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“Art is by nature self-explanatory. Its vivid detail and overall cohesion give it a clarity not ordinarily apparent in the rest of life…so if the audience lives in the same time and culture as does the artist, and the audience is familiar with the history of the medium, there is no need to append to art a preface or other secondary apparatus…Words are proof the vision that they [the artist] had is not…fully there in the picture…[and] is an acknowledgment that the photograph is unclear-that it is not art. ~ Robert Adams
AS I AM PREPPING / DOING RESEARCH FOR the philosophy of modern pictures project /book, I am rereading, in part, a number of books in which the author-most often a photographer of some note-is writing about the medium and its apparatus. Which is to write that they are not writing about their own work. However, their writing could most often be described as that which, in general, could be applied to defining their own work.
That written, I have presented the preceding Robert Adams quote to draw attention to a dilemma of sorts that I am facing, re: my writing for the PoMP project/book.
As mentioned in a previous entry, the primary tongue-in-cheek impetus for the undertaking of this project was, and still is, Bob Dylan’s recent book, The Philosophy of Modern Song. That written, it should be noted that there is not a scintilla of actual philosophy in Dylan’s book. And, likewise, there will be no philosophy of anything in my book.
In Dylan’s book, he has selected 68 songs-none of which are his own songs-and proceeds to tell us what goes on in his head-thoughts and feelings-when he hears those songs. Some of which is humorous, some of which is quite creative, and some of which is downright scary-but all of which is interesting and could be understood as a look at what drives his own song writing.
My book, on the other hand, will be illustrated with my pictures. Reference and commentary will be made to the pictures made by others-what I think about them and how they have influenced my work. However, while I will not be writing specifically about my pictures, the project/book will be a look into my head, re: what motivates my picture making.
The hope is that the project/book will not be perceived as a exercise in self-indulgent hubris. Rather, that it will be found to be an interesting, for some, look into how one picture maker employs the medium and its apparatus in the creation of what I believe to be interesting pictures.
FYI, I never thought of it before, but, in my prep / research I have been surprised by the realization that I have more books-monographs and photo theory-by Robert Adams than any other picture maker. Second place is awarded to Vivian Maier. The strange thing about this is that they are both BW (aka: monochrome) picture makers*. A picture making genre which does not hold much interest for me, picture making wise.
*Maier did make some color pictures but she is best know for her BW work.