Come in! There are a few adventures I’ve written about, but most of the content offers classes in photography and mentoring for photographers, including photo theory, which, although a vital part in our profession, is largely an overlooked subject in all published media that profits from and feeds our gadget minded mindset today.
Completing the writing on the photo art scene in the Big Apple helps in getting a better perspective on what is happening locally. I like it, but sadly it is way under appreciated between fellow artists and the public at large.
I’ve enjoyed going to many openings: Those in the immediate vicinity, such as the Michael Joseph Gallery, the St. Lawrence Gallery, Studio 19, the Uncommon Gallery, and more.
Ventures to Miami Art District are always interesting and recently visited WEAM (world erotic art museum).
But my favorite recent discovery was by going to an opening at the South Regional/Broward County Library at crossroads of 7300 Pines & Hollywood Boulevard, which finally gave me the opportunity of seeing the Digital Art of artist Louis Davis.
Louis and his lovely wife Dawn have attended openings at the James Schot Gallery several times. Louis and I have had spirited debates about art, with respect to photography in particular. He did show me some of his work, with two or three images, in a Broward County cultural publication, but I never directly saw his work until his opening at the Library on August 8th. I sent him this e-mail note afterwards:
“Let’s face it, I’ve never seen your work except in a publication and on the Internet (I believe). And there I saw only a sprinkling. Having seen it now for real I enjoyed myself and was impressed. I not sure if I’m always on the same page with some of you more issue directed material, but this is irrelevant to the pleasure of seeing it. We can say in words how conceptually fantastic art can be, but for me a large part of the presentation is in the fantastic execution of the work.”
He calls his work Digital Art, which I think is helpful to bringing his art to the forefront. It gives this type of work its own identity. Although based on photographs, it is a art form on its own. I believe a strong impediment to the continued blossoming of ‘fine art photography’ and the growth ‘digital art’ on the public stage, is the confusion resulting from the muddling together of the two distinct art forms. The media is not supportive of a clarification, for the usual reasons…the bottom line. In the meantime, art lovers faced with the uncertainty of what they are viewing/seeing are slow to buy and collect, while photography and digital artists suffer from clear acceptance.
He notes on his promotional flier that his work is, as he puts it, “is beyond ordinary photographs”. I agree with his assessment both literally and figuratively. I find the new ‘digital art’ is generally based on ordinary photography, which is then in the hands of exceptional artists, transformed into extraordinary digitally created concepts. In forthcoming newsletters it will be exciting to explore this further.
