Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Thoughts to Start a Discussion

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be an artist. How hard it is to get noticed today or grind out a living doing what you love. At times its not an easy thing to do. At times...who am I kidding, most of the time, it's not an easy thing to do. At times, I feel like the girl in Kill Bill just trying to get through it all with one piece of my clothing NOT covered in blood. It's a difficult thing to rationalize when, as an artist, you put so much of yourself into your work. That is nothing new though. Since the dawn of art, artists have put pieces of themselves into their work. Some works we can not bear to part with because of that very fact. So, in all of my rationalizing I have come up with a few thoughts. First, let me preface this by saying that I am not complaining. I enjoy what I do, no matter what and joy is a hard commodity to find these days. I am not about to give that up. I am also not trying to push my thoughts off on anyone else. What I am stating here is true for me and I am hoping that by sharing, I will be starting a dialogue about this topic. My thoughts are this:

You can't get noticed unless you have been noticed. In today's world, no one pays attention to your blood, sweat or tears. No one pays attention to the beauty you put into the world. No, its all about how many followers on social media you have in this cult of celebrity we live in. I have to ask...does that seem right? Is that the natural flow of things? Artists have always struggled, but an artist could still grind out a living. If you don't have a million followers today, there is almost zero chance for you to make it. Its all about the numbers and who you know. If you are like me and know no one....well you are kind of screwed. You can't even get a foot in to a gallery if you don't know anyone and in today's art world of appropriation, that's kind of disheartening.

Not sure what I mean? Well, sometime this fall an artist took other peoples Instagram photos, blew them up hung them in a gallery and sold them for more than 20,000.00 a pop. Because its considered appropriation, it was perfectly acceptable for him to do this. Why should this bother us? Well, because the person who's photo he appropriated is most likely trying their hardest to get into a gallery themselves and because they don't know the right people, they can't get in. But someone who has the right contacts, can basically take their work and get obscene amounts of money for it. Fair? I guess, if you consider it fair every time Lucy pulls the ball away from Charlie Brown and he falls over backwards. Yea, fair.

So, how do we exist today as artists? I am not so naive to think that we can change the system. But maybe there is something we can do about it. Maybe forming our own boards and galleries is a start. Maybe by working together we can get the system to budge just a hair. Maybe, if we supported one another instead of trying to tear each other down, we can do something good. Put something beautiful into the world together.

What I am trying to do here is start a discussion. I want to know how my other artists out there feel. If you feel I am wrong, I want to know. Change my mind if you can. If you agree, then I want to know what you think can be done. Can we budge the system? Lets discuss. Lets educate each other. Let's stand up and do something.

Rant over
Anna
Artfully Odd Photos
Shop my VIDA Collection

Let's Work Together

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Recent Shots

Hello there :) I hope that this finds you all doing quite well and enjoy this lovely spring weather. Everything has started to turn green here and not too soon in my opinion. Even though this past winter was not bad by any stretch of the imagination, I find that I have been antsy for the warmer temps to get here. How I long to wear a tank top and sit outside with my tea. It's the little things, lol. What's the down side to all these nice temps and prettier colors in nature? My allergies, of course! They have been at def-con 11 for days now, but I will take it in exchange for some sunshine. 

A friend of mine said, not to long ago, that she thought it was odd that I had not written anything or, for that matter, picked up my camera in months. Until she said this, I hadn't even noticed to be honest. As I said, this winter was not bad at all, but it had an effect on my. Sort of put me in a malaise state. (No, there were not meat helmets involved or anything shorn, lol) I had been sleepwalking through my life! So, a couple weeks in a row, I made sure that my camera was with me when I went out. I have been snapping whatever catches my interest and I think I have gotten some great shots. I have also noticed my art evolving a bit. Taking on new shape and form. So, in a round about way, I suppose stepping away from it for a bit was not such a bad thing after all.

I hope this spring is treating you well and I hope you are enjoy all it has to offer. Looking to schedule a portrait session? Trying to find new artwork for your wall? Email me for more information on my work, if you are so inclined :) Have a wonderful Sunday my friends and keep me posted on your springtime adventures!

A
Artfully Odd Photos

 NYC 2016
 NYC Met 2016
 NYC 2016