Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/02/15

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Eggleston: art photography
From: Tina Manley <images@InfoAve.Net>
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 15:33:31 -0500

At 11:36 AM 2/15/00 -0700, you wrote:
>  Why not go to your local library and take out a few books on art
>history and the history of photography, it is very interesting and helps one
>to at least understand photographers like Eggleston if not appreciate them.
>
>John Collier


John -

I have a B.A. in Art, but it doesn't help me understand why photographs 
that I would have thrown away are displayed in galleries and sold for 
thousands of dollars.  Perhaps the point is that he has thrown away the 
good (if there were any) and is displaying the bad as a statement?  I 
respect anyone's right to admire these photos.  I'm just saying from my 
point of view, if you have to explain a photograph or search for a hidden 
meaning, it has failed to communicate.]

On the other hand, I have a B.A. in English also and I love Faulkner who 
often fails to communicate without an effort on the part of the 
reader.  Maybe I just answered my own argument.  I'm just worried that I 
may be throwing away thousands of dollars when I discard all of the 
overexposed, blurry, and scratched negatives without a second 
thought!  :-)   I can't save them all!  How does the "art" photographer 
decide which bad ones to save?  Maybe the problem with using Leicas is that 
there are too few bad ones for the galleries (back on topic).

I hope you are right that in the future there will be no poverty and my 
photographs will be incomprehensible, but it won't be in our lifetime,
I'm afraid  :-(

Leically,

Tina
Tina Manley, ASMP
http://www.tinamanley.com