In the arts – opinions don’t count
The past few months, ever since I released my first book, I’ve received a lot of really nice correspondence about it. I’ve also been informed of reviews of the book from time to time, some of which, I’ve read. They’ve been very interesting to read for one reason: I’ve been able to understand a little better how others perceive me. Certainly most of the reviews have been very positive, but some of the points of view of the reviewer have left me wondering if they really understand what it is that I do.
One particular point in case, is that my book contains not only landscapes, but also portraits. One review suggested that it was surprising to see a book with a mixture of landscapes and portraits, as I was known as a landscape photographer. Well, I’ve always thought of myself as a travel photographer, if I consider myself a photographer at all. I don’t really have a ‘badge’ for it at the moment, and I guess I would just say to folks that I’m a creative person, who makes his living running photographic workshops – but ultimately, I like to create things. So mixing landscapes and portraits together doesn’t seem so radical to me after all.
I never really understood it, when I heard that many actors seldom read reviews of their performances, or musicians don’t read reviews of their albums. But I do understand now.
If you are a creative person, you have to be true to yourself and go with your own gut feeling about your own work. You have to do it for yourself, and nobody else. Creating art should not be done to please others, or in the hope that a critic or reviewer will like it. The creative path should not be steered by external committee, nor should it be swayed by doubt cast upon what you do by someone else’s point of view.
Your creativity is your voice, so you should spend the time to get to know it, build up your confidence in what your inner you is telling yourself, and learn to trust it. Certainly you can, and should, listen to others that you respect – because you admire their work. Just make sure that it’s you who chooses what to take on board. Discard the rest, because if it does not resonate with you it can’t help you on your creative journey.
So from that point of view, I won’t be reading reviews in future, and if I do spy one now and again, I’ll have to tell myself to take it with a pinch of salt, because it is only the point of view of someone else. They don’t know me and they shouldn’t influence what I do.
I’ve had a few friends in the past, tell me that I’m very focussed. I’m never too sure how projects will turn out until they are finished (if anything can ever be finished), but I think that’s a great attribute to have – to have a strong sense of self vision and know what you want. I hope that if you are in doubt, you will soon find your own voice, and if you are already traveling on your creative journey, stay true to what it is that makes you – you.
It’s the only way to lead a fulfilling life of self exploration.
There is another way to approach something like surprise over your inclusion of portraits. It’s highly possible that the comment has nothing at all to do with how you approach your art, or why you do what you do.
You could ask yourself “why would someone see me as a landscape photographer?” The answer is simply that for people who have come to know your work through your blog… your blog has been devoted to landscape photography almost entirely I’ve been a reader here (and admirer of your work) for quite a long time now, and I don’t recall seeing portraits have much (if any presence) here.
You can forgive us for not knowing the breadth of your work if we only see a slice.
Comment by Erin Wilson — 25 January, 2012 @ 2:40 am
Hi Erin,
I agree entirely.
I raised that point, because most artists know who they are and what they do, but it’s interesting – to discover that others perceive you as something else. That’s not to blame them for the discrepancy, but merely to point out that if you’re going to read reviews of your own work, be prepared to discover that others see you entirely differently from what / who you think you are.
I’ve posted many portraits on my blog over the years, and if you look under the portraits, india, nepal, and ethiopia categories for instance, you’ll see a few in there. I’ve not shot any portraits for the past year – the last was in Ethiopia in September 2010.
There is also the portfolio web page on my site, which clearly shows that I shoot portraiture, and tend to travel around a bit. Might I turn this around and, being devils advocate, suggest that the reviewers either didn’t do their homework properly (which I hear is a common issue with write ups about people in the media), or have never really paid much attention to my people photography…. that might of course mean that it doesn’t register for them.
Anyway, the point about my post is that reviews should not be considered. If you’re doing your own art, you just need to get on with it and worry not, about what others think of it.
I did find it interesting to see how I was perceived differently from what I think I do, but that’s always going to be the case, because everyone out there will get something differently out of what it is you do.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 25 January, 2012 @ 7:42 am
Hi Bruce,
As I mentioned by email, my view would be that reviews, if written well, are written for the audience, not the artist. I think an artist who is directly trying to curry favour with reviewers is reactive rather than creative, and cannot be successful. Frankly if I were ever to be in the position to have something reviewed, I rather think that the reaction that would please me most would be bafflement :-)
You just have to be true to yourself. Nothing else makes sense.
David
Comment by David Mantripp — 25 January, 2012 @ 6:54 pm
Those that can do. Those that can’t teach. Those that can’t do or teach, write reviews:-)I like the work of many photographers but you make the images I wish I had made.
Comment by Mountaineye — 26 January, 2012 @ 12:52 pm