The world is a universe of tensions seeking to be resolved - a universe of wants and haves - of haves and have-nots. Do we have a choice in the matter? No. We have no choice but to choose. So ultimately we have no choice. Thus we have no choice but to be allured by something even if that something is the thought of not choosing. If we’re going to play this cosmic game to win (and no one ever wants to lose because if you want to lose then losing is winning) then it would be useful to know what attracts us . Not what we think we SHOULD be attracted to but that which in reality has for us a sympathetic resonance. Or as was said in the 60’s: “What turns you on man”. Because if you’re not on you’re off. And if Nothing turns you on then you’re in luck. You can give up and just be with (or be) whatever appears around you and then everything turns you on. As the Beatles sang: “Oh that magic feeling . . . nowhere to go”. You’re already there and you are that.

What a gift. Nothing to prove. No one to impress. The world is crazy and beautiful – have you noticed? There is always Nothing to answer to because without Nothing there can’t be Everything or Anything. And since Nothing is the source of all creation then that’s the place from which we create. Creation is happening everywhere all the time but we’re wired to value some things more than others so we define that which is creative and that which isn’t. And that too is part of the cosmic tension – resolution dance. Nothing wants to be Something.

Let’s dance.

The goal of photography, which respects the unique characteristics of the medium, is to capture coherent pictures of reality that the mind wouldn’t think to invent – and the mind rarely invents the ordinary.

JT

The objective of painting a picture is not to make a picture - however unreasonable that may sound. The picture . . . is a by-product and may be useful, valuable, interesting as a sign of what has past. The objective, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being, a state of high functioning, a more than ordinary moment of existence. In such moments activity is inevitable, and whether this activity is with brush, pen, chisel, or tongue, its result is but a by-product of that state, a trace, the footprint of the state.

Robert Henri “The Art Spirit”

Everyone likes to get favorable comments on their artwork and I’m no exception. When someone takes a moment to tell me that they like my art, I am most appreciative. It certainly is gratifying and validating. But most artists treasure the experience of having their work viewed in depth. When this happens, the comment can become an enlightening experience. I think this is what the Comment Revolution is all about. [link]

I and many other artists and photographers create intuitively. What we respond to is often deep below the surface of our consciousness. It can take days, weeks, sometimes years before we fully comprehend our images at the conscious level. When we do, there is an experience of illumination, a flash of sudden insight. Where Intuition had stood bravely alone it is now merged and fortified with the Clarity of Understanding.

Alejandra’s (aka colddarksilent) comment on a recent deviation “Petrified Wood Abstraction #1” is the kind of response that artists crave. She has overlain a vital psychological and philosophical portrait on a black and white abstraction of dead wood. This image, much like a Rorschach blot, encourages viewers to make up their own story. And the story that is written always tells more about the viewer than the picture.

Minor White coined the expression “Things for what else they are”. He emphasized through many of his abstract images [link] and much of his teaching that what a photographer captures is not only what appears on the surface but also, and perhaps more important, a mirror of his psyche. He extended this approach to image making to what he called “Creative Response” – the thoughts and feelings experienced and shared by the viewer of the image. In his workshops, he and his students would often dance to what they saw in photographs!

Alejandra’s comment is truly a “Creative Response”. Her lucid interpretation reveals a remarkable depth of understanding of images and life - even more remarkable from such a young person. (Or maybe young adults were just shallower when I was twenty). She takes the specific graphic features of “Cave Dwelling” and points them to universal truths. She then philosophizes about the nature of the permanent and impermanent. As she stated: “To some people life can be meaningless”. Artists often ask themselves about their art: “What’s the point”? The Creative Process IS the point and Alejandra has extended the process with her “Creative Response”. What more could an artist ask?

JT

This critique was extended at Matthew's request to include Garden Cream #3 See below.

Garden Cream 2 by Matthew Scherfenberg

Dear Matthew,

I would like to comment on this gorgeous image with your stated goal in mind: “My goal is often to present the human form as an aesthetic object. The head and face provide identity, which sometimes I'm trying to avoid”. Let’s take out the words “often” and “sometimes” and assume that in this particular photograph this is your goal. I also think that it’s safe to assume that hidden in your statement - “In this picture, which has a more sensual feel, the absence of identity helps people see what they want to see. some see a lover, some feel a caress, some see only a perfect shape, some see themselves” - are things that you Matthew can see and feel in this picture. So with these things in mind, let’s look at what I think may support and detract from your goals.

Obviously the creamy white skin and the voluptuous curves are the centerpiece of the image and will stop any passing viewers in their tracks. The way the leaves “caress” the form however add a romantic feel. And their deeper crimson color raises the piece to a level of sophistication above the purely erotic. The dewdrops on the leaves add freshness and give the feeling of a natural as opposed to a studio nude. I can easily identify with the leaves and wish that I too were touching the delicious form. I can also feel the vulnerability of this beautiful creature so it arouses emotions beyond base passion. One does not usually feel these feelings when viewing “aesthetic objects”

Edward Weston’s Nude 1936 is a classic example of a beautiful aesthetic object. [link]


Weston has hidden the face, which, as you smartly pointed out, obscures the identity and supports an objective approach to the female form. Weston, though a romantic and womanizer in his private life, kept romantic elements out of his photographs once he abandoned Pictorialism. He was focused on “the thing itself” and avoided any elements that would blur that focus. “Nude 1936” is what it is – a beautiful, sensual form with neither erotic nor romantic connotations. I think your “Cracked Again” [link] and other similar images in your gallery are fine examples of the objective, modernist approach to the nude figure.

“Garden Cream 2”, on the other hand is, for me, an image rich with romance and strong hints of love and vulnerability and could be strengthened by treating it as such. After spending some time with this photograph and getting past the initial attraction, I became disturbed by the way the shoulders and head were not only missing but felt dispassionately cut off. Even if this were purely an aesthetic object, the manner in which the frame slices through the sinuous curves of the shoulders weakens the overall sensuality of the form. I also think that by backing up a little and revealing more of the body it would prevent the image from being so bottom heavy. And referring to a previous comment regarding the black space at the bottom right, a bit more solid texture could support the weight of the figure’s bottom half.

So, as I hope you can see, I am torn between this delicious, creamy form and the desire for it to be a person with emotions and real blood flowing through her veins. I’ll enjoy her as she is . . . but only if . . .

Congrats on the DD

JT

Matthew requested a comment on #3 in the Garden Cream series

Much of what was said about Garden Cream #2 is applicable to GC #3. However in #3 you have taken a step farther and transformed the female form into pure abstraction (head or no head). When I first looked at this image it seemed as if I had been walking along and stumbled upon a Henry Moore sculpture lying in a garden. [link]

I’ve returned to your picture a number of times and am still adjusting to the contorted and distorted figure. This certainly is an “aesthetic object” but in this context it feels surreal. Wynn Bullock was interested in showing the dimension of time in his images by including different elements at various stages of decay. “Child in the forest” is a good example [link] (sorry for the small jpeg). When I first viewed this photograph about thirty-five years ago I was stunned by the counterpoint between the nude child and the lush forest. Here is a young girl imaged not as a child in nature but a child of nature –separate yet part of the whole. I’m feeling this same kind of counterpoint in your GC series. But here again it feels as if your sense of abstraction and your romantic tendencies are at odds and struggling to get aligned.

JT