Bill Jay memory from ASU

I was going through some old notes today before heading out to Tucson for the opening of The Qualities of Light Exhibition at The Center for Creative Photography when I came across my notes from one of Bill Jay’s History of Photography classes at ASU.

Granted my notes from back then were sloppy (my writing habits changed a year later after the police academy TAC staff taught me that life was less painful when I was able to write legibly in a consistent manner) but I think I still have down the general concept of Bill’s message that day.

He was arguing that good photographers had to understand the history of the medium and what the standards of good photography are to truly be successful. My notes quoted him as follows:

“Young Photographers do not have the knowledge of History. If you don’t know the history, when you are so self absorbed, or if not self indulgent, then there is no relevance to your work other than your own feelings”.

I think this is even a bigger issue today than back then. With the technology advancements in equipment, more people are picking up camera and claiming to be “self taught” art photographers more than ever was imaginable 30 years ago. We live in a world of the two second page view and social media “Likes”. We are inundated with images. Often drawn to the brilliance of of over saturated images created more with pre-set s in a post production computer program than the creative eye of a photographer who has hone his or her craft. I also assume many of the photographers who are popular on social media have also probably never seen a good print in person. I want to be fair< I know not everyone young photographer is like this, but unfortunately many are, and often because they don’t know any better.

Need to keep this short, I just wanted to acknowledge that so much of my development as a photographer has come from viewing and studying the prints of the masters. I don’t know any other way to understand what a beautiful print looks like without seeing examples. I try and learn something every time I see great prints, and use those experiences to remind me of the standard I am striving for. For me it is usually a “sharpening the saw” experience. So, I am excited to be continuing my education tonight in Tucson , time to start driving!

Thoughts on Robert Frank

With Robert Frank’s passing earlier this month I have read lots of tributes since and I have given some thought to how his work impacted my development as a photographer.

There is no doubt that The Americans was one of the most important things to happen to the medium, I remember Bill Jay talking about that fact when I was studying at ASU, listing it as one of the three most important things in establishing the medium in the art world. I have a copy of the book, have seen his prints, know the work well and I absolutely respect and like it. But I would never look to Frank and say he is the photographer whose work has impacted me most. I am a Winogrand fan, and I know Frank’s work impacted him, and so many others that impacted me so maybe, by proxy, Frank had a bigger impact on me than I realize.

I just read A.D. Coleman’s article on Robert Frank which has some fantastic insight. One thing that jumped out to me was the fact that Frank moved on from The Americans to film and other projects. He never did another photography series like The Americans. I think its interesting because when you look at photographers like Winogrand, Friedlander, or whomever you learn a lot by comparing their photographs over a long time period. You learn about the subject matter in greater detail (in most cases our society) and you learn about the photographer personally. It is obviously different with Frank because he leaves the documentary style of The Americans behind and moves on so there is still work that offers insight to the artist but you can not follow the change of society through his work.

For me, I experience life by photographing. Even if I don’t have a camera, visually I am constantly focusing on elements of my world and framing them in my mind. Sometimes it is actually hard not to that. I think there is a lot of value in doing long term series like most of my work. I love being able to compare things over say a 30 year span and hope that many of my series will go well beyond 50 years. It would be interesting to see Frank’s work if had continued over a long period of time, maybe it would have been too much for him. Maybe the great initial success of The Americans prevented that. Lots to consider, but I wanted to take a moment and remember an icon for his contribution to the medium.