Tonights Club Meeting

The club meeting was nice tonight, a bit same same, but what is done is done OK. I find thou with almost all of the photography done in clubs here in Edmonton, there is a lack of emotional content, the work is all style over substance, sort of cold and formal even when its done very well. I prefer work that has an emotional kick to it, maybe that is why I like to photograph people so much, with people you can tell a story with emotion more easily, because other humans are looking at the work and can identify with it more easily, it is sort of hard to identify with a rock or tree at the same personal level.

What is interesting about both clubs I belong to is that lack of emotion talk during the review sessions. The artist should FEEL his work he should feel it with all his heart, he should speak in terms of feelings and EMOTION, people that like the work should speak to how it makes them feel but instead what you get is people who are afraid to let go and open up. Jock Sturges spoke to me of that syndrome in one of our phone calls. People in meeting tend to put their work up and then resort to tech talk, and arty farty composition/color/shape talky talk. What should really be discussed is how the work makes the viewer FEEL, its all about emotion when it comes to art, not the tools of how the pic was made or some weird obscure rules of composition, who really gives a flying f-ck, its how the work makes you feel that matters. If you want to do the tech talk that's fine but it should only come out as a point that will help raise the emotional impact of the work. I guess it makes the artist to vulnerable to open up like that but I think you have to open up to get to the next level. When it comes to emotion and art,  if you can't speak it, feel it, how can you create it?

The other thing that's really annoying in clubs is not being able to be honest, some stuff is of poor quality and sugar coating things because you do not want to hurt peoples feelings is lame. I guess I am taking the club thing to seriously, most people just want some friends to hang with, they are not looking to revolutionize the art world : )

Anyway it was a nice evening out, with some nice joking and talk. I do the clubs to meet with friends and have some fun. When it comes right down to it, I need to just do it on my own and find my own way to my destination.