On 11-07-20 12:36 PM, Bob W wrote:
"The greatest artists know how to create a distance from their
subjects."
I read his statement as being about street photographers, not about artists
in general, although I may be wrong.
Any given statement about what art is or what artists do will receive an
immediate fusillade of protest& challenge from everyone else who takes an
interest in the subject, regardless of their actual grounding. No harm in
that - it is only opinion and a pleasant way of passing time until we hear
the scratching sound of the Reaper honing his scythe.
In some ways this is what art is: a long argument about what art is. Every
statement about the nature of art necessarily limits it, puts a boundary on
it. In response, someone else will produce a work that refutes it, breaks
the boundary, yet is still undeniably art. Trying to define art is like
trying to pin quicksilver to the ceiling.
I think he means something similar to the notion that every writer has a
splinter of ice in the heart. That whatever situation you are involved in,
however closely, there is still a part of you that is watching ironically
from the shelter of a doorway, and laughing quietly at the foolishness of it
all. I do think this is present in some of Maier's pictures, and I think it
may be a necessary condition of great art, but not a sufficient condition.
B
Thank you for that, Bob. Your last point resonates deeply with me as
I'm still struggling to break through the pretty snapshot ceiling. I
needs spend more time in that doorway with my inner cynic.
-bmw
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