Can you guys critique my website/portfolio of my large format photography work?

[manfrominternet]

Rather than add an admittedly lovely tenor to the chorus of "House of the Rising Sun", since you reference the heady days of Solidarność in your bio, let me refer you to a near-contemporaneous essay:

https://harpers.org/archive/1989/11/...-footed-beast/

that might cause you to reconfigure how you think of yourself as an artist.

Thank you for this! I was indeed referencing Solidarność in my bio. My parents escaped just before martial law was imposed without telling anyone in their own family. It's a truly crazy story.

Regarding the essay you sent, I'll sit down on a nice comfy chair and read it on my iPad as I think it deserves that kind of attention, rather than read it on my iMac with a million things running and open.

[jnantz]

I don't think the OP wants to teach, but many institutions require an MFA to do so.

college level and public schools require masters degrees, private high schools do not they require a college degree ( undergrad/ ba/bs )
where I live you need a master's degree to be a substitute teacher.

[manfrominternet]

After spending the last 21 of my 60 year teaching career I have a question plus a comment. Why an MFA? I taught with many MFA possessors who spent their lives in part time jobs while looking for full time positions. There are 100's, maybe 1000's in that position.
A degree doesn't guarantee a position. If you want to teach, prove that you can by doing so. I have yet to meet a person whom I thought was a better teacher, or photographer, because of any degree. I have met a lot more who were worse at the difficult job than some who barely made it trough a BA or BS program.

Hi Jim,

Like Pieter said, I don't necessarily want to teach (but would certainly be open to it). The goal is to get my work into galleries. I suppose I can maybe get a foot in the door on the heels of my NYU film & television BFA degree, but I'm not so sure. (NYU is no Yale, obviously, but it has opened doors for me in the past, but really only in the film and television world.) Truth be told, my original intent was to either become a screenwriter or cinematographer, which is why I'm in Los Angeles in the first place, but I quickly became disgusted with the massive egos and abuse in the film & tv world. I might find bigger egos in the art world, but I haven't yet experienced any abuse.

[manfrominternet]

I can see why your friend got into Yale. She has a lot of talent, creativity, and time. Great stuff -- and it shows how much you can do with "people" in the picture, and strong foreground subjects. How much does she actually sell? Who knows. Her great photography takes a LOT of time and money. Either she spends time on some other job, lives on a shoe-string, or has a "sugar daddy". Maybe all three. Many artists -- not just photographers -- live like real-estate agents -- they have three or four sales a year and that keeps them afloat. And, I suppose, many are completely content with their life-style -- Weegee comes to mind. I've known my fair share of photographers who have lived that way. It's exciting for sure, and you meet a LOT of "interesting" people!!!!

My friend who attended Yale's photography MFA program is indeed talented! (Again shout out to Ilona at ilonaszwarc.com for those who want to see the work of someone who graduated from the 'best' photography MFA program in the country. The portfolio that got her into Yale is on her website - Rodeo Girls and American Girls).

She does a lot of commercial work to pay the bills. I'll actually be working again with her later this week. For those who get the reference, I'm sort of the Richard Sands (Crewdson's cinematographer) to her Gregory Crewdson, meaning that she hires me for my large format camera experience and lighting. We work very well together and she even offered to write me a recommendation letter.

She did say, however, that if I really want to get into Yale, in particular, I need to have a project that is part of a series (think Alec Soth's 'Sleeping By The Mississippi" or 'Niagara') and not the singular works that are more or less unrelated to one another like on my homepage.

Also she said, flat out, that out of the 3 necessary recommendation letters, I need at least one famous or well-known artist/photographer to write me a letter of recommendation. (Joel Meyerowitz wrote her letter of recommendation.) If what she said is really the case, I assume the same is true for many of the top MFA programs.

I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question, but that said, do any of you have any tips or suggestions on how I can contact some famous artists in the Los Angeles area to maybe ask them out for coffee, review my work, or perhaps even intern for? (I know Thomas Demand and Jeff Wall have studios in Los Angeles, but I feel that contacting them is next to impossible.) I think, however, I can contact John Humble, an LA-based LF photographer whose work I truly love and admire.

[Pieter]

I know Thomas Demand and Jeff Wall have studios in Los Angeles, but I feel that contacting them is next to impossible.

You never know until you try.

Also, take a hard look at all your work, including what you haven't posted. You may have a viable series/project there, you may just need to connect the images via a title, theme or short introductory statement.

Now for my opinion of your friend's work (I can be quite opinionated): I truly like the projects she did before Yale much better than the ones she produced in school (I assume the first three on her website are MFA projects). It almost seems like a step backwards.

[Alan Klein]

You never know until you try.

Also, take a hard look at all your work, including what you haven't posted. You may have a viable series/project there, you may just need to connect the images via a title, theme or short introductory statement.

Now for my opinion of your friend's work (I can be quite opinionated): I truly like the projects she did before Yale much better than the ones she produced in school (I assume the first three on her website are MFA projects). It almost seems like a step backwards.

How does any of this help you become an artist? Or get a job? What kind of job? The OP is 36 and has worked for twenty years in various photography fields. How does an MFA help in those fields? All I hear from him is that he feels the MFA will get some gallerist to look at his pictures. That's it? Seems like a lot of work and expense going to get a MFA for just that. He'd be better off paying for his own show, hiring the gallery, preparing the pictures, ads etc. than spending all that money in school. He'd probably learn more about selling himself too.

[Pieter]

How does any of this help you become an artist? Or get a job? What kind of job? The OP is 36 and has worked for twenty years in various photography fields. How does an MFA help in those fields? All I hear from him is that he feels the MFA will get some gallerist to look at his pictures. That's it? Seems like a lot of work and expense going to get a MFA for just that. He'd be better off paying for his own show, hiring the gallery, preparing the pictures, ads etc. than spending all that money in school. He'd probably learn more about selling himself too.

My understanding is he does not want to work in those fields, rather as a fine art photographer. And he seems intent or confident to be able to get into a fully-funded MFA program. Hiring a gallery for a vanity show would only hurt him in those endeavors.

[jnantz]

From what I understand, the Agora Gallery in NYC isn't all its cracked up to be.

[xkaes]

Hi Jim,

Like Pieter said, I don't necessarily want to teach (but would certainly be open to it). The goal is to get my work into galleries. I suppose I can maybe get a foot in the door on the heels of my NYU film & television BFA degree, but I'm not so sure. .

He's said what he wants to do right here.

He thinks a MFA will help him get in the door, but that's a lot of time and money for a small increase in your chances. You can work on getting into the TONS of "galleries" that make money selling "art". Or you can pay for a showing. Where all the money for either of these approaches is a BIG question. But even if you get a showing, and actually sell something, do you think your can make a living at it? How do you pay the bills now? How would you pay for an MFA at Yale or any Community College for that matter? You ether have to have incredible luck, a sugar daddy, or like living as a starving artist -- and some talent helps.

[Pieter]

He's said what he wants to do right here.

He thinks a MFA will help him get in the door, but that's a lot of time and money for a small increase in your chances. You can work on getting into the TONS of "galleries" that make money selling "art". Or you can pay for a showing. Where all the money for either of these approaches is a BIG question. But even if you get a showing, and actually sell something, do you think your can make a living at it? How do you pay the bills now? How would you pay for an MFA at Yale or any Community College for that matter? You ether have to have incredible luck, a sugar daddy, or like living as a starving artist -- and some talent helps.

Couple of things: He has stated that he is interested in funded MFA programs, he also seems to be working a bit in the film industry. One would expect his work to evolve and improve by attending school, something that might well take much longer on one's own. The larger galleries have extensive collector bases and do seem to be soemwhat willing to take on recent MFA grads--they tend to be doing the most current work and sometimes break out and make it. On the flip side, small galleries go out of business faster than restaurants, often charge the photographer for any exhibition costs beyond their overhead, plus stiff their artists when they do eventually close their doors. Not to say a large gallery might not do the same, it can be a fishy business.