Thursday, August 4, 2011

Bad Art



I found this sign lying on the floor inside an old building I was shooting and it made me smile! A simple message, but really something to think about. Sometimes we photographers get so caught up in making the perfect photo, we don't take time to play, time to experiment, and time to grow.


I am currently reading a book that speaks to this issue, Art & Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Here is a favorite quote from the book:


Fears about artmaking fall into two families: fears about yourself, and fears about your reception by others. In a general way, fears about yourself prevent you from doing your best work, while fears about your reception from others prevent you from doing your own work.



So, I encourage you to play, have fun with your work, and don't be afraid to fail now and then, and to make a little bad Art. When it comes right down to it, the only person your Art needs to please is YOU! :) Photograph the people, places and things that have meaning to you. Enjoy the process for how it makes you feel, and the photos for what they say to you. Your vision of the world is unique, explore it, enjoy it!



Happy Shooting,
Kathleen

8 comments:

  1. This is such timely encouragement, Kathleen. "Don't be afraid to make bad art." I had an awful shoot yesterday for my pet photography class. Why do we have such high expectations of ourselves? Because we really do care about our subjects, whether flowers or dogs or humans. But like the sign says...it's ok to make bad art. I think we should all find some old ceiling tiles and make ourselves the same sign! :)

    ~Barb

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  2. Barb-

    I think we should make a bunch of the signs and leave them for people to find, just like I did. :)

    Kathleen

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  3. I would dare to take that one step farther and say there is no such thing as bad art. Art being subjective and all. (and I really love this pic!)

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  4. Thanks, Cindi, and thanks to my friend Zoe for the use of her arm.:) I shot the sign in 6 different locations in the mill, but when I saw this face painted on the wall, I knew it was just the right spot. :)

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  5. I can't even count how many photos I've thrown away that I really liked just because I didn't think others would feel the same way about them as I do. What a timely post, Kathleen. I really needed to hear that!

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  6. Kathleen the perfect post for an amateur like me who constantly struggles with trying to get it right....in one of Jim Zuckerman's books he makes a statement about photography that reinforces your point. I cannot remember it word for word but it goes something like this....make photographs you love and if no one else likes them..to bad. Thank you for posting.

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  7. Thank you for reminding me my photography is for me. I do it to please me. Great post!!!

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