from the Blurgeois Pedagogues thread:
What particularly intrigues me is goal #4: no accidents. That is an ambitious limitation to put on oneself, and one that will interfere with goal #5. After all, how will the purposeful, unwavering mindset produce either poetry or dreams? Simply blurring an otherwise commercial photograph will not necessarily achieve this. From my own experience as a poet and more importantly what I've read about poets and artists is that in order to achieve poetry, the artist must transcend his own mind somehow. Every artist comes up with different techniques, some involve "accidents," others might involve trance-like states.
It is of course possible to know exactly what you want before you press the shutter, before you even set up the shot. Alfred Hitchcock said that making movies was boring to him because by the time he got to the set he had already figured out everything he needed to do for the picture. As a poet, I can sympathize with this approach, because the poet cannot depend on some last-second fortuitous accident. Writing a poem is a deliberate process with no single instant defining it.
However, if you do choose this course of careful planning, be aware that your plan is your poem. It is at this stage that you must be open to "accidents of the mind."
I enjoy this photo as a representation of the control you wish to wield over your art. An orchard of a single tree, with green grass, yellow flowers, blue sky. Everything where it should be, as expected. The blur, instead of threatening the order, is simply a final flourish, evidence of the control of the artist, i.e., it is still perfect in spite of the blur.
But I would challenge you to let wolves into your garden, or it will die of flourishing.
Message edited by author 2007-08-14 11:03:37. |
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