Why does something deep have to be "artificial"? All art is self-portraiture. In photography, you at the least tell people what you notice superficially, or maybe what you are aware of when you observe the world. It takes skill to go from there to deliberate seeing or showing with intent. I have been making digital collages since 1995. Some people get all wound up about the subject matter or the fact that it is not traditional photography. I always tell them that they are telling me much more about themselves, the limits of their seeing, their preconceptions and their beliefs, than anything about my work. That said, what you create as an artist takes on a life of it's own apart from your intent. I kind of enjoy hearing feedback that opens up ideas I never thought of or intended when I made an image. Ultimately you can't navigate by trying to please people, but you can navigate by what stirs them up. When people get irrational about art it can mean the art is touching on something they aren't ready to look at. Art can be like that, a way for the artist and the viewer to question assumptions and discover new ways of looking at things. Last summer I went to the Rencontre d"Arles, in France and presented my digital work in their portfolio review. It was the first time I havd presented this work in Europe. Everyone was surprised and many were delighted with this work, but found no place for it in the current scene. Even those whose cup of tea it wasn't, had praise for the skill and originality. One woman curator from an important gallery in Paris, looked at the first two images and began shouting that this was not photography and that it did not belong in Arles and she would not look at any more of it. I got offended of course in the moment, but remained polite. As I packed up and left I realized that since photography has always been about technology and change this woman had somehow missed that. There she was at the top of the art food chain and what I was doing so terrified her, threatened her view of the medium, that she lost control, insulted me even though I was paying for this consultation, and felt the need to strike me down. This was a big tell. If what I was doing could so upset one of the old guard when others were full of praise, I must be on the right track. Her rejection was actually like hitting a home run. Of all the comments I heard that week, I am most proud of the badge of her total rejection. Art can say what the artist intends or much that is unintended. Art can reveal as much about the viewer, intended or unintended. A picture is worth a thousand words as they say.
