tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post6772480516632026048..comments2024-03-26T23:27:56.399-07:00Comments on B: Celebrating The NegativeBlake Andrewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07187987264904729243noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post-29824560499937139462009-09-20T05:02:55.697-07:002009-09-20T05:02:55.697-07:00I completely agree with BryanF's last comment....I completely agree with BryanF's last comment. I'm utterly over critics. I don't need someone to tell me what I do and don't like based on some miscellaneous comparison with whatever obscure piece of work was fashionable that week. As people's taste changes daily, the criticism of the hour is obsolete by the next. Some photo's I took last year that I hated I now quite like and vice versa. Just do what you like. There is nothing wrong with art for the sake of art. It all doesn't have to carry some earth shattering meaning or message.<br /><br />"I don't have anything to say in any picture. My only interest in photography is to see what something looks like as a photograph. I have no preconceptions." - Garry WinograndAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post-46869536480081269422009-07-25T19:04:56.726-07:002009-07-25T19:04:56.726-07:00I'd classify that comment as an honestly worde...I'd classify that comment as an honestly worded negative reviewBlake Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07187987264904729243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post-38051624587503150722009-07-24T19:27:43.119-07:002009-07-24T19:27:43.119-07:00@MZ: In the big leagues on the internet people don...@MZ: In the big leagues on the internet people don't hide behind anonymity. <br /><br />Anonymity on the web died in 2005. Anyone that doesn't link back to a respectable social profile isn't worth listening too, I don't give a shit about whatever argument you make about 'the ideas being more important than the personality.' Get with it and establish yourself. <br /><br />Ok, criticism in all art forms bores me. I can't stand listening to intellectuals get high on themselves by deconstructing art. It's a social game of 'I'm smarter, more informed, more educated than you, so fuck off.'<br /><br />I hate that shit. It's a power struggle for righteousness and influence. <br /><br />People enjoy the music they enjoy, most of them don't pull out their hair about the shit they hate. The same goes for photography with me. <br /><br />If you want battle with people about photography over whose smarter, more educated, more sophisticated, more witty, go ahead. <br /><br />I'd prefer to shoot the shit with the down to earth people who photograph simply because they love it, not because they need to establish themselves in any sort hierarchy. <br /><br />Photography is like music, an art that's with us daily, we like some of it, we don't. Let's not push it into the corrupt, ugly, narcissistic, art world where everyone is out to make a buck and prove how fucking cutting edge they are...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post-86972235319339815242009-07-24T18:25:44.040-07:002009-07-24T18:25:44.040-07:00It does seem that there is more one line praise (t...It does seem that there is more one line praise (this rocks!) and that is nice but not particularly enlightening. One line criticism (this is boring) is less common but equally shallow and downright thoughtless in every sense.<br /><br />Regardless of the stature of the artist, criticism should be done with care and respect. This means a well reasoned discussion of merits and problems, which takes time and effort. <br /><br />Criticism means sticking your neck out. Praise and no one questions; you may have gained a friend. Criticize and you are vulnerable. If your facts aren't right or your argument isn't well formed, you face derision and ridicule.<br /><br />In the big leagues critics face some pretty formidable sales and promotion talent and reaction from those invested in an artist's work. Could this be why so much art criticism is convoluted theorizing leaving you asking the question, yes but did you like it? In the minor leagues it means possibly hurting someone's feelings, even if the criticism is meant to be constructive.mznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post-83468630054966990252009-07-24T12:29:39.835-07:002009-07-24T12:29:39.835-07:00Those comments suck!
Just kidding, but trying to ...Those comments suck!<br /><br />Just kidding, but trying to help my own point. I guess what I'm after is honest criticism. Critiques that are not necessarily nasty but that get around the generic "Nice work" reference. Many of the blogs which tend to reference third-party sites such as Conscientious (notwithstanding the Nachtwey link), Lenscratch, or Photolucida do so cloyingly pleasant terms. <br /><br />Granted this makes sense because typically they're going to link to photographers they already like. <br />But where does that leave the work folks don't like? When does that get discussed? In back rooms or over coffee between friends maybe but not online.<br /><br />Thinking about it more, maybe this is another fundamental way the internet has altered discussion patterns. Since it is so permanent and so public, certain topics are less likely to come up there than in real life. Thinking out loud here...Blake Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07187987264904729243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post-54839436855454996642009-07-24T11:17:18.425-07:002009-07-24T11:17:18.425-07:00Hi Blake,
I think that we have to make a distinct...Hi Blake,<br /><br />I think that we have to make a distinction concerning the subject of criticism. I mean that there is a difference between art as a way of saying something about your personal story (as a hobby, as an amateur or as a form of seeking recognition) and art that is marketed as a masterpiece. In the first case i think that criticism is pointless unless if asked from the artist but in the second case it is unacceptable to silence and allow trash to be marketed as masterpieces.Panagiotis Giannakishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02181311378978102465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post-89039985016293603682009-07-24T10:58:09.175-07:002009-07-24T10:58:09.175-07:00a negative critique usually says more about the cr...a negative critique usually says more about the critic than about the photography or photographer. For instance, what does jeff ladd know about nan goldin's sister? Maybe she was a high school melodrama queen living in a stereotypical world of cliches, and then the photo installation would have been on the money. And truly, his insult of nan's project is more insulting to the sister's memory than the project itself could ever be. Work like robert adams's that especially at the time was so esoteric and anti-mainstream, would definitely ruffle the feathers of the average american who supported suburbs and typical-looking art. Just the fact that the critic expected the pictures to be pretty showed that she didn't even begin to get it. I would guess that Mr. Adams expected a review exactly like that, and probably got 100 more singing the same song.<br /><br />If your work appeals to everyone, it's probably not too unique, and certainly not very deep.wolfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4935046131385109105.post-34883976221217136112009-07-24T08:38:19.191-07:002009-07-24T08:38:19.191-07:00Nice Blake. I agree. I tend to keep my mouth shut ...Nice Blake. I agree. I tend to keep my mouth shut in public because I don't want to create negative vibes around what I'm trying to do. Also, the web breeds a tit for tat culture, and people often tend to make everything personal. <br /><br />I'll nut up and say that I don't really like Brian Ulrich or Susana Raab's anti-consumerism work. I find it dull and pretentious. <br /><br />Jorg Colberg has had some <a href="http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/2008/10/some_thoughts_on_the_visual_language_of_photojournalism.html" rel="nofollow">sharp criticism of photojournalism and the Nactway.</a><br /><br />I do wonder about the thirst for more criticism. I think there's a risk of it turning into a brow beating contest where people might start tearing apart work simply out of spite or too boost their own ego. <br /><br />I think the best criticism attempts to open up a wider philosophical dialogue and avoids attacking for the sake of attacking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com