Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/03/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]JPL Thank you so much for spending the TIME and sharing. I hope others will follow suit - the perspectives that y'all have need to be shared - they are such great tools of learning. Thanks, Tim K - ----- Original Message ----- From: "J.P. Leiser" <jpleiser@fetchmail.co.uk> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Sent: Monday, March 27, 2000 6:27 AM Subject: [Leica] books, articles, et al There have been several books and articles that have deeply influenced me. But, to reduce the number to three is difficult. I think that the following are what has defined much of my thought and actions. Wolfe, Tom The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby Various publishers (first published in 1965 -current editons are available This collection of essays is an typical of the environment in which I grew up. It was slices of life from the "neighborhood." I was only really acquainted with a few of the characters in the essays, but I had seen the other ones under different names. It continues to teach me that my life, acquaintenences, and experiences can be really quite interesting if I really look around and there is some universiality to life. (I have transferred my allegiance from cars to Leicas --- imagine a candy red powder-coated M3). Larkin, Oliver W. Art and Life in America Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1966 (rev.) This tied together the cultural history of the United States and the art, photography and architecture. Of course it never really answered the question: does life follow art or does art follow life? Personally, I think it is a question of diffusion of innovative ideas. But it has influenced the way I look at things --- giving them some context. Edited book: Human Identity in the Urban Environment edited by Gwen Bell and Jaqueline Trywhitt Penguin Books, 1972 This was a basic treatise in Ekistics. This is a method to tie multiple disciplines togther into a somewhat comprehensible whole. This enables me to sometimes grasp what is happening in the environment around me. These have all influenced my photography. I want to photograph like Tom Wolfe wrote, to grasp the essence of the environment,todisplay the cultural context, and finally treat it as a part of the whole. I realize that none are photographic books. But why should I emulate anyone else. I am trying to define my own style. And Leicas are the tools that I have selected for this attempt. JPL ___________________________________________________________________ Sent via Fetchmail - free email service at http://www.fetchmail.com