I can see clearly now - Revealed Truth on the Road to Raton

On the Road to Raton

Had the cataract taken out of my right eye on the 25th and on the 29th drove to Trinidad and Raton. If my first reaction after surgery was that the world has edges, my reaction on the familiar road to Raton were the colors. Who knew the plains could be so colorful even in a drought.

Distant Volcanic hills

Vision is about light, color and definition. Painting is about all those and sometimes lack of definition as Monet proved. Photography is supposedly about light. Though lately it seems to be about pixels and hyper definition. A photographer friend and I got into a discussion about the differences in photography as a craft and photography as an art.

We were, as artists frequently, critiquing the judging on a recent show. And talking about the ones we will not enter again because of the judging. I was thinking about that and color, light and definition as I drove.

It takes effort and money to enter shows. I do it to expand name recognition and audience. I was taking entries to the Trinidad Area Arts Council SPLASH exhibit. As luck would have it I need to pick up works from The Old Pass Gallery in Raton. More and more I see Trinidad as my audience and Raton as not. So will I renew my $50 membership in the Raton Arts and Humanities group? Probably not. There is probably only one of their shows I will enter and I do not have to be a member for that. I liked the previous director's direction better.

So much to pay attention to in the arts. Been taking an e-course given by a gallery owner/director and the course isn't taking the direction I thought it would. Thought I was three lessons behind because of the whole eye surgery thing but probably not. Gallery owners and directors always complain that us artists are not doing it right - i.e. painting more of what just sold. That is not art. That is craft.

And back to the conversation with my friend about photography - any fool with a digital camera can get thir subject in focus. Only an artist knows when out of focus says more.

Those trees in the distance

And then maybe it is all about geo-spatial cultural dynamic. Trinidad is in the mountains and Raton is in the plains. Okay, some things are still muddled but I can see clearly now out of at least the right eye and by the end of May out f both.

Comments

  1. Terry RoweMay 2, 2014 at 2:14 PM

    Well said - the bit about "only an artist knows when out of focus says more" particularly resonates.

    ReplyDelete

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