Re: First gallery ' experience'

Kate,

Don't let the opinion of one blowhard gallery owner get to you. You should
remind him that Sally Mann, probably the most successful comtemporary fine
art photographer working today, has been working with wet plate collodion
for the last few years. Believe me, if Sally walked in his font door, he'd
be on his hands and knees begging to show her work.

Do the work you believe in and do it well. I'm sure you'll find a venue to
show it.

If it makes you feel any better, I have a friend who dropped off work to
be reviewed in a New York City gallery several years ago. He went back
later to pick up his prints and was told only "I can't stand your work and
don't have the time to tell you why".

Kerik
www.kerik.com

> Finally I picked up all my courage and showed my alternative prints (gums
> and gums over cyanotype) to the owner of the gallery specialized to
> photography ("Central European House of Photography" in Bratislava). The
> response I got was approximately as follows: he didn't see any added
> value in doing 19th century processes in the 21st century. They are
> obsolete. He didn't see any 'author's statement' in photographing
> industrial architecture because this topic was fully exhausted in the
> 70s and 80s. On top of that, what on earth is the reason to combine old
> processes with industrial
> architecture. Etc, etc...
>
> I can accept the fact that my photography lacks the 'author's statement'.
> (Even though until now nobody has been able to explain to me what
> exactly it
> is.) But saying that alternative processes and pictorialistic photographs
> have nothing to tell to the today's audience is a bit 'too strong
> coffee' as
> we say here.
>
> I'm frustrated and have to sleep on it. Just wanted to share this
> experience
> with you. Hopefully there are other parts of the world where we are not
> regarded as retarded.
>
> Kate
Received on Tue Feb 7 15:20:16 2006