Posted on July 26th, 2008 in Kristallnacht | Leave A Comment
Well, here we are beginning our third (read: 3rd) year in Germany. I can’t believe it. Where does the time go? It must have something to do with the knowledge that our time is finite here. Wouldn’t that apply to all human beings in relation to life? I digress.
Summer and I have been working hard on my video series called, “The Wet Plate Collodion Workshop DVD Series”. I’m excited by all of this. I’ll close this chapter of my life out with two new books, two DVDs, and a new web site. I’m going to try to launch, publish, produce all of those by the end of the year. All of the proceeds from the sales of these books and DVDs will go into an account for Summer. She will be in college in a couple of years and we thought this would be a great way to get her some additional cash/tuition/car/etc. money. She is doing all of the editing on the DVDs and proof-reading/editing the books for me. She’s working hard and earning her money.
I have two workshops planned for September and October. One in Vienna, Austria and another in The Netherlands. Those are confirmed. I also have one tentative for Berlin in September and one hanging in October for Mallorca, Spain (an island west of Barcelona). A lot of stuff and a lot of fun! That’s how I like to roll ;-) here’s a frame exported from the video:
Next year, 2009, will be devoted completely to my personal work (other than a possible workshop in Finland). I’ll be finished with all of the writing, teaching, and video making and will devote myself completely to my project. I still spend a fair amount of time working on my “Kristallnacht” project. It’s difficult here and things move very, very slow. I do have four images of the project showing in San Francisco right now. They are in a show called, “Into the Ether: Contemporary Collodion Work” at RayKo Gallery. I hear the crowd was large and impressed by the work. That makes me happy. However, the German people are the ones that need to see this work. And, moreover, think about it. I’m working on it.
Posted on July 2nd, 2008 in Kristallnacht | Leave A Comment
What does it mean to be creative? Does it mean you are witty, fun and different? Or that you can make tiny flowers from pieces of bread? Play cover songs in a band? How about writing an incredible document like Thomas Jefferson did? How do you define it? What are the qualities and how do you recognize them?
I’ve been spending a lot of time traveling and teaching wet plate collodion workshops all over Europe. In between the technical and the fun, I’ve had my ear, my mind and my heart bent toward the creative spirits I’ve met along the way. I’m not saying that I gave a lecture or an artist’s talk and requested feedback, but rather that I’ve quietly observed and listened to the words and ideas behind the people in my travels. It’s difficult to explain, but there are a lot of passionate people making art out there. We rarely get to see it, it’s rarely in galleries and it’s never the latest craze (which sickens me anyway). It’s usually found in unknown, unpretentious artists that are honest and authentic. Not perfect in anyway, but at least accessible and real. This is the kind of thing that excites me. Knowing that there are people like me, driven to make art and asking questions about ourselves and one another. It’s all about narrative for me. Making art that is generative and allows the viewer, if they are present, to wander to explore and ask their own questions – it’s open to reverie.
The poet/writer C.K. Williams said that the poet (artist) has, “the right to vacillate, to wobble, to shillyshally, be indecisive in one’s labors, and still not suffer from a sense of being irresponsible, indolent, or weak.” It feels good to read that. It’s one of my greatest weaknesses, I’m rather insecure as an artist (all artists are, if they are honest). I’ve done a bit of that “shillyshallying” lately.
My work has taken a nice turn recently. At least I think it’s nice. After considering that the Kristallnacht project is almost impossible (read: almost) to complete (time, money and cooperation), I decided that I wanted to blend it with my personal interests and make it less pedantic and more authentic and, in my opinion, interesting. So, I’m blending Kristallnacht, Portraiture Work and both historical and contemporary theories of difference into my images.
My latest incarnations:
