Rebuilding My Confidence - Rolls 113 & 114
As I mentioned previously, last fall I submitted two photos to the Midwest Museum of Art's Juried Regional, a show designed to be an "important survey of the very best of what is happening currently in the area." The Midwest is one of the most respected artistic institutions in the Michiana area, so I was very happy when one of my photos was accepted to the show, giving me a chance to display my work in a well-known gallery space. On October 6 Malia and I went to the opening show, making our way through floors and halls filled with incredible work—sculptures and mixed media pieces and paintings and photography. I enjoyed seeing the diversity of artwork, creatively made and carefully presented, but I didn't feel like the photography was at the same level as the other media there; much of it felt amateurish or unintentional, and I was confused as to why those pieces were chosen. This sounds very arrogant to say—as if I'm the sole arbiter of what constitutes good photography—so I'll modify my statement to say that at the very least, most of the photographs shown didn't move me in any way, and I left feeling let down that my piece, strong as I thought it was, didn't receive any recognition or award. I know that I shouldn't care about such things, but I do, and the predominant feeling that remained from the night was discouragement.
My solution the next morning was to go photographing; I decided that regardless of whether I'm making award-winning art, I still derive joy and peace from creating, museums and gallery shows be damned.* I grabbed a couple rolls and headed over to the East Race neighborhood of South Bend, another place that I'd passed through many times but rarely explored properly. I began at Howard Park, shooting a couple photos of the paths and trees there. I was especially drawn to a lone tree that had turned almost fully orange, preceding its neighbors by several weeks, contrasting nicely with the deep green of the grass and the dark clouds above. Those same dark clouds make a photo of a nearby alleyway compelling to me, balancing out the brightness of the cracked concrete and adding a variety of blues to the color palette of the scene. I walked to the East Race Liquors store next, where I knew that their faded Coca-Cola sign would make an interesting subject on such a cloudy day. Once again I employed the stoplight and power lines to sub-frame different parts of the photo, organizing it into an orderly grid and emphasizing the sign in the middle. I shot a few more photos and finished the roll afterwards, but this shot is my crowning achievement from the roll, perfectly capturing the street corner the way I wanted.
Howard Park, South Bend, Indiana.
Untitled.
East Race Liquors, South Bend, Indiana.
As may be clear from my various posts so far, often when I finish a roll I have a mini crisis as I choose whether to keep shooting, risking not finding another ten photos, or to stop while I'm ahead. As I stood for a moment weighing my options, the sun came out from behind the clouds, making my decision easy; I loaded another roll and walked across the road to a building seemingly abandoned during construction. It took me a few moments to find the right composition amongst the standing beams and overgrowth, but my final shot accomplishes what I wanted it to, and I like the way that those beams cut through the scene, adding depth and movement to an otherwise static photo.
Sycamore Street, South Bend, Indiana.
The other photo from this roll that stands out to me is of the Jefferson Boulevard Bridge, which cuts across the St Joseph River, connecting downtown with the East Race. I cross this bridge every day going to work, which made it an ideal subject for this project, and while walking around I found a view of it that I had never seen before. The clouds from earlier had broken, allowing blue sky and the sun to peek through, but they hadn't dissipated entirely, remaining to form a textured backdrop to the bridge. The bridge itself glowed brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight, reflecting in the river and mingling its whites and yellows with the blue of the water. Due to where I was standing, it was almost unavoidable to have the orange buoys in the foreground, but I'm not upset about it; they add an element of interest to the bottom half of the photo, and help emphasize the split complementary color scheme of orange, yellow, and blue. To put it simply, this scene was beautiful, and my mind and spirit were lifted as I took several photos here. This moment completed what I had set out to accomplish by photographing that day; in the taking of the East Race Liquors photo I reveled in my ability to compose a good photo, and in the experience at the bridge my senses were elevated by the beauty that unfolded in front of me. These experiences helped me stay encouraged as an artist and remain set in my goals for What My Left Hand is Doing, and for that I am thankful!
Jefferson Boulevard Bridge, South Bend, Indiana.
*Obviously I am not writing off submitting photos to galleries entirely; as it happens I am preparing two more submissions for this year's Juried Regional at the Midwest.