On the mend... and getting older

Oceano Dunes
Edward Weston

I am finally kicking the flu. I had to miss my class last night and regret it since it is a highlight of the week. I am glad that I feel much better since I am having a birthday party tomorrow night. I am turning 40... and it is not that bad. I think I got over my bitching and moaning a few weeks ago.

The downside of my week, other than having the flu, was reading more about 2257 and other censorship issues. I am really worried about the path our culture is heading down. It seems that the first changes are usually pretty innocuous, but chip away key rights one-at-a -time. They say it protects innocents, but then use over-arching tactics to leap frog over rights.

Last week in my photo class, the instructr showed one of my nude photos as well as Weston's, Bernharts, and other samples to show the spectrum of artistic nudes. Some of them celebrated the beauty of the human form, some were more controversial. We looked at one of Weston's nudes from his "Sand Dunes" series first. Within two second, some of the prudish people showed repulsion. I asked how they felt about it and one student said it was "porno and vulgar." I felt my anger start to rise, but I had to be a silent at that moment.

I asked a student who seemed to like the photo how she felt about it. She started to critique the use of shadow to outline the body, the levels of contrast, the composition, and other artistic elements. I was so proud of her. She then also mentioned how Weston looked at acknowledging the natural beauty of a human body by putting the model in a natural setting. I could have almost kissed her.

After the class, I thought about it a little. The student who did not like the work has the right to not like a photo. My job is to open that student's eyes to look at art with an open attitude. I may see a photo I don't like overall, but I try to be open enough to see what is good in it. I've mentioned my dislike of Anne Geddes work. While I am tired of her work and feel it has become a cliche, I do see she has a mastery of lighting, color design, exposure, and even composition. I just wish she would expand beyond babies with vegetables, or whatever she has laying around.

So, I am trying to keep an open mind as I hit my fourth decade. I have to admit, since meeting some great people through blogging, I am feeling pretty good. So, I raise my glass to the next decade and hope we all can celebrate our art and explore it to our heart's content.

Oceano Dunes
Edward Weston