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Clueless

fine art photography

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36 replies to this topic

#1
Cindy Clicks

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I posed this question in the Canon Forums and never got a single response.  I would like to know if anyone can give me a clue as to why the work of this photographer has drawn so much attention.  Please give me some insight into what makes his work so outstanding, so that I may employ those principals in my own work so that I can gain some attention too.

 

http://matthewcrowther.com



#2
Nikonite

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As is so often the case in life it's not what you know, but who you know. I will offer it's not his body of work, but who is promoting him?



#3
Cindy Clicks

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So making it on sheer talent doesn't cut it?  So sad that  those with potential get passed by, by those that are only good at marketing. 



#4
Jerry_

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If there is talent then the person will start to get known (eventually late, as you can see with some of the more famous painters)

If you are good in marketing, socialising or already have contacts you might not always need talent.

(I don't know in what category this guy falls)


Also if you match what people are looking for then people will more easily adopt

And finally, if you have some early adopters you might benefit of a snowball effect.


(Just my 2 cents)

#5
Thumper

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I would think that with the limitless range of tastes and opinions in the world that it depends on what target audience that an individual desires to be popular with.

#6
nbanjogal

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Interesting. Apparently he's a hipster with a Polaroid doing stream-of-consciousness photography. 

 

Who is giving him attention? I've never heard of him until today. (This is not to say I've heard of everybody, but I'd like to think I know the work of some of the good guys.)

 

As they say, one man's junk is another man's treasure...

 

And I've just delved further into his website…he has an MFA. Wow. And now I'm feeling pretty good about my choice not to pursue a photography degree at a university. I saw student pictures of parking lots being called art because they showed man's impact on the environment…or something like that. And now I see his "art." Yep. Feeling justified.



#7
Nikonite

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Making it on sheer talent is just about a thing of the past. I won't even cite Hollywood examples there are just too many to the contrary. Have you ever seen so many warmed over previous ideas, but using CGI? Same with music save for the odd Josh Grobin and Christina Aguilera. Politics I won't even go there except to say congress has a 9% approval rating. Obama? It is to laugh! Sports and maybe literature are about the only industries you can make it with sheer talent. Did this come across as negative LOL?  



#8
Thumper

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It is funny to take the different markets for photography into account when discussing marketability. I was having that very discussion with a good friend (who is an amazing photographer, and he has been doing it longer than I have been alive). He pointed out the need for photojournalists to be able to get the shot and capture a moment, and how the standards that are present in different markets can be skewed in certain situations. An example he used was the OKC bombing where the fireman was carrying the injured infant. Technically, it was very grainy photograph and was off on the exposure (as it was originally published) were it to be used in any other venue than where it was. As it turned out, the photograph won a Pulitzer prize. It captured the moment (all too well).

Did I just wander way off topic?

#9
Cindy Clicks

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nbanjogal,  I could not agree more.  I just finished my BFA.  I had to force them to allow me to do photography for my senior thesis because they no longer teach it at this college.  The only reason I finished it is because I was only 7 credits away, and so it was a no-brainer.  After 40 years of on again, off again,  I finally did it, so it was a big accomplishment.  I wouldn't even think about going for an MFA unless I got a free ride.  But during that last semester I was never graded on talent.  They were more interested in the story and my ability to explain my art.  So art is now more about selling a good BS story than the art itself.  I think that is a travesty.



#10
Nikonite

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Well said! I see a conundrum in "grading" photography talent. Who can judge? It's kind of like grading a poem. Ever see "Dead poet's society"? There's a little known other movie "Dead photographer's society".  



#11
Afterimage

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I would never presume to say what is good or bad in terms of "art"... only what speaks to me. In this case I flipped through several sample photos in the gallery and thought "hmmm artsy snap shots, let me guess iPhonetography?". I saw nothing outstanding that made me "feel" anything or "wow'ed" me in any way. 

 

That said, I am positive I'm no better of an artist than he... maybe a better photographer technically, but his art is as valid as anyone else's.

And you know what he has the rest of us don't?? ... a thread discussing the merit of his work on a forum he's probably not even aware of. If that doesn't define a, perhaps minor, success I don't know what does!  :)



#12
deano

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I, too, took a cruise through his gallery.  I see much better photography, technical and composition, on this forum.  However, he is published and I'm not.

I have a friend, Jerry Foss, who shoots for NHRA (drag racing).  His photos are fantastic, but you need to be a race car fan to appreciate his work.  He has one or two seconds to get that "shot" before the car reaches speeds of 300+ mph.  And to capture that moment when a car blows up, if and when it happens, is a magical moment he has to be prepared for.  Race car photography is a different bird than we normally seek out, so, in general we don't see his type of work as art, the same for the photographer in question.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  i would not purchase one of Crowthers photos, they don't appeal to me, but that doesn't make them bad.  I'm not his audience.



#13
Cindy Clicks

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Ya, for me not being part of the "artsy" world makes me want to pursue it all the more.  I am just driven and I am sure that is why I have the success in other areas of photography that I have had.  I have always said that to get noticed by the big time art galleries, you have to do ugly.  They are not interested in pretty.  But yes, I totally agree about what speaks to a person.  Sometimes something will hit a chord for me and I don't even know how to put into words what exactly it is.  I am just drawn to it.   Still, I am not happy about all the gamesmanship in art, or anything else for that matter.  



#14
Ron

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I'm not sure that you have to do ugly to get noticed. However, nowadays, everyone is a photographer! Cameras are ubiquitous... every cell phone and pad has one. And, everyone thinks their work has artistic merit. On some of the social networks, I see some really great photography and, right next to it, total junk. Both with the same number of likes, plusses... whatever.

 

Sometimes, it seems as though it all comes down to promotion. The old squeaky wheel syndrome.  

 

--Ron 



#15
Long Exposure

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I looked at the galleries at the web link provided in the O.P.  I want my three minutes back.

 

If I paid for an MFA, like he did and the attendant photos were all I could produce I would feel ripped off.



#16
Merco_61

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Hipsters tend to have friends who are very active in social media... They also tend to be *very* good at marketing.



#17
TBonz

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I have some friends who make their living off photography and their work is amazing.  They are paid to photograph and I can definitely see why as their published photos are all excellent technically and captures what they are trying to capture very well.

 

I have some other friends who make money from photography and, while some of their work is nice and most is technically solid, I am not sure why people would purchase those photos other than what I would consider good marketing. 

 

I am definitely not as good at marketing my photos as I should be.  However, I am learning that aspect of the biz.  Part of the reason for that is because at least some my images tend to sell themselves if / when people see them.  Another reason is because I haven't really worried about the marketing in the past - I enjoyed shooting and improving my skills.  Now I'm at a point where I am trying to build into a more of a business, so I'm having to concentrate on getting that word out more.  Hopefully the next couple of months will help get that word out!



#18
nbanjogal

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I was thinking that this guy's work reminds me a bit of Duchamp and his "readymades"--perhaps Crowther is part of a nouveau-dada movement and I should be more appreciative. Better yet, I should jump on board…I'm looking around at random things I could snap shots of with my iPhone (NOT as hipster as a Polaroid, but I can always add filters in phone to make it look Polaroidish). 

 

Watch this space…there are electric cords, cat food, and half-dead balloons that I don't even have to get out of my chair to take pictures of. I may be foisting them upon you all. In the name of art, of course. 

 

So here's the deal…I know much art is subjective, and how dare I declare that his work is not art! But I think Cindy said something quite profound above when she said the artsy folks are not interested in pretty anymore. It seems that academic elitism has reared its head here. An image is not interesting or sophisticated unless it's ugly or weird--it's certainly not worthy of the title "art" if the average viewer, the common man, likes it. 

 

I find this phenomenon in the music world as well. I attend the symphony regularly, and rather often our music director likes to throw in something new and modern. Inevitably these pieces are atonal and weird, without much "conventional" beauty and with every attempt to get the instruments to make every squawk and screech they can. I guess I'm labeling myself as lowbrow by admitting that I usually don't like them. My friend and I often joke that it's like the fable of the emperor's new clothes--everyone wants to be seen as sophisticated and intellectual so they pretend to see or like what's not really there. I often feel like these pieces are written by academics for other academics--certainly not to please the audience. (I have a master's degree in English, so I've actually participated in this silly practice of being an academic writing for other academics, and the more unintelligible and jargon-filled your paper, the more intellectual you're given credit for being.) 

 

I feel like Crowther's work is just as pretentious and "atonal" as some of that noise masquerading as music.

 

So he has someone who finds value in it. Good for him. 

 

I understand the thought behind Duchamp's urinal, but I'm certainly not going to buy it and display it in my home. Same with Crowther's work. Guess I'm too old-fashioned.



#19
IanB

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Well i simply don't really like it.  It's a personal taste thing and i don't like the whole style and that it has gotten him where he is.  I think without putting too much effort into it we could all at some point put his portfolio together totally unintentionally in some cases but without being in the right place and time none of us would ever be heard of. If i was to go through my "snaps" i know i could find pictures taken in my car, pictures of topless mates, and i know i have a Jacket hanging on a tree etc.  Are any of them Art, Christ no.

 

Sorry, whole thing just leaves me cold.



#20
Nikonite

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But tell us how you really feel and please don't sugar coat it!