Best Writing on Photography Ever!

[Richard Wasserman]

As is my wont, I was wandering the web and came upon an article about a recent book of evidently really good and important photographs which I thought were utterly boring. I was instantly enthralled by the following tidbit (it goes on and on and on...). And I quote—

“It is this sand-blasted speculation or rather en-spectralization, the ghosting and subsequent miasma of capitalism as it exists in the economy of images that we regard as relative at the very least-namely the aptitude to regard photography if not truth, certainly as plausibly disagreeable in a shared system of acknowledged solutions for knowledge-based communication”

Who writes, and more interestingly, reads this stuff? Anyone other than MFA candidates and their professors? I'm a bit gobsmacked

[pepeguitarra]

Can anyone translate the quoted text? ;)

[faberryman]

Can anyone translate the quoted text? ;)
The quoted text is deliberate obfuscation. You can often read an artist statement and come to a conclusion about the quality of the images without looking at them.

[Tin Can]

I gots me MFA from School of the Art Institute and never wrote or spoke like that.

That's reserved for curators.

I have walked out of many curator 'talks', especially at Art Expo Chicago (https://www.expochicago.com/). At all four relocations.

The last one was a diatribe about how there was no local 'ART' worthy of hanging. This was said by 2 high end Chicago curatores.

I made sure my chair was knocked over as I stalked out. I am a performance artiste...they got off easy.

In the 90's we invaded the shrine of idiocy.

[Richard Wasserman]

Curators, I hadn't thought of curators—I think you could be right Randy.

Also some alleged critics.

[Robert Bowring]

It is just self important BS. This is why I never read the artist statement before I look at the pictures. Most of the time it is just this kind of BS that has nothing to do with the pictures.

[Tin Can]

Curator tops critic everytime.

Collectors are gamers.

I will never sell another art 'work'.

I did once 20 years ago and have regretted it ever since.


Curators, I hadn't thought of curators—I think you could be right Randy.

Also some alleged critics.

[Jim Becia]

As is my wont, I was wandering the web and came upon an article about a recent book of evidently really good and important photographs which I thought were utterly boring. I was instantly enthralled by the following tidbit (it goes on and on and on...). And I quote—

“It is this sand-blasted speculation or rather en-spectralization, the ghosting and subsequent miasma of capitalism as it exists in the economy of images that we regard as relative at the very least-namely the aptitude to regard photography if not truth, certainly as plausibly disagreeable in a shared system of acknowledged solutions for knowledge-based communication”

Who writes, and more interestingly, reads this stuff? Anyone other than MFA candidates and their professors? I'm a bit gobsmacked


I like to think of this as verbal diarrhea. I like to collect photography books and one of the sites I frequent is Photoeye. While not as convoluted, sometimes their descriptions of books border on this type of verbal mess.

[bloodhoundbob]

Having read thousands of Mental Status Exam reports by psychiatrists and psychologists and thousands of psychiatric hospital discharge summaries, I came to the conclusion many years ago that there is a fine line between high self esteem and delusions of grandeur.

[goamules]

Can anyone translate the quoted text? ;)

That could be fun, I'll try:

“It is this sand-blasted speculation [abrasive guesswork]

or rather en-spectralization, [or colorizing]

the ghosting and subsequent miasma of capitalism [hard to see bad smell of success]

as it exists in the economy of images [photographs vs extreme logorrhea]

that we regard as relative at the very least- [it's important, to us anyway]

namely the aptitude to regard photography if not truth, [we can't say this photographers interpretation is correct]

certainly as plausibly disagreeable [but you can agree to disagree]

in a shared system of acknowledged solutions for knowledge-based communication” [in our pre-conceived world that recognizes intelligentsia only]

So if we massage it a little more, now we have:

"In our admittedly abrasive guesswork about this colorization, the hard to see (and bad smell) of success of these photographs (without being too wordy), is important to us. If you don't believe us, we can agree to disagree, because in our world, we will debate using big words."

https://static.twentytwowords.com/wp-content/uploads/Colorized-Historical-Photos-02-685x499.jpg

[scheinfluger_77]

I like to think of this as verbal diarrhea. ...

A worthy observation. Think of the mind behind that statement, thus leading to the watery version...

The photos may be the visual equivalent.

[neil poulsen]

What are the photographs like? :)

[Richard Wasserman]

http://www.americansuburbx.com/2019/01/thomas-demand-the-complete-de-con-struction-of-our-paper-realities.html

Have fun, there's a lot more to read! And no, I did not read all of it, but I did glance at the photos...

[goamules]

My gosh, the writer for that is just awful. I'm assuming it was written in some other language, and the interpretation doesn't work for English. I've read molecular biophysics articles that are more clear.

[interneg]

My gosh, the writer for that is just awful. I'm assuming it was written in some other language, and the interpretation doesn't work for English. I've read molecular biophysics articles that are more clear.

I recall that the people who defined 'International Art English' made a comment to the effect that it often resembled 'inexpertly translated French' even when English was the author's native language...

Writing in clear English would often rapidly reveal that the ideas being presented are neither radical or original. Much like the willfully ignorant harrumphing that such texts cause when presented to an audience as an object intended to be subject to reactionary derision.

[ic-racer]

I was able to find something just as profound using google translate on a foreign version of a particular book....


This is a crazy fascination in the United States, shining on the streets of the sun and music comes from a funeral jukebox when Robert Frank shows in his huge photo that his old car is a mystery, genius, sadness and secret in your old car. They saw it in the movie. --J.K. (via Google Translate)

[Christopher Barrett]

I submit for your amusement... the artist's statement generator...

https://www.artybollocks.com/generator.html

-C

[Jac@stafford.net]

My gosh, the writer for that is just awful. I'm assuming it was written in some other language, and the interpretation doesn't work for English. I've read molecular biophysics articles that are more clear.

First, thanks your earlier interpretation. Regarding research articles we were taught that twenty or so words per sentence were adequate and the semi-colon is our friend.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Is recreational marijuana legal in the authors state.

Dunno, but it should be required for curators! Within a sentence of 120 words they should be so f*ucked up to be forced to recompose. ctl-a, d, ctl-n. Whatever. Like a big old digital bitch-slap.

[Greg]

Back in the late 1970s I entered a print is a show (attached image). Print was accepted in the show. Went to the opening and was surprised to see that the print was hung to be the first print to be sen as you as you entered the gallery, obviously the best location in the show. A Curator was walking over to my print with a crowd of people following him. He started to talk about my photograph for 5 to 10 minutes. He was explaining how the photographer created the image as a metaphor for life itself. If the photographer were here today, this is what the photographer would tell us. Paraphrasing what he said: Life began and rose from the earth, on the left side. Was experiences by the circle of the branches, and in the end died going back into the earth from whence it came from. I just stood in back and never ID'd myself. Truth is: It stopped snowing outside. Went out with my Hass and its 50mm lens. Hiked maybe 2 minutes into the woods near my house. Suddenly the Sun came out. Started shooting as fast as I could before the snow began to melt and fall from the branches of the trees above. Lens was pre-focused for around 6 - 10 feet away and fully stopped down (Was shooting Ektachrome and processing as a color neg, so its effective ASA was way up there). Image wasn't deliberately composed but more like just a completely lucky shot. Think that it was the only image out of the 12 exposures worth printing.

[jnantz]

I LOVE highly specialized language. That large sentence reminds me of the abstracts to a large papers I wrote
on Coal Gasification and the Roxbury Gas Company; and Electric Lighting, and the Great American Storefront: I won't tell you how it ends.

[Tin Can]

Greg,
How many pics got you to that sense of mind?

The more we shoot the better we see.

Just like reading books, maybe.

[Tin Can]

The Seven Learning Styles
Visual (spatial):You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.
Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.
Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.
Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.
Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

and Maslow's hierarchy of needs

[pepeguitarra]

Thank you. I did try to understand it, but I couldn't. Your translation helped me. I am used to read engineering books, where everything has to be able to be demonstrated with an equation. ;)

[Hal Incandenza]

Yes, this is obviously written in artist-curator-scholar-critic-Speak, and the esoteric vocabulary and syntax is typical of the language often deployed (or in this case, clumsily deployed) by the inhabitants of the contemporary art world.

In any event, for those who might be interested, the high-browed sensibilities of the author are focused on a rather wonderful large format photographer, Thomas Demand, whose work just happens to be somewhat demanding (bad pun intended). He uses mostly a 4x5.

[Tin Can]

I see...http://www.thomasdemand.info/

[Christopher Barrett]

I see...http://www.thomasdemand.info/

Actually, I dig his work and have a book of it at the studio.

[Tin Can]

I am NOT criticizing, but do wonder why nobody linked to the artist!


Actually, I dig his work and have a book of it at the studio.

[Mike in NY]

“It is this sand-blasted speculation or rather en-spectralization, the ghosting and subsequent miasma of capitalism as it exists in the economy of images that we regard as relative at the very least-namely the aptitude to regard photography if not truth, certainly as plausibly disagreeable in a shared system of acknowledged solutions for knowledge-based communication”

186483

[DonJ]

Back in the late 1970s I entered a print is a show (attached image). Print was accepted in the show. Went to the opening and was surprised to see that the print was hung to be the first print to be sen as you as you entered the gallery, obviously the best location in the show. A Curator was walking over to my print with a crowd of people following him. He started to talk about my photograph for 5 to 10 minutes. He was explaining how the photographer created the image as a metaphor for life itself. If the photographer were here today, this is what the photographer would tell us. Paraphrasing what he said: Life began and rose from the earth, on the left side. Was experiences by the circle of the branches, and in the end died going back into the earth from whence it came from. I just stood in back and never ID'd myself. Truth is: It stopped snowing outside. Went out with my Hass and its 50mm lens. Hiked maybe 2 minutes into the woods near my house. Suddenly the Sun came out. Started shooting as fast as I could before the snow began to melt and fall from the branches of the trees above. Lens was pre-focused for around 6 - 10 feet away and fully stopped down (Was shooting Ektachrome and processing as a color neg, so its effective ASA was way up there). Image wasn't deliberately composed but more like just a completely lucky shot. Think that it was the only image out of the 12 exposures worth printing.

You should have asked if he could tell you how much change you had in your pocket, since he could read minds. ;)

[Jim Galli]

“It is this sand-blasted speculation or rather en-spectralization, the ghosting and subsequent miasma of capitalism as it exists in the economy of images that we regard as relative at the very least-namely the aptitude to regard photography if not truth, certainly as plausibly disagreeable in a shared system of acknowledged solutions for knowledge-based communication”


Thet right thar is some bull pucky. Thanks to Garrett for 'splainin it to us Nevadan's

[goamules]

Ha! My pleasure, I'm an Instructional Designer by trade. We try to simplify things to foster understanding....

[DarioLT]

“It is this sand-blasted speculation or rather en-spectralization, the ghosting and subsequent miasma of capitalism as it exists in the economy of images that we regard as relative at the very least-namely the aptitude to regard photography if not truth, certainly as plausibly disagreeable in a shared system of acknowledged solutions for knowledge-based communication”

This has to be deliberately unreadable. Writing like this can be excellent, slightly reminds me of reading Guy Debord, but without the lingering "aha" that follows reading Debord sometimes weeks later...