Art Is The Enemy Of The Routine

"Adoph Hitler Strasse" - Viernheim, Germany In my (ongoing and lifelong) pursuit of defining the meaning and  purpose of art, I've come across a lot of insightful and powerful quotes. Simon Schama said something so simple and brilliant that I felt compelled to share it with you here. He said, ""Art is the enemy of the routine, the mechanical and the hum drum. It stops us in our tracks with a high voltage jolt of disturbance; it reminds us of what humanity can do beyond the daily grind. It takes us places we had never dreamed of going; it makes us look again at what we had taken for granted."

Of course, this isn't definitive (in defining art), but for me, it defines an aspect of what good art can do and some of the purpose involved in making art.

There is something to be said for being "present" in your daily life. Present to the good and to the not so good. I believe artists are highly perceptive and extremely "present" in their daily lives (sometimes too present as they go mad or sink into depression). The subtle, unnoticed details are what tell the story. Artists are very good at picking up on those and sharing their opinions or views about them. If you think about all of the mundane and superficial information we are subjected to on a daily basis, few things are really valuable. Artists have an important voice in the world, I wish more people listened.

Some Things That I Can’t Stop Thinking About… Plus A New Portrait

Call It Whatever You Want, Just Make Sure You Lead By Example
There are a couple of things that have really been bothering me lately. Those things that roll around in your head and come back to bug you two or three times a day... you know? Things that make you angry, things that make you want to yell, "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you get it!?!" really loud.

The first is in reference to understanding art. I will agree (completely) that there is no definitive definition of art. I believe there are all kinds of "art" commercial art, fine art, outsider art, arts and crafts art, etc. And I also believe there's a lot of bad art, loads of mediocre art and very little good art. With that said, there has to be some kind of guideline, something that allows one to distinguish between good, bad and mediocre art (in my mind it's all art if a human being created it). This is where I have a strong opinion about how to do that.

"Art for art's sake" is dead to me. I've made enough pretty pictures for no reason other than to have people say those are pretty, that's cool, can I buy one? Making pretty pictures or emulating someone like Ansel Adams, is a waste of time. It's a waste of the photographer's time and the viewer's time. Why? It's artistic masturbation. It may feel good, but it means nothing. What disturbs me the most, is that this stuff sells. When something sells, it's immediately seen as "successful". You cannot get farther from the truth, but we all believe it.

This type of art is  usually confused with fine art. It's not,  it's called commercial art.

COMMERCIAL ARTIST:

• If you make pictures to sell them (you know, make money/profit), you are a commercial artist.


• If your pictures have no context (other than sales/ego), you're a commercial artist .


• If your pictures have no intention (other than sales/ego), you're a commercial artist.


• If your pictures have no intellectual value (you've done no intellectual work - historical, social, political, etc.), you're a commercial artist.


• If you, "do nudes", you're most likely a commercial artist - porn, erotica, etc. (or something like it).


• If you can't talk about your work, dare I say "defend" your work, you're a commercial artist.


• If you're using a large format camera or using an "alt" process without context or intention, you're probably a comerical aritst (and craftsman if the images are technically sound).

This is not an argument for the title of "artist", this is an argument about distinguishing what kind of art you are looking at (or making) and if it's good, bad or mediocre. I'm ranting about this because it makes it difficult for me to break down the walls of what my work is "supposed" to look like or be. And if it doesn't fit into that "knowable, familar commercial box", I get no time with the viewer. It saddens me that most of the masses can't, or won't, invest the time and energy to "get" my work and the "art world" thinks it's shallow and pedantic (or at least that's the vibe I get).

The other day I received an email from LensWork publishing. They send out podcasts of Brooks Jensen ranting about all things photography. Some of them are okay. Most are painfully shallow and pedantic (snap!), but I still listen. The one that was sent out the other day was called, "Idea and Artifact'. He spoke like this was a new concept to him in photography. In other words, he was saying, "Does your work just look good or does it have meaning beyond the superficial - do you ever think about what you're photographing in profound ways?" Concept and craft, syntax and vocabulary, etc. etc. This spun me up big time. Another paraphrase, "Hey, we might want to think about what we photograph in a meaningful way". He mentions Kendrick's Tintypes and how gorgeous they are to see in real life (this is an example of 'Artifact')  - he has no clue about why artist's, such as myself, choose the craft and it goes way beyond the "beauty" of the image. It's not a balance of idea and artifact Brook, it's a transparent blending of the two. If you lack artifact, you're a theorist, if you lack theory, concept, or as you call it, idea, you're a commercial artist. Do your projects have intellectual meaning? Do you have statements, or can you give context (beyond the technical, modernist babble) about your projects? Because what I see out there today makes me want to yell at the top of my lungs, "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you get it!?!"

Germany 1933 - 1945: What About the Ordinary Germans?
The other thing that has really been gnawing on me (which is nothing new) is the silence and indifference of history as it relates to the reality of where I live.

I occasionally pickup Daniel Johan Goldhagen's book, "Hitler's Willing Executioners  Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust" and read parts of it. I read the book about 18 months ago, but it's loaded with information and it's easy to forget the details. The details are what Goldhagen talks about, the overlooked or rarely addressed details. The point of view that says, "Hey, what about the ordinary Germans, what were they doing during all of this?" - a great question. And, after moving to Germany over two years ago, there is rarely a day that goes by where I don't ask that question myself.

I've devoted my artistic life to making work about this topic. The project is loosely based on "Kristallnacht" only because that was the "green light" for the Germans to carry out the Holocaust. I'm amazed at the level of hate and anger that the Germans felt toward their own people (other than they were Jewish). It's like chopping off your own hands or even your head! I can't understand it in any context and that's what people that I talk to here want me to do. They want me to understand that the ordinary German people were "brainwashed" and that their own lives were on the line if they didn't hate and shun the Jews. Really? What about the towns and villages boasting that they were "judenrein" (free of Jews). Or the thousands, or tens of thousands, of ordinary Germans that particiapted in "Kristallnacht"? Or the story about the Jewish woman in Stuttgart trying to get a ride on the bus? (read the book - page 103). I'm dubious that 60-70 million Germans were all brainwashed into doing these kinds of things. I agree with the premise of Goldhagen's book; a lot of ordinary Germans wanted to do those things. Why can't we have that discussion?

The silence is what bothers me. The indifference is palpable and painful here. I can't "turn it off", I'm aware, or present to it every time I see a smoke stack or watch a German insolently ignore another human being. The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were never so true. He said, "We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Here's a portrait that I made Friday evening - August 1, 2008. Her name is Beatrice. She is from (near) Dresden, Germany. Her great-grandfather was a hardcore Nazi party member (officer).  It was an interesting experience to talk with her and make her portrait.

Beatrice Wank - August 1, 2008 Viernheim, Germany

Considering Creativity

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:

Carmen the Putzfrau and Heidelberg Brown Shirt Street

Heildelberg Synagogue Arc (Memorial) and German Man With An Axe

Kristallnacht Lecture: Mannheim High School

On Monday, April 28, I was invited (by Summer's teacher) to be a guest speaker in two honor history classes. Summer had told her about my project. I was happy to oblige. If you know me, you know that I rarely turn down an opportunity to have people listen to what I say and look at what I make. Needless to say, I accepted.

The classes, one with about 10 students and the other with about 18, just started reading Elie Wiesel’s, “Night”.  This is a powerful and disturbing account of the Wiesel family’s torture and suffering in the concentration camps of Germany and Poland. Although my project is directly related to the Holocaust, it’s (Kristallnacht) more obscure and less known.

I started by asking definition of words like “anti-Semitism” and “pogrom”. I talked about what I believe caused the world to turn against the Jews and to allow the near annihilation of them. For me, it was important to stress that living in Germany and understanding this history changed how I viewed the world. How living here made an abstract idea, a real life “concrete” event for me.

I quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." I talked about "indifference" and silence - or turning your head when bad things are happening to other people. I referenced this poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller too.

------------------
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
-------------------

I showed a 6 minute presentation I put together of my work so far and then took questions. It was very rewarding and I look forward to doing it again.

Wet Plate Collodion Photography: Kristallnacht

I feel comfortable enough now to start telling people about what I'm doing here - in a more public way. It's a difficult position to be when you want to keep the idea to yourself until you know (or at least think you know) you can pull it off and getting attention and support for it. Ultimately, I'm going to have to get a lot of attention on this project for it to be able to do what I want.

Unfortunately, I don't have much confidence that the German people will respond well to this project. It's an unhealed land and people in a lot of ways. Forgiveness and the acceptance of forgiveness isn't evident to me - this is still a very taboo topic here.

Wet Plate Collodion Photography: Kristallnacht