tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post1139517938144228132..comments2024-03-27T00:32:29.877-07:00Comments on Photos and Stuff: Colberg on Roger Ballen and Artamolitorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-65155004082780590172018-02-19T12:03:50.569-08:002018-02-19T12:03:50.569-08:00I just wish he'd done a better job of tying it...I just wish he'd done a better job of tying it all up. It felt like he just dribbled off. I was expecting this structure:<br /><br />- Art does these things.<br />- Ballen's work has evolved blah blah<br />- Ballen's work is not always easy to take<br />- BUT Ballen's work DOES THE THINGS that Art ought<br />- Therefore while I find it hard to take, I approve of it<br /><br />Or something. In some sense I guess you could pretend that Colberg's assuming we're smart enough to connect the dots. On the other hand, though, in the absence of an actual firm statement from Colberg, it's not particularly clear which dots we are to connect.<br /><br />For the record, I think Ballen's work is strong, it is Art-Like, and it is not always easy to take. This is really the strength of the surrealist, to show us something completely crazy, and yet also familiar, to pry open our minds in a not necessarily comfortable way.<br /><br />I suspect that Colberg and I agree strongly on Ballen, and much more, but I can't always tell, and I wish he would stand up on his own hind legs and make some stronger statements.<br />amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-76411556214774776842018-02-19T10:04:19.135-08:002018-02-19T10:04:19.135-08:00I note Colbert has reviewed Balkan at least twice ...I note Colbert has reviewed Balkan at least twice and interviewed him at least once. He is fairly consistent in what he writes about him too. I don't so much get the feeling that he hates him, more that he has a subjective dislike of the images and that is something he can't quite let himself say or, perhaps, admit to. <br />Content wise I see a lot of similarities to Jan Svankmajr, a Czech surrealist. Niglihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06133186764538955375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-24744735801893728142018-02-14T11:14:12.765-08:002018-02-14T11:14:12.765-08:00If it's any consolation, according to F. Scott...If it's any consolation, according to F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."<br /><br />8^)jghttps://audiidudii.aminus3.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-33982964641202050392018-02-13T17:40:14.654-08:002018-02-13T17:40:14.654-08:00That is an outstanding question ;) I am known to s...That is an outstanding question ;) I am known to shift and change, sometimes quite rapidly. Let me attempt here to rationalize it, and see what you think!<br /><br />Ultimately, I think the artist probably wants to make some sort of connection or statement. The artist wants, at some level, to be understood. Or at any rate that is at least a reasonable desire for the artist to entertain.<br /><br />Where the artist cannot afford to take input, to worry about the audience, is in the methods used.<br /><br />You do your thing, what you feel is right and proper, as hard as you can. You don't focus group your work, you don't workshop it.<br /><br />And then, well, you hope you've got it right enough that the connection, the communication, the statement, reads.<br /><br />If you workshop it, if you focus group it, then you wind up with a much higher chance of *something* getting through, of making some sort of connection. The trouble is, it's not your connection, it's the the thing you're trying to do. It's some collaboration with your workshop-partners, and it's probably watered down.<br /><br />But maybe I am just trying to smash two incompatible views together in a way that makes some sort of sense. I've done crazier things!<br />amolitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743439184763617516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-654754338632526091.post-57746235949148069692018-02-13T17:21:52.173-08:002018-02-13T17:21:52.173-08:00Three pieces down, you wrote: "The lesson her...Three pieces down, you wrote: "The lesson here is, I suppose, that if everyone is shouting at you to be more emotional, maybe you should pay attention."<br /><br />And yet here you state: "[T]he Artist cannot spare even a moment, not an iota of energy, worrying about what other people think."<br /><br />Which I happen to very much agree with, btw, although it does strike me as inconsistent with your prior statement.<br /><br />Are visual and aural arts really that different or have I missed some subtle nuance that distinguishes the contexts surrounding these two statements?<br /><br />Mind you, I'm not trying to bust your chops here, just curious as to how these two situations are so different from one another to merit what appear to be completely opposite responses from the two artists involved.JGhttps://audiidudii.aminus3.com/noreply@blogger.com