# 6599-6601 / art ~ or, where's the popcorn?

June 8, 2023

WHILE IN PORTO, PORTUGAL WE WENT TO The Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, the foremost museum for contemporary art in Portugal. The museum is located on the grounds of the Serralves Estate, which also comprises a Park and a Villa. In large part, the museum’s mission is to encourage reflection on the relationship between art and the environment.

After spending the better part of 2 hours in the museum, we took an hour walk around the park grounds which includes trails through large wooded groves, a gorge with a large pond, an elevated bridge-like walkway through the treetops, past an incredible villa and its gardens, and to top it off, a visit to the on-site farm. Overall, a very impressive place, however…

…I must confess that I could not quite connect to/with the art on view in the museum. That’s cuz what came to my mind, first and foremost, was some lyrics from Bob Dylan’s song, What Was It You Wanted…

What was it you wanted
Tell me again so I'll know
What's happening in there
What's going on in your show
What was it you wanted
Could you say it again
I'll be back in a minute
You can get it together by then

…sorta like the same feeling I get when viewing contemporary Academic Lunatic Fringe photography. That is to write, a feeling of “Huh? Say what?”

For purposes of self-preservation, under such circumstances-defined by the deflating feeling that I am just too dense to figure it out-I generally fall back on my Susan Sontag rationalization that interpretation is the revenge of the intellect on art (photography or otherwise).

Now I am not implying, upon viewing the blackened tree with nearby (dead?) golden leaves that I did not have any thoughts. Like, say, wow, big and threatening and if we do not deal with climate change there is going to be a lot of dead-as-a-skeletal-doorknob trees and a concurrent lack of golden-leaf beauty. On the other hand, maybe it’s just a Marvel Comic nightmare movie character come to turn us all into mulch. In which case, the thought / question that comes to my mind is, “Where’s the popcorn?”

# 6594-98 / street photography look ~ the question is why?

June 6, 2023

***Braga Romana Festival*** ~ (embiggenable)

WERE I TO BE OF A MIND TO I could make a monochrome body of work of scenes from Portugal that fit the street photography mode of seeing. Scenes in which color is not vital to the photograph’s visual impact.

That written, I don’t really have a reason to undertake such a project. Not sure what the point would be. On the other hand, were I to do so, make a book and present it to the wife as our trip to Portugal book, I might really enjoy her spontaneous expression-facial and verbal-of something along the lines of, “Are you f__ing kidding me? Is this a joke?”

Might be worth it just for that.

# 6591-93 / travel • kitchen sink • single women ~ a roving eye...have iPhone, will make pictures

June 5, 2023

AND I QUOTE:

“…Discovery in the photographic realm: treat the iPhone like it's a serious camera—concentrate—and you can do good work with it…” ~ Michael Johnston

Acting parse-imoniously, re: the meanings of “serious" camera / “concentrate” / “good work”, my first reaction is, “Well, well, well…better late than never.”…another doubter bites the dust.

That written, and having just returned from a trip to 4 tourist laden hot-spots, I can state with a high degree of assuredness that (seemingly) everyone has “discovered” that their iPhone-or any other similar device-is more than capable of producing very good quality photographs. How “serious” they consider the camera module to be or how much they “concentrate” when using it, is hard to determine but…I am reasonably certain that they make “good work” with it.

All of that written, if the cell phone picture making hoards even think about it at all-and I would guess that they do not-very few of them would consider themselves to be photographers. Rather, if asked, they might say that they were just taking pictures. Very few would ever say that they were making photographs. That’s cuz, as Jean Shepherd wrote:

“…he is [they are] the simple householder who desires only to ‘have a camera around the house to get a picture of Dolores in her graduation gown’…What artistic results he [they] obtains are almost entirely accidental and totally without self-consciousness…”

iMo, this voluminous picture making craze is a very good thing. Who gives a damn if pictures are being made without the use of “serious” cameras or a high degree of “concentration”. And, if their definition of a “good” picture is one in which “Dolores in her graduation gown” are in focus, properly exposed, with decent color values, made easy by the simple touch of a button, that is a very good thing cuz…

…there really is such a thing-as KODAK phrased it-The Joy of Photography. It can be a very simple joy and you do not have to have a serious camera and a lot of concentration to experience it.

# 6587-90 / travel ~ separating the wheat from the chaff*

June 3, 2023

*my brother asked, “Why are you taking a picture of that*?” ~ (embiggenable)

*who would have guessed*? ~ (embiggenable)

***it’s true, I am the fucking artist*** ~ (embiggenable)

I AM AT THE 130 PICTURES MARK, re: pictures made while in Portugal. The wife is sending me a few of the pictures she made for inclusion in the total. I’m thinking that I will edit the pictures down to about 100 for inclusion in the Portugal book / album.

That written, it occurred to me while staring at the complete folder in Adobe Bridge that, just as an exercise in editing, I would see if I could make a collection of just 20 pictures which would, in minimalist kinda way, represent a believable summary of our trip. As it turned out-at least for me and the wife-it was possible.

Re: at least for me and the wife, it was possible. That is to write that, for other viewers, it might be a reasonably indicative view of our trip, but that impression would very limited relative to how the pictures “work” for me and the wife; i.e., that’s cuz, for us, each of these pictures trigger numerous memories associated with what each picture represents. Memories that other viewers would not associate with each picture unless they had visited Portugal.

That written, the fact is that this selection of pictures is more suggestive of what I saw-aka: my experience-in Portugal than it might be for the wife. That’s why I have asked her to sit down and work her way through the Adobe Bridge album and select 20 pictures which would incite the most memories, specific for her experience in Portugal. Looking forward to seeing the results of that exercise.

* this subtitle is not meant to suggest that there is any “chaff” in the entire body of work. It is, of course (iMo), all “wheat”. That written, some of the wheat, in this case, was more suited to my specific editing purpose.

ADDENDUM the wife has read this entry and, to reinforce my point-re: my experience, her experience-she states that she would not have chosen the same 20 pictures. That’s cuz, for instance, she did not drink as many sangrias as I did. And, furthermore-re: incited memories-she has no idea where I made the WR triptych pictures even though she was sitting right next me (having a refreshing drink) when I got up and made the pictures.