To Many Rules

I think I am not much a joiner when it comes to groups and clubs and the like, mostly because I feel confined by to many rules. About 10 years ago I left a local photo club because I felt controlled and uncomfortable being in a group thought situation, having to conform my photography to fit the group is just not my thing. I have always disliked people telling me what to do with my photography, I would have been a shitty pro, I need to do what I need to do and do not like following the rules of others.

Recently I had another issue with another club that I have belonged to for 15 years or so. I find it confining and irritating when I'm told what size print I cannot bring in, how many color or b/w prints are allowed etc. If you bring in a postage stamp size image or a wall sized print, if its a b/w print, color print or any combination in between, who cares? Art is not about rules and regulations, its about letting creativity flow naturally as each individual sees it.

With the advent of digital the decisive moment in photography has disappeared in the club, many people collage multiple photographs together to represent one. With digital photography most images start out as color and are converted by photoshop into b/w. Most photos in the club are also some sort of adobegraph and not a photograph anymore anyway so lets loosen up with all the rules stuff (adobegraph is my word for heavily photoshoped images) . What has to be done is the work simply needs to be presented and live or die on its own, no need to take out the measuring tape to see what size it is or if it includes color, b/w or whatever. Lets just put the work up at the front of the room and talk about it in an open instructive way. We are there to see artwork (was going to type photographs but that does not apply in my club much anymore), to help each other become better creative people, lets toss as many rules as we can in the trash heap where they belong. I guess some people just feel more comfortable if they can institute and follow rules and regulations, but it works against creativity. Lets cut down on the rules and build up a environment of free/open expression.

Oh well nuff of that, back into the darkroom got to try to work on the Alberta Foundation For The Arts prints, I have 2 hours of darkroom time before I need to go work my 12 hour night shift. The provinces archive includes work by Yosuf Karsh and Edward Burtynsky, it would be an honor to have even one print included in a collection with those boys.