I thought I’d share a few things today. Some artists, quotes and things which have inspired me when I was in need of a push, while in pursuit of the truth, in relation to art, beauty, the seemingly disorganized chaos, as well as things natural and unnatural. Even though these aren’t things that appear to be direct answers to architectural photography, or photography Per Se, I will expand on each of them by sharing my thoughts, and how they helped shape my vision of art and the world.
Number One: The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald
“He smiled understandingly — much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced — or seemed to face — the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey." — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
This quote is taken from what is quite possible my favorite book. I’ve read it cover to cover so many times I lost count. It’s my “Catcher In The Rye” and I always travel with it. And it’s my favorite book for a few reasonable reasons:
The writing flow is incredibly fluid and elegant.
The composition is by far in the best frame of writing Fitzgerald ever put together.
The idea the one you love and the one who loves you are never the same person is a universal struggle that almost anyone can relate to in some fashion.
But more than, this quote is valuable because it applies to our daily lives. And this is true in any genre of photography. Whether we’re shooting portraits or architectural, the most important thing is how we make others feel. Because what people remember most about us, is not the number of pixels, or how sharp, or crisp, or colorful we make our images. What people remember most is how we made them feel when they interacted with us. It’s the primacy and recency effect that take precedence.
If you studied psychology, this is your degree talking.
But it doesn’t make it any less true. The most important part of any successful deal is the amount of trust we are able to establish. Without trust, without rapport, there is no deal. No sale. And likely, no returns.
If you care about survival, this is your self-preservation at work.
Number Two: Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
“You’re always haunted by the idea you’re wasting your life”. — Chuck Palahniuk, Diary
This is short and to the point. Also, a great book and one that is part of my Palahniuk collection – I not so secretly own most of Chuck Palahniuk’s writings. The point being that no matter what you do, there will always be doubt — whatever the field. The goal is to push forward, and not fold your cards too soon. It is as much a game of patience as it is of perseverance. The chances are slim — yes. But what else is out there in the vastness of the universe, if you’re drawn to art, and the art is drawn to you?
Number Three: Salvador Dali
“Those who do not want to imitate anything produce nothing”. — Salvador Dalí
This is one of those things that is so true it hurts. The entire world was built on the shoulders of its predecessors. Inventions, styles, breakthroughs have all been accomplished by studying the works of those before us. At first, yes, I admittedly felt like a fraud. I’d read about DaVinci and attempted to write with my left hand; backwards too, inside my journal. Even though no one would punish me for my thoughts; there’d be no lashes, no repercussions. But I wanted to see what it was like to write like DaVinci. To draw like DaVinci. To paint like DaVinci. Because we’re all pupils at first, and it’s only through relentless practice and some form of emulation, that we overcome our lesser selves and become what sometimes — only in the heart of night — fervently dream of becoming.
Number Four: The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
“I am always sorry for the Puritan, for he guided his life against desire and against nature. He found what he thought was comfort, for he believed the spirit's safety was in negation, but he has never given the world one minute's joy or produced one symbol of the beautiful order of nature. He sought peace in bondage and his spirit became a prisoner.” ― Robert Henri, The Art Spirit
From an early age, we’re told what to do. What’s right from wrong. What’s good and bad. What to pursue. Who to become. Breathing the morals and ethics of our parents; of our parents’ parents in some less fortuitous cases.
But what about us?
Should we give it all up and live up to someone else’s standards? Beliefs that are likely not even their own, but broken pieces scraped together; biases shaped in their environments? There is an illusion we are all suckered into. Which is that of accumulating things, when rather, we should be accumulating experiences. Photography allows me the opportunity to be in places I don’t belong; at times I’m not supposed to. It allows me to tell a story, not only using words, but using images as well. This combination of writing and photography, and who knows what else later on, is worthy enough a cause to break the “peace bondage” we have tediously sought to acquire and preserve. It’s enough to take a major risk and expect to fail; and to fail; and get up and dust off and try again.
To me, it’s a shot of ambition.
Number Five: Factotum by Charles Bukowski
“If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is.” — Charles Bukowski, Factotum
First of all, I love this book! I’m pretty sure I gifted this to an ex-girlfriend of mine at one point. This is a profound quote, and useful, as editing and writing find me alone quite often. And when I'm alone, I begin to ruminate about things. About life and time and how slippery they are in a relatively relativistic sort of way. Sometimes it’s like a slap in the face when I realize how quickly the years have passed, and how much more there is yet I need to accomplish. It feels like yesterday I was only twelve years old and time was disproportionately infinite; and, although I’m only ― at least according to some ― thirty-two, I feel like my best years are now behind me. It’s a reoccurring thought I always to my best to inhume, and yet, it seems to have a life of its own, or nine…is it a cat? This thought of mine.
The lesson being that sometimes you have to sacrifice everything to get to where you want. To know, there’s a good chance you might not even get there, but to be driven enough and to believe in it anyway. A grand disillusionment that is necessary to keep the fight going until you arrive at your destination, because eventually, you will.