Recently I attended the 2022 annual Regional Art Show held at a gallery and theatre on the campus of Northwester College in Orange City. I don’t often enter juried shows since I seldom am ever selected, and assume my years dedication to editorial content isn’t what catches the eye of artists who generally select images for these types of shows. And that is fine. Lord knows I could never had made a living if I relied on clothing and feeding and shelter from the sales of prints I have done over the years.
I do immensely enjoy seeing other artists’ work, whether photographic, paintings, photography or sculptural (wood and ceramic). The time and patience these folk put into their work is exceptional. I have heard some argue that “snapping a photo” is not so unique and there is little work involved.
Although I have also read and believe, where an artist works with a blank canvas and then adds elements to create their vision, the photographer starts with everything visible and then must work to eliminate those distracting elements to just retain the visual items he/she wants a viewer to see within their work.
When I can I like to visit local universities and wander the art department hallways looking at student work and also museums within and nearby Siouxland to view and admire and maybe attempt some form or representation of the seen work. When “creating” art it would seem that folk must pre-visualize the end product, although sometimes that changes in the course of creating the work. Stone or marble sculptures or those that work with wood sometimes day once they began and the “stone speaks to them” what was visualized changes at the work progresses.
But no matter the medium, the intent generally is clear and even with photographs, it is not merely a snapshot taken, but a thought out image possibly with some post processing involved to achieve a final result the photographer wants to share with his/her audience.
An individual’s interpretation of the world. Whether that be a broader world, or a self-conceptualized version of the artist’s world. There is a lot in the creating, but the end result is in the sharing.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
lostinsiouxland 