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When The Well Runs Dry
By Jerry Currier | Wisdom and Inspiration |
Jul 15, 2005
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©Jerry Currier
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I wonder how many photographers have found that other forms of artistic expression such as the theater, ballet, exhibits of painting, and the graphic arts all have a positive effect on the quest for the “perfect” image.
Recently, I have been reading, studying and reflecting on an enormous book about street photography entitled Bystander: A History of Street Photography by Colin Westerbeck and Joel Meyerowitz. The first chapter is devoted to a discussion concerning the school of creative thought known as “Impressionism” which caused much artistic turmoil for a large part of the 19th century.
In 1986, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, together with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., collaborated on an extensive exhibition of works from this period entitled "The New Painting, Impressionism 1874 – 1876." It was displayed at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. I visited this exhibit several times during its stay. It was so overwhelming that it couldn’t be appreciated in just one visit, so I retuned numerous times to explore it. I remember walking out into the clear, California sunlight with a new eye for the world about me after each visit.
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©Jerry Currier
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Fortunately, I purchased a catalog of the show. Because of the emphasis that is placed on the Impressionist movement by the authors of Bystander, I recently opened the catalog for the first time in many years. What a revelation! Suddenly, I was transported back in time to the De Young in 1986. My view of the world was once again transformed!
An amusing side effect came about from studying the catalog. Every page that featured a facsimile of one of the art works included reviewers’ comments from the newspapers of the day. It was fascinating to read these comments, both negative and positive, in the light of history. The way artists such as Gauguin, Monet, Pissarro, and Manet, were viewed at the time compared to the modern perception of these artistic giants. Many of the remarks sound very familiar. Not much different from comments made today on images posted on the Forum and Critique pages of photoworkshop.com, often expressing similar words of praise and prejudice.
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©Jerry Currier
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This experience opened my eyes to just how much the various arts can affect me as a photographer. Most photographers experience “dry” periods. Periods when the creative juices seem to have been drained away, leaving us searching for answers, for some way to rejuvenate our creative eye and recapture that ability to find and record. Those magic moments behind the camera that we live for, as photographers. It can be terrifying when we can’t seem to find the solution.
Over time, I have discovered that new inspiration can be gained from experiencing other forms of artistic expression. A play, a ballet, a few hours in a museum with great painters, a symphony, good jazz or, perhaps, a book of poetry, can reignite my passion for finding and recording new images. Then again, I may go back over my past images and discover some gem I had overlooked or ignored, pieces that were once important to me but then discounted for some long forgotten reason.
Viewing photoworkshop.com member’s bio pages and portfolios has been another source of inspiration for me in times of creative drought. Other times I will delve into my collection of art books and study the works of Picasso, Renoir, Matisse and other great figures in the history of the visual arts. Or I may turn to photographic magazines such as “Aperture” or “Black and White” to help refresh my eye and imagination. The written word––poetry for example––can nudge new ways of looking at the world into the forefront of my mind.
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©Jerry Currier
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Stimulating conversation with people who are involved in creative endeavors such as dance, the theater, opera or literature may also open new worlds, as well as listening to great music by composers such as Debussy who created beautiful aural images. “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” or “The Sunken Cathedral” are two examples that can jolt your imagination into new planes of visual awareness.
And the internet offers an almost limitless source of visual stimuli. For me, it is like having the whole span of human imagination laid out before me. Allowing me to pick and choose morsels of creative talent that will offer me a visual challenge and help reinvigorate my photographic eye, a sort of creative smorgasbord.
I may use a search engine and look for subjects that promise visual arousal. For instance, I might try “graphic design” or “digital art.” There’s a universe of images out there. Access to them and the creative stimulation that they offer is limited only by my willingness to search for new, exciting experiences.
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Last Updated: Jul 29th, 2010 - 13:28:46
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