Is it just me .... or are some photographers a little bit full of it.

[bobt]

I just visited the Monash Galley to see the contenders for the Bowness Photography Prize, and as I wandered around it struck me that often these photographers take their image, and then write "deep and meaningful" rubbish to support the image. To me, although some images can be quite spiritual and generate a whole range of emotions, mostly the description that photographers attach to their photos come across as a whole lot of manufactured bull****. Here's one example where the photographer got his sister to lie across a log. His description ....

Through photography I can represent my love, fears and deep feelings within a frame. Movement, stillness and contrasting emotional elements are imperative as I feel this represents life’s binaries as well as the ever-changing, sensual and powerful qualities of nature; with which I have a deep connection.
Here in a grassy nook along the Great Ocean Road is a photo of my younger sister. The smell and feeling of this moment is forever caught in time as a symbol of growth. The soft tones and symmetry create a sense of calmness and the depth of field through line gives a feeling of movement whilst she is, in contrast, in a state of stillness.

Is it just me ... or is this sort of thing just a whole lot of self-gratification (for want of a shorter word) ?

The images is at http://www.mga.org.au/bowness-prize/gallery15/index/image/72

[ameerat42]

Bob, to me also this is a a large amount of solution used to bathe creatures of the porcine family.

Oh, well! More evidence that the world is a BIG place. -- And that's why we DON'T get visits from ALIENS - they think we're mad!

In the example cited, neither the picture nor the prose is any any way persuasive:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

- - - Updated - - -

-Oh! Except to give credence to the 2nd point above.

[Cricket]

"sensual and powerful qualities of nature" - "Here in a grassy nook along the Great Ocean Road is a photo of my younger sister"

Well I have checked out his photo of his younger sister and I agree his spiel is a little "full of it". What bothers me even more is that the two statements above he made in regard to the photo he took of his sister :scared:

[ameerat42]

Not to worry about "him/he", guys. It's a Clare Bedford. HOWEVER, I clicked on a couple back and forth and I think
some of them would be illegal (one ot two back in particular!!).

[Kym]

The 'arty' scene. What can I say other than starts with W and ends in :anc:

An image should stand without title or description.

I was one of the panel judges for the Adelaide CC annual on Tuesday night - there were some very stunning images that needed no words. The ones in the OP are ok, but would not have made the top images on Tuesday

[Cage]

......The smell and feeling of this moment is forever caught in time as a symbol of growth.

What a load of gobbledy gook.

Now Bob, in the interests of giving some credence to the artist's explanation of the shot, did you give it the sniff test?

[bcys1961]

You can generate your own "Arty Bollocks" statement here:

http://www.artybollocks.com/

[tandeejay]

You can generate your own "Arty Bollocks" statement here:

http://www.artybollocks.com/

My work explores the relationship between Pre-raphaelite tenets and unwanted gifts.

With influences as diverse as Nietzsche and John Cage, new tensions are generated from both simple and complex dialogues.
Ever since I was a postgraduate I have been fascinated by the endless oscillation of relationships. What starts out as hope soon becomes corrupted into a manifesto of greed, leaving only a sense of dread and the possibility of a new order.
As spatial phenomena become clarified through emergent and repetitive practice, the viewer is left with a tribute to the inaccuracies of our condition.


Fantastic!

[Steve Axford]

I think that the combination of photography and poetry/prose can work very well on occasions. Unfortunately, telling a photographer to give an "Artist statement and here are a few examples" - often leads to what is adequately described by other posters. I've been invited by an American writer/poet to do a joint exhibition. Not sure how it will work yet, but its an interesting idea.

[bobt]

What a load of gobbledy gook.

Now Bob, in the interests of giving some credence to the artist's explanation of the shot, did you give it the sniff test?

Yeah .... they needed to revive me! :eek:

[ricktas]

Yep.. Photographers are full of it.. Well I know I am. and it is often referred to as being full of shit! :lol:

[Mark L]

Based on a couple of the entered images they should have got Bill Henson to enter a photo. think of the publicity they missed out on.


You can generate your own "Arty Bollocks" statement here:

http://www.artybollocks.com/

Thanks, I wondered where some wine makers were getting some of the stuff I've stopped reading on their bottles.

[Nick Cliff]

We may be full of it Rick, but generally in our case a bit of alcohol needs to be in the system before we can even think of this sort of spiel!
This sort of bull sounds like a good idea for an April fools day photo competition.

[tandeejay]

It could be an idea for a future weekly challenge where each week the challenge is to make an image that fits the text generated from the above site:)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dug]

If a photo needs a statement of what it is about then it is a weak photo in my book. A photo does not need to have one concise interpretation.
Language is a clumsy way to explain a photo, words are loaded with multiple meanings, weights and general misdirection.

Too often I find just the requirement of a title has swayed what people think of a picture I have taken, they suggest ways I could have done the photo to better depict the title, the title is a greater pointer to them of what I was out to achieve in the image than the image itself. Fact is I am rubbish at titles. :)

I like to let people give their own interpretation of an image of mine before offering my own perceptive on it. It is always good to know others thought process on an image. My own explanation are not a correction, just to inform of the thought process in doing the picture as it is.

I short I think photography and words are a poor mix.
Let words create their own imagery and images communicate in the language of visual stimulus.

[farmmax]

You can generate your own "Arty Bollocks" statement here:

http://www.artybollocks.com/

Now that is what I call a handy link :D :D

Next time I need to create one of these heaps of garbage, I'll know where to go without sitting there banging my head against the computer screen :lol2:

Years ago I was approached by an artist for a loan of some animals for one of his compositions. The email with the request was very clear, concise, business like and logically set out, so instead of reaching for the delete button, I reached for Google. They were an up and coming artist in their field, so I loaned the animals. We became friends and at all times their conversation was sane, normal and concise. Every time I see any of their works in exhibitions and competitions, it is accompanied by an artists statement similar to the Bollocks Statements above. Knowing this artist, I'd have to suspect he is rolling over laughing every time he writes his "artists statements", but they seem to be working nicely :D

[jev]

I short I think photography and words are a poor mix.
Let words create their own imagery and images communicate in the language of visual stimulus.
Sometimes they are a poor mix (especially when text doesn't add anything), sometimes it is giving the image something extra (or vice versa). Personally, I have been toying with a combination of haiku (or what in my book is pretty close to a haiku) and photo which I feel is a pretty good match.

Words actually can strengthen the message, just as much as an image that illustrates words. A newspaper without images is pretty dull and won't convey the message - but a newspaper with just images would be just as useless.

Sure, an image *can* tell a story - I may even go so far that I think an image without an intrinsic story is lifeless eye-candy at best (YMMV). But that doesn't mean text could not add depth to an image... (just not the crap referred to earlier ;)).

[ricktas]

It could be an idea for a future weekly challenge where each week the challenge is to make an image that fits the text generated from the above site:)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Or a photo of the week or three :D...thanks!

Generated a few and then took some key phrases and made them comp themes.. for example "Consumerism and urban spaces"

[ricktas]

Based on a couple of the entered images they should have got Bill Henson to enter a photo. think of the publicity they missed out on.



Thanks, I wondered where some wine makers were getting some of the stuff I've stopped reading on their bottles.

A Tasmanian sparkling just won the Champion Wine at the Australian National Wine show. First time ever that a sparkling has won the gong. The winery owner came up with this doozie to describe his wine to the media:

"It is very fine, and elegant and complex," he said. "It often has a toast and mushroom and butter type flavours and surprisingly enough it almost has a fresh oyster, or seaside character."

Sounds like a nice breakfast dish rather than a wine :D

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-20/award-winning-tasmanian-sparkling-wine-makes-history/6960122?WT.ac=statenews_tas

[ameerat42]

...
"It is very fine, and elegant and complex," he said. "It often has a toast and mushroom and butter type flavours and surprisingly enough it almost has a fresh oyster, or seaside character."
[/B]
Sounds like a nice breakfast dish rather than a wine :D...


Sounds like he had too much of it for breakfast:eek::D:D

[Nick Cliff]

I always feel these characters using Latin or French proverbs or quotes can add an extra layer of arty pretentious aura to anything really.
My son once thanked Microsoft, Nikon, Canon, Olympus and photoshop etc. for realizing his so called artistic genius at an award night which brought quite a laugh!

[MissionMan]

This one of the reasons I won't watch a movie given a high rating by an arty movie critic. They are generally a bunch of boring arty crap. Only movie I ever agreed with them on was Shawshank Redemption.

[Dug]

Sometimes they are a poor mix (especially when text doesn't add anything), sometimes it is giving the image something extra (or vice versa). Personally, I have been toying with a combination of haiku (or what in my book is pretty close to a haiku) and photo which I feel is a pretty good match.

Words actually can strengthen the message, just as much as an image that illustrates words. A newspaper without images is pretty dull and won't convey the message - but a newspaper with just images would be just as useless.

Sure, an image *can* tell a story - I may even go so far that I think an image without an intrinsic story is lifeless eye-candy at best (YMMV). But that doesn't mean text could not add depth to an image... (just not the crap referred to earlier ;)).

Granted images linked to news have an important role, they root the words in reality, give them a depiction of place. The image captures a moment, the text gives the bigger picture.

Words being a poor mix is a bit of a generalization it is true. Sometimes an image can have a fit with well chosen words, or the words are not leading as to how to read the picture.

[bobt]

Granted images linked to news have an important role, they root the words in reality, give them a depiction of place. The image captures a moment, the text gives the bigger picture.

Words being a poor mix is a bit of a generalization it is true. Sometimes an image can have a fit with well chosen words, or the words are not leading as to how to read the picture.

I suspect that often these photographers take the photo and then attribute lofty thoughts to it as an afterthought. There seems to be a need to present images with obscure and mythical interpretations rather than simply leaving it to the observer to like or dislike. Obviously a newspaper needs words to explain the background to an image, but that's a different matter to artificially manufacturing an artistic interpretation simply to present the photographer in a loftier and more spiritual light than is perhaps justified.

A related irritation is the fact that established artists, be they photographers, writers, painters or whatever - are automatically applauded for whatever they produce simply because they have an established name. In my view, each work should be assessed strictly on its merits rather than assuming that it must be great simply because a "name" has created it.

[arthurking83]

..... In my view, each work should be assessed strictly on its merits rather than assuming that it must be great simply because a "name" has created it.

:th3:

[ApolloLXII]

There's nothing worse in artistic circles than the scourge of 'a.r.t.w.a.n.k.e.r.y'.

[tandeejay]

This one of the reasons I won't watch a movie given a high rating by an arty movie critic.

I never read reviews by arty movie critics, because I never want my expectations soured

[jev]

artificially manufacturing an artistic interpretation simply to present the photographer in a loftier and more spiritual light than is perhaps justified.
Even though I agree the text you originally quoted sounds rather corny, I would not immediately assume the text was added just to make it more artsy or anything. I don't say that was not the purpose, but I for one have added texts to photos that would probably be put in the same categorie (just kept them for my personal use though - never published). Words, phrases and images combined (no matter how awkward and hollow they are) may trigger memories or thoughts that don't mean anything to the outer world. And, I confess, these works often fail short after a couple of years - only the strongest keep their value over time. If you would read / see them though, you would think nothing of them either.


A related irritation is the fact that established artists, be they photographers, writers, painters or whatever - are automatically applauded for whatever they produce simply because they have an established name. In my view, each work should be assessed strictly on its merits rather than assuming that it must be great simply because a "name" has created it.
Amen to that!

[ameerat42]

OT but related.

Possible inscription in homage to a rough cask wine...

"A unique encapsulation of rare blends that evoke simple yet eclectic flavours as diverse as deep winter and languid summer days."

Meaning...
We threw these dregs together and are trying to pass it off as something better.

Also OT but related...
There's a car ad running where various "motoring experts" have expressed "their surprise" at certain aspects of a particular car.
At the end of the ad we are invited to "surprise" ourselves (by purchasing the car).

Real message: it's really a heap with nothing much going for it.

[CarlR]

Dug, I'm with you on this. It is all too easy for people to be told what to think when reading the description, the background or the artist statement (notwithstanding the hyberbolic and pretentious palaver).

[robbymac]

According to my wonderful wife a blend of Cab Sav, Shiraz and a few rum and cokes will produce equally confusing prose from oneself.! I took the time to view the all the images from the exhibition and realize that I have a great deal to learn about artists and their art.!

[Shav Bird Photography]

* removed - refer the site rules, in particular rules 3-7: admin*

[spootz01]

I guess it comes down to who the target audience for something like that is. Some people would scoff at an image without a suitable accompaniment.

Personally, if the image was mine, I would have one of two statements;

Bogan Spootz: "Yep, its a chick... on a log... with some green stuff behind her. And I'm fairly sure she isn't dead. I think."

Professional Spootz: "I prefer to let my images speak for themselves. 1000 words and all that jazz"

Cheers

S.

[pjs2]

I might be more artistic than I thought. I have woken up in this position a few times while camping and having drinkies with the lads. This might be art imitating life.

How tres chick of me

[John King]

Brilliant, Brad :th3: :nod: :D.


You can generate your own "Arty Bollocks" statement here:

http://www.artybollocks.com/

I've bookmarked it. My wife loathes having to write artist's statements ... ;)