“Are we truly creative, or simply too lethargic to become pedestrian?”
~ Johnny Keggler 2007
A prophetic statement? I think not.
I coined this phrase a few years ago as it does justice to my feelings about artists in general and analogue photographers specifically.
The value of a work of art is subjective; and, as a photographer, writer and video producer, I understand the feeling when someone doesn’t ’see’ in my work what I’ve tried to express. Whether it be an emotion, a colour, an expression of a creative thought or simply an attempt to capture and share what I see in a beautiful view or person.
This is one reason why I left the film/video field many years ago; I couldn’t stomach seeing people watching television and, when one of my commercials came on, they used that time to run to the toilet or the refrigerator. After all the work I’d put in to ensure the lighting and sound and movement and atmosphere were perfect, people simply walked away!
In retrospect I realise that this is the essence of artistry. The creation of an oeuvre in any medium is the culmination of an artists vision, which does not necessarily coincide with another’s impression of a work of art. But more importantly, art is taken for granted. The pedestrian train of thought is that there ‘should’ be a statue in that square, of course there is a mural on that wall, art galleries and museums exist so people have somewhere to go on a rainy day.
So why do we artists expose ourselves to the elements, to stares and odd comments, to possible rejection and ridicule? Because it would be too much work to not create. It would be too much of a chore to try to ignore that fire within; the push and drive that wakes us up at odd hours to catch the early morning light, that has us at home on weekend nights with a potter’s wheel between our legs, or our hands in a changing bag loading film for a large format camera.
What an artist does is never a challenge, although how one chooses to approach one’s art form often is. Very rarely do one’s tools dictate the quality of the result (very true for photography). No, our challenge would be to live in the mundane lane, to accept life as it comes at us and to not attempt to walk up that steep hill of creative thought.
My mother used to tell me: “Do what you like and you’ll never have to work”. To me that was definitely a prophetic statement, but today I would have to adjust that thought to: “Do what you like and you will never be able to do ordinary work”.
What we do – is it truly creative? Are we creating… or just following our paths?
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