Paths to Burnout

Going down that path is troubling and offers little visual language that hasn’t been thoroughly cliched. They are not printmakers, they don’t have the mindset for it.

Many of the amidol, silver bullet seekers don’t actually have anything to say, so their commitment to endless mixing, measuring each life out in milliliters is just a diversion. Small changes. Wasted.

If you are young enough to be looking at the darkroom as an alternate means of photographic discussion, beware thinking it will provide you with a more enhanced vocabulary than you may already have with digital accomplishment.

Over the recent past I have spent too many hours reading, and even further time and money wasted to visit the current loud silver photographers posting on the darkroom forums. Their work is limited in theme, visual vocabulary is regressed. It is as though they never realized the 30 years during the explosion of acceptance of photography by other artists.

people become diverted, then lost, then bitter, remorseful; until they hangout in forums complaining that they never made it because they were too skilled in craft and the world has become cheapened… etc. Read Photrio, Large Format, etc and you get the picture. Actually, you won’t get the picture -you have already seen them in travel and postcard shops, or at the annual wine and cheese fest.

Exposure Self

if just the re-production of the scene, fully, accurately, then pure mechanics it is a technical process subject to the rules and laws of technology and economics – not the domain of an artist.

made by an engineer not an artist. without the artist, there is no art

// surrendering a position. no longer an exalted original, valuable venerated  genius

/ rather, a diligent worker decorating the vacation homes of the idle.

  • outline:
  • —HD and art
  • — mortenson negative
  • —ansel’s acolytes. measuring themselves.
  • — digital hate. too easy. it exposes. 
  • — cellphone so easy all about the selfie
  • art is supposed to be difficult. process is conflict conversation. >>?? 

[overnight notes from a year ago] [maybe I’ll fill them in]