leyna

I’ve spent too much time lately working and dreaming of shooting and not enough time actually shooting.  I made myself take 15 minutes today to just shoot something, anything, with no expectations.  Here’s one of the portraits I made of Leyna:

© Caleb Cole 2009

the best things I’ve read lately

“As artists, it is our responsibility to be continuously questioning what makes a photograph art, especially in a world not only filled with copious amounts of commercial and amateur imagery but that is also overflowing with fine-art photography.  It is important I think at this moment to pause and question, what is more important–making a photograph that will be deemed “art” or making a photograph that can be powerful and that affect[s] how people view the world[?]” –Cara Philips

“I suddenly realized that photography was something you did physically, and there was movement to it. You didn’t have to direct your models to stop, to hold that pose, or to move their heads a little bit to the right or left: all that was unnecessary.  Robert was barely speaking to these girls: just moving around them; and every time I heard the click of the Leica it seemed almost like a seizure in time, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I learned that life has these little clicks in it: and you can keep moving; and as I was watching the models, I started trying to anticipate when the clicks would come, and he and I were in sync a number of times. As the shutter went off it seemed, for an infinitesimal part of a second, as if life had set itself, and then started moving again. Leaving there two hours later I couldn’t get it out of my mind; and walking out into the street, I kept seeing moments frozen in time: people sticking out a hand for a taxi, or pausing momentarily to look into a shop window, suddenly seemed framed, and infinitesimally frozen for the camera. Innocent everyday non-incidents, became stop time moments; and by the time I got off the bus at 53rd Street I was so hooked that I went upstairs and quit my job. I went straight to Harry and said “I’m going to quit this job and go out to make photographs.” –Joel Meyerowitz in an interview in Too Much Chocolate

And then this note that Richard Renaldi received from one of the people he photographed for his new book.  I’m not sure if the people I photograph will ever feel this way about the work I make.

“Hey
I just found out about your book from my roommate. I just want to let you know that the book looks amazing. Me myself a 19 year old born and raised in the riv could totally relate to the photos, shit I grew up with a lot of those kids. I could name a bunch of them, a couple I am actually good friends with. Those photos bring me back to the days, a couple years ago walking in the rain to work after school. Ice cold, totally gives outsiders a view of life in Fall River.

About me
My name is Ellis Rua and I am 19 years old. I grew up in Fall River then quickly after graduating from Durfee I moved out to NYC on my own, in a pursuit to better my life. As you can tell Fall River doesn’t have much to offer a teenager in search of something more. I would love to volunteer sometime in helping you guys release this book. I understand there is a lecture this Monday coming up. Let me know if I could be of any assistance.

Take care
Ellis”

Things I could look at all day and never stop

Jane Tam is so awesome.

Image © Jane Tam, Can I Come Home With You? 2007

self-portraits and ritual

Last night was my first night of Roswell Angier’s Trends in Contemporary Portraiture class and it was everything I had hoped for and more.

He talked about the portrait as a ceremonial encounter between the photographer and subject— I started thinking about how that concept might extend to self-portraiture.  Certainly my experiences with photographing myself involve ritual,  the time and care spent setting up the camera and the lights.  But when I photograph myself there is no face off, no real-time interaction between photographer and subject.  Instead the interaction is once removed; I frame the scene with my gaze focused on the space where I will be, and once I inhabit that space I am focused back on the camera, the stand-in for the me that was once there. And then once I see what I’ve created, the images on the screen and the prints, a new interaction takes place: between my present self and past self, self as viewer and self as subject, self as photographer and self as subject.  But this is also an interaction stalled in time.  So what does all this mean for the ceremonial encounter I try to have with myself?  And how is this interaction changed by the presence of an assistant who presses the shutter for me and creates an audience for my private ritual?

This is only one of the trains of thought brought on by the class.  I may post more later with more.  We’ll see.

I get around

I’ve been joking that I’m experimenting with the “Henry Wessel approach” to printing these days, meaning that I’m finally looking at work I shot months and months ago. It’s true that some time away from the experience of making images does change how you critically see them. I really enjoy the feeling of being excited about work all over again, even if it was created a few seasons past. Slowing down has been a big priority for me lately.

This week I have two much-needed days off from one of my multiple jobs, and I’m looking forward to spending some time in the darkroom.

But enough of that — here’s something new.

Massapequa Park, Long Island.

Great Performers

This week I’ve been fascinated by Paolo Pellegrin’s portfolio in the New York Times Magazine, Great Performers.

I’m actually not someone who pays much attention to celebrities and am generally out of the loop on this subject matter, but I am a big sucker for documentary photographers getting opportunities like this because their voice is so prominent in their work and that’s what makes it really special.

histogram of the moon

Histogram of tonight’s full moon in a dark sky:

Worth

According to the $timator website, this blog is worth $2,277, whereas my website is only worth $261.  Very interesting.

Public Perception of Art

I received an email about the current stimulus package proposal and reactions to “the House bill [which would] include a $50 million provision for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).  As the legislation states, the NEA ‘is positioned to use existing mechanisms to allocate lifeline funding quickly to these nonprofit organizations to retain jobs’ and there is solid research to demonstrate the stimulus gains that can be provided by this funding.”  What struck me about the email is not so much anything about the proposed bill itself but rather the responses to the bill from both congresspeople and citizens that reflects a larger cultural perspective on the value of art in America.  From the email:

 

Here are some examples of the negative press received from publications across the country:

    * “True to form, Congress has loaded the [bill] with hundreds of billions in wasteful spending. The bill includes $650 million for digital TV coupons, $140 million to study the atmosphere and $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. None of these proposals would create jobs or boost our economy. They’re just old-fashioned waste” – Op-ed in the Indianapolis Star

    * “The National Endowment for the Arts would get $50 million for new exhibits to deem America racist and sexist.” – Op-ed in the Norwich Bulletin

    * “The National Endowment for the Arts, for example, is in line for $50 million, increasing its total budget by a third. The unemployed can fill their days attending abstract-film festivals and sitar concerts.” – National Review Editorial

    * “I just think putting people to work is more important than putting more art on the wall of some New York City gallery frequented by the elite art community.” [U.S. Rep Jack] Kingston said. “Call me a sucker for the working man.” – Congressional Quarterly report

None of this is news to me, but spending time thinking about how many Americans view art, and therefore view me as a maker of art, is definitely depressing.  It’s frustrating that art is considered excessive, extravagant, and wasteful and is first to be cut when times get tough— the Boston Public School system is undergoing a budget cut and arts education is most at risk for elimination.   It’s frustrating that art’s ability to facilitate social critique and generate meaningful discussion about important national issues is not acknowledged or valued.  It’s frustrating that art is seen as separate from and not relevant to everyday life.  And it’s frustrating that art is relegated to being something by and for the elite, not something relevant to or made by the “working man.”  These are clearly not all the negative perceptions of art/artists, but a few reflected in the responses to the stimulus proposal.

 

So here’s what I propose (if this doesn’t exist already, though if it does, it needs some help)— that a non-profit nation-wide PR firm for the Arts be created, an organization that does nothing but tirelessly advocate to change the public perception of the arts.  Let’s use our art and ingenuity to change the situation.  I know there are artists out there making work that relates to this and small organizations doing their part, too, but doesn’t Art’s public image need a major overhaul?  Isn’t there something that can be done to re-establish the idea of art as an essential component of flourishing cultures rather than the symptom of self-indulgence and ridiculous excess?  Maybe I need to get started doing my part in all of this.

 

For starters, send a letter to your senators about the stimulus package and find out more information here:

http://www.capwiz.com/artsusa/issues/alert/?alertid=12427561&type=ME

the writing on the back

One of the many reasons I love vernacular photography and very old portraits is the writing that often accompanies them. Leyna’s parents sent us a cabinet card of her great great grandmother (I think that’s the right number of greats) and more fascinating than the front to me was the back:

Writing on images that identifies a person is usually written in a detached third-person, simply listing the person’s name— “[first name] [last name] on his third birthday”— so that others who view it will know who is depicted.  This note is different.  I imagine all sorts of stories: ones of youthful pride and possession (my mother) or ones involving loss of memory and the struggle to remember (my mother?) or ones where the writer has an uncontrollable need to classify and mark everything, like a variation of OCD.  I’m not really sure what my point is other than to marvel at one of the many ways photography sparks my imagination and helps me think about how strange and interesting people are.

MA Artists: Stand Up and Be Counted

Please, this is easy to fill out and important for Massachusetts artists.  This data will be the information needed to persuade legislators and create policies that protect and support the arts community in this state.  If you are an artist residing in Massachusetts, please take a moment and fill it out.

***

Deadline extended to 2/7/09

Please, if you have not already, fill out Stand Up and Be Counted- a survey for Massachusetts artists of all disciplines (music, film, visual, craft, performing, literary, etc..).

Your answers will help the Artists Foundation and others better advocate for our community on legislation and policy.  Please be aware that several of the NON REQUIRED questions ask for 2006 income data – so you may need to find/dust off your 2006 IRS tax returns.

Just over 2,900 artists have filled it out!   Our survey was based on a MN survey and they had just over 1,000 responses. We would love to have over 3,000 responses!

PLEASE also help us reach our goal of over 3,000 response and help us spread the word to others artists of ALL disciplines in our state to fill it out:  www.artistsfoundation.org

Sincerely,

Kathleen Bitetti

Artist

Executive Director

www.artistsfoundation.org

Caleb interviews Elizabeth Attenborough

Elizabeth Attenborough is a photographer and painter living in Boston who spends much of her time traveling the world to photograph musicians.   What I love most about this interview is Elizabeth’s passion for collaboration and view that all photography is about collaboration (between photographer and subject, between photographer and light, etc)… something that I think is really true and that so many photographers forget.

When people find out you’re a photographer,the first question they ask is ,”Oh what kind of photography do you do?” How do you respond? How would you describe yourself as a photographer (since I know you do so much work that spans so many areas of photography)?

This is the inevitable question that always makes me cringe! It’s always meant well obviously but I’m sure it equates with musicians having to “define” their music by putting it in a specific genre…a  label….”So are you grunge…or punk or emo?”…. “No we are non of those things….we just make music….”  Having said that (and I’m sure its clear judging from the parallel I just drew) my biggest passion is shooting musicians….people, really, but my two biggest passions in life are photography and music so it was only natural that I would wind up combining the two….I love being able to work with such creative people…they have so much to say …and to be able to bring out parts of their personality through photography is a rush…I enjoy the process of collaboration as much as the end result…its a team effort…we feed off each other and to see their faces at the end when they see themselves through “my eyes”…its amazing.  Wait, what as the question??

How did you get started with photography?

I was working in radio at the time…a local “alternative rock” station (WFNX).  I had a show called “Xtreme FNX” which was a music heavy program….so I was often interviewing bands on the air and wound up being friends with many of them….I attended shows and started photographing them on and off stage mainly for documentary purposes .. one band would like what I did and use the photos ..another band would see them and ask me to shoot THEIR band and it just kept snowballing from there…

My greatest success story to date I owe to “The Click Five”….this group of very talented, good looking guys who I started shooting years ago and they sort of “adopted” me….I wound up traveling around with them and shooting them wherever they were…. stealing moments to do group and individual shots whenever we could…. One day they called me and said “Elizabeth we have a huge favor to ask you…Our label flew in this hot shot photographer from L.A to do the cover for our album and we hate all of the shots!!….Now they wont pay for a re-shoot and we are desperate!!…Would you please help us and re-shoot the shot..We have no time and no money!! (In all fairness to the photographer I think it was primarily the stylists that blew the shoot.. they just didn’t feel/ look like themselves and it showed on their faces in every shot).  Anyway, we re-shot the vision the record company had in mind very quickly and decided to “play” with some of my ideas afterward….we went in a totally different direction and had a blast!….Long story short…the record company wound up liking the ones that I did even more than their original vision and scrapped the “professional” shoot altogether. They used one of my shots for the cover and another for the inside sleeve. Those shots have since appeared all over the globe and the band has paid me back through royalties of the merch sales where the images appear. This was my first album cover and it has launched my career.  I can honestly say that if it werent for the trust that we all developed with each other as band and photographer I  would not be getting the work I am getting today.

Your website shows a lot of work in a lot of commercial areas, but I know you primarily as a music photographer. Would you prefer to concentrate on music photography or do you want to have a more varied career? What is your dream work?

As far as whether or not I’m looking for a more varied career as opposed to sticking with music….that’s the hardest part for me….I enjoy shooting everything!!….Well not so much still life but I’ve done it and will do it if necessary….in school (NE SOP) I was always told my portfolio was “all over the place” and that I needed to narrow down and “focus”…I was like “But I wanna shoot everything!!”…I think my strength is working with people regardless of what they do…so that’s where I’m going to continue to concentrate my efforts.

Dream work? I would love love LOVE to wind up working in Cinematography!!…Ive done a video already as a collaborative effort with two Film students from NY and had the time of my life!….I would love nothing more than to work in Film and Video…..being surrounded  by creative people working together on a shared vision and seeing it all come together…Ive never felt so alive!!….ever.

Since your work is largely used for commercial purposes, do you consider the work that you make art? Do you consider yourself an artist? Why or why not?

My intentions when I’m shooting are always to produce something that I would want on my wall…or something that would grab one’s attention when looking through a magazine….its got to convey a sense of mood …do I always get that?  NO!  I am a perfectionist and am rarely happy with what I’m producing…always has to be better…..even things I’m happy with I find a way to look at it and see ways that I can do it better… So if by “artist” you mean a struggling perfectionist who is tirelessly her own worst critic…then, yes.

What is your greatest photography-related fear?

I’d say its a toss up between failing/being irrelevant and losing my eye-sight…

Assuming you want to leave a legacy, how do you want to be remembered as a photographer? What do you want people to say about your work?

Oh God, I don’t know….I guess I would want people to say that they enjoyed the “process” of making the photographs with me..its as important to me that people enjoy themselves while we are shooting as much as their happiness with the end result…..it shows in the photographs…whether its a serious shot or a stolen moment in between takes(which are almost always the best ones!)…if the subject is comfortable with the photographer and enjoying the process it shows…no doubt about it….The proof is in the picture….and I want people to see that in my photos.

Which photographers (or artists or musicians, etc) inspire you right now?

I get inspiration from all sorts of places…whether it’s a painter, musician, photographer.

…and in keeping with my malcontent way of thinking, every time I see a great piece of art I have a combination of feelings that range between inspiration and depression!….It’s hard to describe….It starts out with this “Oh wow thats incredible Im so impressed…and you have this appreciation for the artist and say “Damn, good for you, well done!”…….and then there’s this moment…not a big one..a fleeting moment where I then go to my dark place and say “Ugh why didnt I think of that..” or “Man I wish I could live up to that level of artistry”…..And depending on the day it can bring me in either direction…..fortunately 95.5% of the time its the former of the two reactions and I wind up inspired…brings me to a higher place….but when it DOES swing in the “dark” direction its intense and I have to work hard to get out of there…..Its a part of me I’ve  learned to accept.

Tell me something I don’t know about you.

I have an aversion to certain words like “meal” and “moist”….Ha!  I would tell you I’m 2 steps away from being insane but I’m guessing you picked up on that already!!