One hit wonder, The Best of, or Stay tuned...

Photographers must withstand, with the help of their families and friends, the psychic battering that comes from what they see. In order to make pictures that no one has made before, they have to be attentive and imaginative, qualities partly assigned and partly chosen, but in any case ones that leave them vulnerable. When Robert Frank put down his camera after photographing The Americans he could not so readily escape the sadness of the world he recorded as could we when we closed the book.

Paradoxically, photographers must also face the threat that their vision may one day be denied them. Their capacity to find their way to art, which is their consolation-to see things whole-may fail for an hour or a month or forever because of fatigue or misjudgment or some shift in spirit that cannot be predicted or understood or even recognized until it has happened past correction. For every Atget, Stieglitz, Weston, or Brandt who remains visionary to the end, there is an Ansel Adams who, after a period of extraordinary creativity, lapses into formula. excerpt from THE EDUCATION of a PHOTOGRAPHER, edited by Charles H. Traub, Steven Heller, and Adam B. Bell.

I often think about this potential fate of some artists. You see it often with musicians, they produce a great body of work for a period of time and then reach a plateau in their career. The work becomes average instead of ground breaking or innovative. I try to push my photography out of my comfort zone as often as I can to avoid this fate. Will I succeed? Only time will tell. A one hit wonder or a visionary to the end.

Sixteen days to HOPE

With the election nearly two weeks away it is hard to keep emotions in check and not get excited about what the future of this country CAN BE! For a party (GOP) that prides itself on less government, we citizens have lost so much in the last eight years to an administration shrouded in corruption, secrecy, and greed. Barack Obama will lead this country back to fairness and greatness for all of it's citizens.

Cry No More
William Zuback

Cry no more
Your tears have quenched your soul
Salt has dried your lips

Cry no more
Put your trembling hand in mine
Fold your fingers into the valley of the fray

Our hands have experienced
The war of our day
Life lines collide, granting us one more stay

Our minds a kaleidoscope
Fragments of thought
Abstract ideas
That cannot be bought

Our bodies are prisoners
Of this political scheme
But the freedom of our soul
Allows us to dream!

EXPOSED a group exhibition

Opening on Friday, October 17th at Light Ideas Gallery, a group exhibition comprised of twenty-seven local photographers. I will have one print on display along with four others rotating electronically on a large screen monitor. The autumn Gallery night is always one of the most popular so come on out and support art in Milwaukee. The Squeezettes will perform in the lower level outside of the gallery as well.

COPA Juror Reception and Gallery Talk

COPA is proud to announce the Juror Reception and Gallery Talk with George Slade, Friday, October 10, 6-8pm at the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts. The event is free and open to the public. George Slade, former Artistic Director of the Minnesota Center for Photography, juried this year’s exhibition; selecting 60 photographs from 42 artists. Slade also served as Program Director for the Minnesota Center for Photography/McKnight Foundation Artists Fellowships for Photographers, and is an adjunct assistant curator in the Department of Photography at The Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. Slade’s expert eye in selecting work has been honed over the years. He has been a panelist and portfolio reviewer for the Ohio Arts Council, Minnesota State Arts Board, Minnesota State Fair, Fotofest’s Meeting Place, and Society for Photographic Education, Critical Mass and Photolucida. Slade is also a prolific writer, having contributed reviews and essays to the Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Photography, Exposure, Photo-eye Booklist, Minnesota History, and other publications. Slade lives in St. Paul with his two daughters.

The reception for Slade will begin at 6pm on Friday, October 10, with his Gallery Talk following at 7pm. Walker’s Point Center for the Arts is located at 911 W. National Ave., Milwaukee, WI. 53204, phone 414-672-2787.

If you haven't seen the exhibit yet Friday is a great night to view the exhibit and listen to Slade's talk, discussing selected images and the process of selection that led him to the 60 chosen images.

Happy Birthday to me?

Yup, today is my Birthday. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am the poster child for non-celebration. I don't enjoy celebrating my Birthday but it does become a significant day of reflection. A day in which you size up your life, it's failures and accomplishments. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for such days I certainly hope that I have many more in my future.

Today, my mom took me to lunch and my wife and daughter took me to dinner for my Birthday. Enjoyed both not for the occasion but for the family I love. My son called me from college and wished me a happy Birthday. I never tire of his calls or IM's. My daughter asked me if I could take her to get her belly button pierced. I did. It was probably the highlight of my day seeing how happy she was. These are my birthday presents. Maybe that is why I don't need one specific day to celebrate. I find these little gifts come throughout the year.

I will end on a more reflective note. I often turn to this book "Revolution on Canvas", poetry from the Indie music scene, edited by Rick Balling. It is full of poetry from some of the best Indie rockers. This poem is by Russ Rankin of the band Good Riddance.

Blank Pages
When I stop living
When I am dead
When I no longer walk, talk,
Or breathe
When my insides stop working
Will I leave anything substantial?
Will anything I've done, said,
Or erected
During my brief tour here
Empower, enlighten,
Or endure
When I happen to pause
In the course of an average day
And think these thoughts
It's as if Time itself hits me
On it's way to wherever
It is going
In such a hurry
Why am I?
There are no answers for me
In this life
Only these long days
And blank pages to fill

From Fame To Tame

There is a great article in the current issue of Newsweek magazine that talks about an artists ability to be bold and radical with their art until the world begins to notice their work. Then, the artist tends to move into something more mainstream. I've struggled with this as I slowly try to move into a more serious role in the fine art arena. Read the article, it is fascinating.

As an artist, my work and work of other artists I respect, especially musicians, ebbs and flows in content, context, an emotion depending on many factors of your current and past life experiences. I am not real familiar with this artist so I can't make a judgment on her body of work. The author of this article, Peter Plagens, seems to think that Opie has moved from Fame to Tame or Radical to Mainstream as her career has progressed. I guess, in the end, only the artist and their closest friends and family may know that answer but is does raise a question that as artists, we must be concerned about.

The images above are by artist Catherine Opie.

INFLUENCE/MENTOR you've never met?

This was an interesting topic that was the center of our conversation at our last dinner gathering. Unfortunately for me I wasn't able to attend. I can imagine from the dynamic group of individuals, a very insightful evening of discussion took place last Sunday. I will have to get the Reader's Digest version the next time we get together.

The topic for the evening was, to come prepared to discuss, who was an major influence or mentor in your life that you have never met. For me as an visual artist, that influence would have to be the band Alice Cooper. Music in general has influenced my visual imagery more than any other type of art or artist but none more that Alice Cooper. From early song's such as "Caught in a Dream", "Billion Dollar Babies", "I Love the Dead", and Muscle of Love to mid career songs such as "From the Inside", "Nurse Rozetta", and "Millie and Billie"; the band always challenged the status quo both lyrically and musically. The fancy die-cut flaps on numerous album cover jackets pushed the envelope on design and photography.

Today, my fine art photography reflects a lot of those musical and lyrical influences of the late 60's and the 1970's. Music continues to be both a great motivator and stimulus for creativity for my fine art images. If you would like to see some of my earlier work then check out the Doll Narrative Series gallery at my website.

This briefly describes one of my main influences as an artist. I'd love to hear who has been an influence/mentor in your life?