of money on inkjet supplies so I don’t run out while making prints for my portfolio- DONE.
- Order portfolio box- DONE
- Obsess over whether my prints are too dark and I need to re-do them all- DONE
- Oder leave behind cards- DONE
- Prioritize my requests for reviewers- DONE
- Obsess over whether my prints are too dark and I need to re-do them all- DONE
- Re-prioritize my requests for reviewers- DONE
- Prep any images from the past 4 months that I’ve never printed larger than 8.5×11 and didn’t bother to perform dust removal/sharpening on- DONE
- Make contact sheets for the 12 rolls of processed 220 that will be waiting for me when I get home today.
- Do final scans for any images from above rolls that I want to include in my portfolio
- Process scans from #10 and get them ready to print
- Print files from #11
- Obsess over whether my prints are too dark and I need to re-do them all
- Determine what images I’m taking and how I want to sequence them
- Put together 10-12 folders with a print, CD, and resume.
- Re-determine what images I want to take and how I want to sequence them
- Update website with the new images/sequencing
I’m sure I’m forgetting 6 or 7 additional items.
I’ve completed a much needed update to my website. Work from a recent project: “The Histories Beneath” is now up, as is an update to “Somewhere in Middle America.”
“The Histories Beneath” marks my return to color photography (in reality I never left). I wish I had some nice, coherent statement as to what the project is about, but I don’t. What I can say is that if the work is successful, the connections between the superficially disparate subjects across the series will be apparent, at least on an intuitive level.
“Somewhere in Middle America” contains a handful of new images and what I feel is a tighter sequencing that more accurately reflects my intention for the project.
I have also gone back to using Flash for my portfolios in order to create a smoother viewing experience (I was an early adopter of Flash, then left it in frustration over the difficulties of keeping a Flash site updated at the time). Some research into Flash and xml integration led me to a create a Flash program that would allow me to port my existing look into Flash while still making updates dynamic and very easy to do. I know there are already lots of fantastic Flash modules out there that allow for this, but none of them gave me the flexibility to make things look the way I wanted. Besides, as you already know from my last post, I like to tinker with things.
Both these projects will remain ongoing. Hope you have a chance to check them out!
I am in the final editing and sequencing phase of a project I have been working on called The Histories Beneath. Have also done some significant revisions to My Somewhere in Middle America series. Look for a major update to my site in the next week or two.
I assume all you fellow Critical Massers got the same email I did yesterday- 570 entries! That means 1 in 11.4 applicants are going to make the final 50. Of course making the final 50 doesn’t even mean much- I’m guessing only the portfolios that really stand out among the final 50 get much attention. Getting one of the book awards would certainly get you some attention, but that’s a 1 in 190 chance. There is so much really good unrecognized work out there. Sometimes it seems like just playing the lottery would be easier…
After sitting on the fence for three weeks about it, I finally submitted an entry for Critical Mass. Paying up to $250 for the chance to simply have a group of influential people browse your work in digital form seemed a bit excessive, but I guess it’s one more chance to get the work out there.
Over the past month, I’ve been sending out gallery packets for “Somewhere in Middle America:”
I do this every few years, and it is always with very low expectations for any positive outcome. Sending work cold to galleries just seems like such a shot in the dark. However, to be perfectly honest, sometimes I just don’t know what else to do, and I’m not good at doing nothing. I am very isolated from any fine art photography community beyond a very local one with no connections to other regions, and the longer I’m here, the more I realize how detrimental that is, not just in terms of connections but in terms of meaningful feedback, camaraderie, and dialog.
Of course if I get one positive response, it will all be more than worth it- the galleries/spaces I am sending to are all ones I would be ecstatic to work with. It seems promotion for the artist often boils down to taking the long shot enough times to make something happen. I’ll be sure to post the rejection letters as they come.
Every so often, a photographer seems to rise to stardom from out of nowhere. Having never seen their work before, you suddenly see it everywhere, and they’re winning awards left and right, getting solo shows, etc. Some disappear as fast as they come, others have the depth and tenacity to remain in the spotlight.
Recently, I would put Amy Stein into this catagory. I’m suddently seeing work from her series Domesticated all over the place. It is a very strong series, with instant inpact, yet enough subtlety to hold your interest for a longer time.
It’s really easy to buy in to the myth of the “undiscovered” artist who, working in both isolation and obscurity is suddenly discovered and rocketed to stardom. I certainly bought into this myth for some time as a young aspiring artist. Yet closer examination pretty much always reveals much more beneath the surface. I have yet to meet a successful photographer who isn’t putting a temendous amount of effort into promoting their work. It’s just part of the job, and arguably requires more time and effort than the making itself.
A quick look at Amy Stein’s blog bears this out. She is constantly on the lookout for what is going on in the contemporary photo world, and taking every oppurtunity she can find to get her work out there.
I can imagine the responses:
“So let me get this straight. You’re a tenured professor of photography making a stable living at a job that allows (and even expects) you to be a artist. You’re showing with some regularity. Do you know how many people would kill for that? Wake up and realize how good you have it.”
I can’t argue. No matter how frustrated I get with my career, I keep in mind that in the bigger picture, things are pretty good. So what am I looking for?
I know a lot of artists for whom the making of work in and of itself is enough, and I have immense respect for those artists. Part of me wishes I could be one myself. Yet ultimately, I became an artist because I felt I had something worth sharing. In order to share, you need an audience.
The art world reminds me a lot of the movie and music industries: there are proportionally a very small number of slots available at the top with almost all of the attention going to those who have made it there. In my deepest, most ambitious dreams, this is where I want to end up. So what does membership in this group look like? For me, these are some of the telltale signs:
- Ongoing representation with galleries in one or more of the major markets: New York, Chicago, LA, San Fransisco.
- Exposure at some of the major museums in New York, DC, Chicago.
- One or more monographs from the better art presses.
This is what I’m after, but I know there’s a good chance I will never acheive it. Hence, the name of this blog… (though I’ve never met Mr. Ulrich, I’m hoping he won’t be offended by my twisted up allusion to his own blog). Luckily, not matter what else happens, I will always love making photographs.
How good I’ve got it: The photo area at school masquarading as my private studio during the summer:
