From: Kris Erickson (kris.erickson@utoronto.ca)
Date: 10/24/03-07:22:56 AM Z
As in my other recent post, I think it depends on the imagery. My wife
and I did a cyanotype book of flowers called "echoes of blue"
(http://www.eq-photo.com) in which it was imperative to use brush
strokes to maintain a certain liquidity of the images (and the ideas
behind them).
I think it's important to maintain brushstrokes if the artist's identity
should be fused into the final work (part of the reason I think
encaustic is a great medium). So abstract expressionism could be a good
way to go for alt-processes (really!), but so could self-portraiture. If
the very act of *you* seeing things *this* way is an important part of
the work, then *you* making your *mark* (first with the photograph, and
then--literally and emphatically--with the brush strokes) should be part
of the language of your work.
Regarding brushstrokes in a work impressing or distracting a potential
client, I really can't say. Evidence of authorship seems to be much more
prevalent in work today (not just alt-photography), and there seems to
be a tendency toward interdisciplinarity of work (as Galina's site has
shown). The "brushstroke" has traditionally been in the vocabulary of
painting, however, and so any use of it in other media is bound to be
regarded in it's light.
k
Ian Greant wrote:
> When I first started hand coating papers I was more than a little
> surprised how much I enjoyed the actual brushing and brush marks. For a
> while the brush marks were an integral part of my images. Now, a couple
> years later I've calmed down a bit and am not quite as wild with brush.
> Although how much I brush can vary a lot by day and mood :)
>
> Thinking about it and looking at other artists work has gotten me
> thinking and I'd like to toss the following questions out to the group:
>
> 1) Are brush marks part of the artistic process for you or are they just
> an annoying byproduct of a hand coated product?
>
> 2) Over time has your brushing style changed? If so has your clients'
> attitudes towards your prints changed?
>
> 3) Do you think brush marks enhances some subjects or processes more
> than others?
>
> 4) Do you think masking the brush marks makes a print look more purely
> photographic as opposed to being a painting or drawing?
>
> 5) What factors affect your decision to exhibit with or without the
> brush marks showing? Is it purely personal choice or are you affected
> by external forces (critics, clients, dealers, etc)
>
> 6) In the end I suppose this is part of a larger question I am
> reflecting on, which is: When we are new to a media or technique is it
> typical to push the limits and find subtlety with experience?
>
>
>
> Disclaimer
>
> I'm not trying to pry any trade secrets from anyone, I have no intention
> of publishing, compiling the data or doing anything else with it besides
> starting some conversation and perhaps some more thought about my own
> creative process.
>
> Thanks for your patience and indulgence :)
>
> Ian Greant
>
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