tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post4333344986407920903..comments2024-03-27T00:32:29.877-07:00Comments on Photos and Stuff: Something to Look Atamolitorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-39738793464106830722019-08-21T06:33:43.191-07:002019-08-21T06:33:43.191-07:00I approve of your plan, though!I approve of your plan, though!amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-64998406404191699742019-08-21T06:33:25.729-07:002019-08-21T06:33:25.729-07:00Well, not to get too pedantic, the Irish do have s...Well, not to get too pedantic, the Irish do have some history here (albeit ancient). There is a myth of Irish being enslaved contemporaneously with the African slave trade cited here, which is BS (although some Irish people did, as people so often do, have a rotten time.)<br /><br />But it is, I guess, considered a part of the historical record that between the Roman period and about 1100, slavery was A Thing in the region (including Viking raids, but also locally, maybe off and on). <br /><br />No doubt some people would ask whether this was chattal slavery or bonded servitude and I am pretty sure the answer is "yes."<br /><br />I think we take an un-nuanced approach to the apparently unique place that American slavery holds in our culture. It is not, I feel, the mere fact of enslavement that makes it so virulent, because slavery is not special. The relative lack of slavery in modern times is the historically interesting thing.<br /><br />Perhaps it's simply the most recent large scale example we have in our history, here in the west? Or perhaps the transition to not-slavery was handled particularly badly? I think many people say that it was the invention of "race" to justify slavery post-Enlightenment that makes it so nasty.<br /><br />I don't pretend to know.<br />amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-8730698498896259522019-08-21T03:03:47.589-07:002019-08-21T03:03:47.589-07:00I will probably never stop wondering how it is to ...I will probably never stop wondering how it is to be burdened with history, by choices one never made. Let me explain - I was born in Poland, now living in Ireland. Neither of those countries had any experience with slavery, neither was oppressing other countries in a gross scale in the last centuries. I never was able to, nor even will understand this emotional luggage, this self-harm Americans (at least some of them) show when facing with issues of slavery, skin color, etc. I *do* understand the reason and know history well enough, but I find this, I don't know, awkward? Delicate sidestepping around anything resembling racial issues, finding euphemisms, inventing new language because some of the words are somehow tainted. <br />I have a friend from Western Africa on a gym. He, and his ancestors (on reasonable timeframe) had about the same experience with American issues of slavery, as me. One of those days, I will bring my ShenHao, we well put collars on our necks and join them with a chain, both naked, kind of Avedon style. And we will wait for all the angry comments from all sides.Stannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-48285873959933055672019-06-16T15:21:14.332-07:002019-06-16T15:21:14.332-07:00"unfortunately it's not possible to "..."unfortunately it's not possible to "unsee" this picture and start again"<br /><br />Sure it is. Crop the fucker, and do it right.David Smithhttp://designartcraft.com/photo/afbp.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-80304171747599853082019-06-15T10:38:24.178-07:002019-06-15T10:38:24.178-07:00Since you asked what I see: I find the modern padl...Since you asked what I see: I find the modern padlock distracting and the cloth not quite believable either.<br /><br />As to the design of the collar, you will find the original here:<br />https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-a259-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99<br /><br />I was in Bénin (ex Dahomey) about a year ago. Ethnicities are a very complex subject there and one we can't really grasp as Europeans. The palaces in Abomey were constructed with human blood as mortar, so internal wars were obviously cruel. There were 2 Dahomey wars with the French colonial empire. At the end, the French won using troops from Sénégal. Dakar is the capital of Sénégal, so maybe the place has a meaning in the art project as well, I do not know.Andrénoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-29899049691986850382019-06-14T08:44:18.925-07:002019-06-14T08:44:18.925-07:00The large dark/black area on the RHS of the frame ...The large dark/black area on the RHS of the frame makes me think of all the worse things that probably went on but that aren't shown here.<br /><br />If the person had been framed in the middle of the frame, would the dark/black areas on either side have that same effect? I don't know and unfortunately it's not possible to "unsee" this picture and start again.Robert Roaldihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04887600184257979094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-84770957947685624682019-06-14T08:21:29.686-07:002019-06-14T08:21:29.686-07:00So why not make a wide-screen motion picture? The ...So why not make a wide-screen motion picture? The image (like all photographs) would be stronger, more focused if the subject were appropriately framed. The framing of this one amounts to little more than a 'wannabe' pretense. But there's a lot of that going around in the art photographer bidness. A still photograph is not a motion picture, full stop.David Smithhttp://designartcraft.com/photo/afbp.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-49464617777117665522019-06-14T01:12:02.416-07:002019-06-14T01:12:02.416-07:00Same here; guess we'll just have to talk among...Same here; guess we'll just have to talk among ourselves for the time being :) Your thoughts about the frame shape and how it might influence the temporal nature of the photograph resonate with those of John Berger who suggests that a photograph has more in common with a 'quotation' than a 'narrative' (Another Way of Telling; 1982). The past and future has to be provided by the viewer, since the photograph is generally silent on the matter. The frame shape may assist by leaving physical space for this to take place In discussing how a photograph actually works Berger, unlike so many contemporary critics, is not afraid to engage with the actual content of the frame. Yes, prompted by AM I too am revisiting Bergers work and finding it refreshingly transparent. coastinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01941801608079586653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-10829682073387740342019-06-10T10:54:00.210-07:002019-06-10T10:54:00.210-07:00I can't believe I'm writing this but I did...I can't believe I'm writing this but I did a web search on neck-related torture devices, found pronged collars, and the one in the pic may be a variation. They make work difficult and night time rest nearly impossible. I'm done thinking about this.Robert Roaldihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04887600184257979094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-37500700224216627372019-06-09T07:13:36.338-07:002019-06-09T07:13:36.338-07:00I don't think those are actual hammers. They a...I don't think those are actual hammers. They appear to be pieces of forged steel with pointy ends. The extreme padding on the right hand side, essentially changing what is a vertical subject to wide-screen, doesn't really add meaningful context except, I dunno, "arty"?David Smithhttp://designartcraft.com/photo/afbp.htmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-59644849620306163012019-06-09T05:08:32.100-07:002019-06-09T05:08:32.100-07:00Paul Braverman's comment above about hammers a...Paul Braverman's comment above about hammers and work made me think of the phrase "work will set you free."Robert Roaldihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04887600184257979094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-24033426278481104992019-06-08T15:27:18.153-07:002019-06-08T15:27:18.153-07:00https://www.cnet.com/news/ai-da-the-robot-artists-...https://www.cnet.com/news/ai-da-the-robot-artists-first-exhibition-has-us-asking-what-even-is-art/<br /><br />A topic for a future blog post, perhaps.Derrel Hewitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16711397011278495094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-65965071794104163102019-06-07T06:07:08.898-07:002019-06-07T06:07:08.898-07:00While the photo is not, I think, an actual self-po...While the photo is not, I think, an actual self-portrait, that is a brilliant reading of it. I had, of course, read some stuff before coming back to really examine the pictures (idiot!) so had already got hold of the "fashion" idea.<br />amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-20383884550082798312019-06-07T06:06:04.877-07:002019-06-07T06:06:04.877-07:00Thanks! I am trying out this idea of actually look...Thanks! I am trying out this idea of actually looking at visual art!amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-73042523595378113912019-06-07T01:10:17.759-07:002019-06-07T01:10:17.759-07:00An interesting piece of looking and seeing and say...An interesting piece of looking and seeing and saying. Doing the heavy lifting of reading Berger has put muscle on your own writing, I suspect. Don't lose it over the summer!<br /><br />MikeMike C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11279776665185060446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-67406530272516679592019-06-06T23:47:56.954-07:002019-06-06T23:47:56.954-07:00My first impression was also that this is a contem...My first impression was also that this is a contemporary man photographed in a studio, modeling the horrible thing. He's showing it to us, not exactly wearing it. And his left hand is indeed ready for something.<br />Apparently he's a contemporary African intellectual taking a self portrait. <br />It's like Cindy Sherman using herself as a model for images of women, or Chris Burden getting himself shot to make a point about violence. They take it upon themselves.<br />That is to say, it's what I want artists to do (well, not get shot). It's wonderfully provocative and interesting.<br />I have been horrified to discover how ignorant I was growing up in Jim Crow america, thinking I was a good liberal, and totally missing the fact that the country got a 300-year head start using slave labor, and that I'm afraid of young lanky dudes in hoodies. So this photo immediately hits that guilt nerve.<br />But really it's just a picture by an artist doing his thing. And as for that vast blackness to the right, it does suggest a magazine spread, but it might also be the Darkness, as much a part of the picture as any.<br />Matt Kalliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00051484131679998977noreply@blogger.com