Why Art

Making art for  money is probably not a very good motivation.  If I had worked part time somewhere equal to the time invested in developing my scanner art, it would be a nice little sum.  Probably in the 10's of thousand of dollars.  But life and art are not just about money.  Money is OK, don't get me wrong.   I'm not trying to be Gandhi. 

I think we humans want to express ourselves.  I remember a conversation with a high school English teacher many years ago.   I told her I believed the most important things as humans we could do would be to communicate clearly.  I still believe that, its just that it isn't so simple.  I often think words, whether written or spoken get in the way.  It would be great to write the new great American novel.  But everything in writing has been done, and done, and done again.   Creativity as a writer is a truly monumental task.  Not that there are not great writers.  There are many, and I enjoy them.  Just as there are great photographers and painters.  Unfortunately, I think some artists turn to just being weird in an attempt to be original.

When I first stumbled onto scanner photography I saw an opportunity to do something creative and different.   In a world of almost 7 billion people at this time of writing that is truly unusual.  I had no training in art.  The greatest thing in my favor was my ignorance.  I didn't know what it would look like.  I was like a five year old with a new box of crayons.  Pure creativity and exploration.  I did not know composition.  I had to learn.  I knew I wouldn't be the only scanner artist out there.  Therefore, my goal was to eschew the easy stuff and push the limits.  That is still my goal.  Sometimes I think I succeed.

Life is like art.  It isn't easy.  If it is easy, how much are you giving up by not exploring your own limitations and your potential?  Life is something to be creative with.  What are you good at?  It might be that flower garden in the front yard.  Do people stop to look at it?  If they do, you have succeeded. You have communicated something important.
Robert

Unstable world

The recent massive 8.9 earthquake in Japan reminds us all as to the fragility of our civilizations on this planet.  Modern civilization has only existed for a fraction of the geological age of the earth.  I live within about 400 miles of the great caldera in the center of Yellowstone National Park.   The chances are that it won't explode in my lifetime and maybe not for another 100,000 years.  However it will explode at some time, and everything I consider normal will be altered forever, it not exterminated.  Much of the wildlife and plant life of the mountain west may not survive the blast.  How does this relate to art you might ask?

Everything we know and see will not survive forever.  It is temporary.  Art is a way to appreciate the world and the life we find around us,  Flowers have existed for millions of years.  Hopefully the flowers we see will exist millions of years from now.   Yet I know that the plants and animals we see, at this point in history will not exist forever.  Extinction is inevitable.  This is not meant to be a lament.  It is a statement that we should appreciate the moment.  Appreciate the world and those around you.  It is a very special moment in time. 

In my perspective, I make no distinction between a single flower and a range of mountains.  Each has value and beauty.  Each exist, but will not exist forever. The zen of life and art is to create in this moment of time and to know that it will not last. 

The flower is
it has no need to know
to understand
no desire to clarify, justify, or falsify

The flower does not wonder what is
yet it is
 a fingerprint of that which is.


Robert

Springtime

While out walking today I saw the first true sign of spring.  The first white fuzz  of the catkins on a aspen tree.  Catkins are tree flowers.  It is still cold and snowy here in the high Laramie valley in southern Wyoming.  We have months of cold and snow left, but the days are longer and hope creeps back into cold bones.  I can feel the increased heat from the sun, life returns.

There is truth in the seasons.  Life has seasons, it springs forth and falls back.  There are cold long dormant times of life and there are the long never ending days of summer.   It is easy to place value on the spring and summer, but all seasons have value.  Accept the seasons of your life, each has a place within the rhythm of life.  Life, like art is not complete without all the elements.  What would life be without a beginning, a middle, and an ending.

Robert

Scanography and Photoshop

I will create a new blog which will deal exclusively with scanner photography techniques and graphic art in photoshop.  It will be scanography 101 so to speak.  I will try to be detailed in a step by step description of my techniques and art style.  I will create a link for this new blog soon. 

Check back and read along...

Robert Louis Fleming