Another thought on self... there are times seeking something from within the person we find a projection into something that is neither that persons true identity, nor their projected identity.... we find something that has a poetry to it--that undefinable thing that we can speculate on and draw our own conclusions...often we draw some meaning and then we look further and we draw some other meaning. Alot of art deals with some topic or another---the great works are the ones that go beyond that topic and speaks on the human condition somehow. I remember looking at a portrait of a woman painted by Thomas Eakins. It was a portrait no doubt(it may have been his wife), but that person was far more than that individual--she was woman...she was human...she represented us all somehow. To me that was pretty magical that a painter could do that, lead us past the subject and into a discussion about humanity...and do it with a simple portrait. A former student sent me some recent images of hers today and they really struck me in that they were intimate portrayals of herself, yet they really spoke to much higher ideas. I talk and write about this all the time in my documentary work, that what I'm hoping to achieve with my photography is a better understanding our our community and I think that is ultimately the approach of art...or it should be, better understanding of self by exploring the place in which we live and inversely a better understanding of place by exploring within ourselves. I've got several ideas to explore, if I can find the time...when I find the time....when I MAKE the time! SayerMotter Ph
Just read your comments concerning Art & Community. Took me to a place...long ago.
When I was growing-up, my Mom's younger sister was the head "librarian" for the Pittsburgh Press. At that time, the means of "cataloging" articles & photos was by cutting them from the edition, and filing them into folders. A LONG process!
She often brought her work home to my Grandma's house, where I spent most of my youth.
The Pittsburgh Courier was one of the papers under the "umbrella" of the Press. SO...my aunt's responsibility included that publications photos, etc.
I frequently "helped" her with her nightly tasks.
Still remember the incredible effect of the Courier's photogpher in those days...how his "shots" were unapologetic, and somehow showed the residents and locales of his subjects in their true essence.
The memories of those evenings and what I saw never left me...probably affected somewhat me in my own beliefs and pursuits. Now "EVERYONE" recognizes the inestimable value of what he had accomplished. Without his Art, well...you understand.
(His name, of course, was "Teenie" Harris.)