Jan 10, 2018 - "Be Calm - Enjoy the Wait"

We know that the photo above is one of Gloria’s masterpieces of art – or is it a digital photo of mine of her’s? – or does it matter? Is it now mine? – not really – ’cause I stole a bunch of pixels? (in this case, with her permission) – Oil, watercolors, colored pencils, now pixels enter the art world!

You tell an artist “A digital photographer is a better artist than you are.” I will tell the photographer “An artist can create a better image than you can.” Stand back and let’s see if we started a fight.

First, here is an announcement from the Milton J. Weill Art Gallery in New York City:

“On View: January 11 – February 19, 2018 – Modern art has always been built from the blocks of its own history — just never at the breakneck speed the digital world now allows. The exhibition explores what happens when past and present collide, when paint becomes pixels. In the process, lines are blurred: those between ownership and originality. All “art is theft” Picasso once said. And when a work ages enough to be in the public domain, do we call it old — or just ready to be reborn? – with pixels?

Explore new work from artists Eric Corriel, Bill Domonkos, David Galbraith and Joaquin Trujillo — as well as intricate collages from artist, Sally Gill.”

I manipulated my photograph of Gloria’s masterpiece to created my own pixeled art. How do we know what is real?

Last Friday I gave a presentation at a Florida Photo Club meeting, attended by both photographers and artists, on the subject of manipulation of a photograph to create art. It was a lot of fun and the folks there were very kind to me – No one “Booed” and no one started a fight.

Fine Art Photography has always been considered an oxymoron. But with advent of automatic digital cameras that oxymoron has changed.

By definition, a fulfilling work of art is beautiful or tells a story or both, and the viewer has an emotional response to the image – the emotional response will be unique to that viewer.

Today that image can be hand made with an artists paint or a manipulated photograph of pixels. I like this new capability. I will tell you how I used that capability just yesterday.

I sat in the waiting room of my Dermatologist for over an hour. I was half listening to the TV news while studying the wall of the waiting room. I even whipped out my iPhone and snapped a few photos.

The one hour wait passed quickly and when the Doctor arrived, I showed him some of the photos I took of his office walls. It helped us connect, he laughed, and I think we had easier discussions concerning my skin’s health. And, I had material for this blog.

The purpose of my little story here is to encourage you to find a “pixel” pass-time while waiting anywhere. You do not have to actually create pixels, just think about how you could create them. It is really a fun way to spend enforced wait time.

I started with this – through the receptionist’s window – a paper hand telling where to unlock the window – and a sign for exam room 3 and a thermostat on the wall behind.