GMAB

[Eric Welch <ewelch@ponyexpress.net>]

At 08:46 AM 9/29/97 -0700, you wrote:
>be good. Sooner or later Mapplethorpe and the useless NEA is going to 
>rear its ugly head and voila!

The useless NEA? Puhleeze. Let's talk about useless anything in government
and find out how much money is wasted - a lot more than spent on the NEA -
for minuscule things that have no positive impact on our communities.

Especially when brought up against a photographer who never used Leica,
probably. Have you seen his flower photographs? On par with Imogene
Cunningham. But I don't think she used Leica either. I just did in a
sentence, is that what's required to be on topic? No. 

Discussion isn't always for gaining consensus. Many of us would never reach
that point on what is better, an M6 or an old beat up, out of date, hard to
load and rewind, overpriced M3. ;-)

But we can come to appreciate what it is that makes using our cameras so
valuable to us, and to those around us. Fine art isn't something one can
define without some philosophical underpinnings. Too much for this list, so
you are partly right. But letting it go at a loose definition can be useful
for then asking the question of whether it can be done with Leicas. As far
as I'm concerned, there are many practitioners of fine art with Leicas, and
lots less expressive cameras.

My definition of a fine art photographer(loose version): those who have
mastered photography to the point that their photographs not only expresses
what they intend, but does it in a visually compelling way.

=============
Eric Welch
St. Joseph, MO

As far as I'm concerned, treachery will sometimes bring loyalty into
question.