[AGL] photo art education

[Connie Clark]

I called in sick today suffering with sinus irritation.  Slept most of the morning, then logged in to office email and advised those interested, that I wouldn't be jumping thru hoops today.  Around noon, I got up, made the bed, got dressed and decided to spend part of this sunny and very pleasant day over at the MFAH.  I wanted to see the MFAH photo collection exhibit they put on, and a moderately sick day was just the ticket.  30 years ago, somebody at the Target stores helped MFAH get started on a photography collection. They now own about 22,000 images. Many, many famous ones.

Not a big show but an overview of photography art history with several photogravures including Stiegliz and Weston.  There was a Russell Lee, a thirties picture of a man with badly worn shoes and socks with his wife in front of a radio.  Stiegliz' 'Steerage', and I especially liked the Walker Evans. The Target Collection travels to Austin in March.  They didn't charge anything for the show, and I went through it in less than an hour.

http://www.mfah.org/main.asp?target=exhibition&par1=1&par2=1&par3=361

I agree with Bob about photographic art having a lot to do with where one finds oneself when taking a picture. Opportunity must guide the artist. Last week, I guess others on the list also saw the PBS American Master's series on Annie Liebowitz.  I learned a lot about her, and realize that she must be very talented, but had to have received quite a boost to her career when she started shooting famous persons that everyone wanted to see, and published in the hippest magazine of a couple of decades, Rolling Stone.  But, one can see that of the many shots she makes in a session, there is more than just one good one to play with. Could Stephanie have done it? or even Simmons? given the same break - Maybe so.

Over the last half-dozen years or so, I have been learning a lot about photographic art through the numerous local venues, and enjoy the posts of discussion and opinion on the subject from the listees.  Tonight, a more mundane photo chore for me.  Yesterday, in a pinch, on a construction job site, I shot some pictures with my cell phone camera, and I need to find out how to download them to the computer for printout.  Who knows, one of them may be art.  I'll let you know.

Feeling better, but tomorrow I may stay home one more day to be sure,
Sorry for the lengthy post.
Connie

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