Recently I read an interview with Nicholas Hlobeczy. Hlobeczy was a world renowned photographer. Born in Pennsylvania he attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Art and the Cleveland institute of Art where he was heavily influenced by Minor White. White, considered a "textural photographer" was a protégé of Edward Weston, a founder of f/64 which I'll get to in a few paragraphs.
Now remember, this was a time when photography w as being established as a true art form. I think I was attracted to reading more about Hlobeczy, White and Weston because photography is the one art form that touches the masses the most ... we all take photos, however it was Hlobeczy that stood out to me. He was truly a philosopher, a seeker of wisdom and truth.
The group of f/64 included twelve individuals among them Ansel Adams and of course, Weston. They were dedicated to promoting a new direction in photography that moved beyond the pictorialism then prevalent in the 1930's. To them it was the emotional experience that was paramount recognizing that the camera was able to see the world more clearly than the human eye as it did not project personal prejudice into the subject. f/64 represented the aperture most successful in providing depth of field that resulted in the largest percentage of the picture to be in focus.
From this tutelage Nicholas Hlobeczy emerged. It was his quote in the interview that captured me ... "The object behind every true work of art is the attainment of a state of being." The discipline called ontology is about the study of the essence of being and becoming. We are becoming every day. Hlobeczy went on ... "I think real craft is connected always with the idea that there are three parts connected: the head with the intention, the body accepting the direction of the head and also the connecting link with feelings. Without the feeling you cannot sustain the effort."
As we researched how photographers emerged from the 1860's and into artistic consciousness during the progression of the industrial era, the camera became an eye on what ideologies drove emerging historical movement. Photography was a great denominator for the involvement of a middle class into "art".
Fast forward 150 years from the 1860's and the early artistic photographers become a collection that today have allowed economists to conduct statistical analyses on how creative careers evolve. There appears to be two camps: first, the conceptual artists. They come up with totally new visions for their fields and blossom early (like last month's subject; Peter Max). The second are the experimental artists. They spend their careers polishing their approaches and achieve their major success later in their lives.
It seems to me that the key for our personal success is to make sure we employ both. Keep conceptualizing and "creating" new thoughts for yourself while you also hone your existing "thoughts" and approaches.
Have a great month.
W2
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