Art vs. commercial.
I was asked once if I thought everything i made was art. I answered no. I wasn't even talking about quality, but approach and result. I use my knowledge of art in everything I do, but to me 'art' is such a personal deep expression and one that comes from not having a real result completely in mind. I do a great deal of work for clients and this isn't 'my art'. I consider my clients in what I make. I also work for a newspaper and again, I don't consider this 'art.' My art comes from my inner philosophies and my gut, sweat, insecurity, exploration and most importantly, without a care as to what someone else thinks or feels. Sometimes work for clients turns into 'art', but the intent is to make something for someone else and not myself. Alot of my client work is based on understanding technical aspects in order to achieve a look. Sometimes its just to get a pleasing image that sells and pays the bills. Satisfying a clients needs is how a good professional photographer grows a success business. This isn'r meant to downplay that work--on the contrary its incredibly important to work with a client and produce something that may be in that family for generations. And I take it very serious trying to make something that is as good as I can make it so that it will be something to be treasured. Its more of a personal fine line I guess, something I separate but don't expect others to. I smirk when someone tells me I'm an artist based on my commercial work, but I don't try to tell them otherwise. Truth is I love to make images in many styles and when I get an image that might blur the line of 'art' I get pretty excited about it. Photographs by Richard Sayer.
I was asked once if I thought everything i made was art. I answered no. I wasn't even talking about quality, but approach and result. I use my knowledge of art in everything I do, but to me 'art' is such a personal deep expression and one that comes from not having a real result completely in mind. I do a great deal of work for clients and this isn't 'my art'. I consider my clients in what I make. I also work for a newspaper and again, I don't consider this 'art.' My art comes from my inner philosophies and my gut, sweat, insecurity, exploration and most importantly, without a care as to what someone else thinks or feels. Sometimes work for clients turns into 'art', but the intent is to make something for someone else and not myself. Alot of my client work is based on understanding technical aspects in order to achieve a look. Sometimes its just to get a pleasing image that sells and pays the bills. Satisfying a clients needs is how a good professional photographer grows a success business. This isn'r meant to downplay that work--on the contrary its incredibly important to work with a client and produce something that may be in that family for generations. And I take it very serious trying to make something that is as good as I can make it so that it will be something to be treasured. Its more of a personal fine line I guess, something I separate but don't expect others to. I smirk when someone tells me I'm an artist based on my commercial work, but I don't try to tell them otherwise. Truth is I love to make images in many styles and when I get an image that might blur the line of 'art' I get pretty excited about it. Photographs by Richard Sayer.