Strawberries For Dessert (2004)
Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art. ― Andy Warhol
[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]This is going to be an interesting week. Trippin’ is the only way I know to describe the seven pieces we’ve chosen without launching into multiple paragraphs that don’t fit well in the banner at the top of the page. And while the colors have a pop art similarity that might, to some, be reminiscent of the late artist Andy Warhol, I can’t claim any direct influence was present when we did these. They are unlike anything else in my catalog and certainly aren’t part of my normal portfolio. I no longer can find the originals, so we had to jump through some serious technological hoops just to get them in a condition suitable for presentation.
Pictures hold memories of specific moments, so I’m almost always able to recall at least the situation surrounding a shoot, if not necessarily people’s names and specific places. These pictures are among the fuzziest of memories. I remember shooting them in late 2004-early 2005, but I don’t remember model’s names and, with one exception, I don’t remember much of the circumstances. I certainly don’t remember processing any of them, so I can’t tell you how we achieved the effects you’ll see. I could possibly claim another Warhol reference and say I was literally trippin’ during this period, but that would be disingenuous.
Stress is probably more responsible for my lousy recollection of these pictures. Taken during a period of tremendous personal change and upheaval, photography was as much of an escape from, perhaps even a denial of reality more than it was an occupation. Most of the pictures from that period have been lost entirely. Of those that do remain, I only have small, 72 dpi copies taken from an old website backup. Theoretically, there might be better copies on an old Flickr account somewhere, but if that does still exist I’ve no clue how to find it. [/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Just looking at these images sends me trippin’ a little bit. They’re disorienting on a very personal basis, so I’ve absolutely no idea how other people see them. If no one else likes them, this could end up being a very boring week. I don’t necessarily have a good feel for what anyone else wants to see, other than the fact that nude images cause our hit count to go up. There is some sense of sexual provocation to these images, if one is bound and determined to find such. Models we worked with from this period tended to be more open and willing to experiment with what was then a relatively new digital media. There were no social media sites to provide potential embarrassment. There was less fear of backlash.
Comparatively, the cameras we worked with back then, which costs more than a medium-format film camera, were toys. Your phone can probably do as well. These were a mere 3.5 megapixels, something we wouldn’t even consider marketable now. Again, we have improved technology to thank for being able to bump up the quality a little bit, though I still wouldn’t want to try and actually print one. Only a handful of publishers would risk working with digital images, though there was no question that this was the direction photography would go. Ten years have seen a lot of change.
I may be trippin’ just to put these on display. You may not be interested and walk completely away. Warhol’s advice about not caring about opinions, just make art, is one I’m trying to embrace this. After all, I remember well the public reaction to his work; a lot of people thought it was stupid, pointless, and definitely not art. Today, those works are worth millions. I should be so lucky. Just know that you’ll likely not see us produce another set of images like the ones you’ll see this week.[/one_half_last]