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Week 14 Articles: |
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| Scott Gable Photography |
| 2/18 by laura |
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The first time that I stood in front of an Amy Stein photograph, I had a difficult time not becoming emotional - I understood exactly what she was getting at. She hoped for someone to realize the hypocritical in society and the environmental impact they were having. She did this all without notes for each piece and without stuffing it down the throats of photography connoisseurs. Scott Gable retains a similar ability and purpose. I could not only relate to his photographs, but I have been fortunate enough to have witnessed first hand, the sufferings of some societies that he has captured. He has a unique way of utilizing lighting and special effects to present the mundane as beautiful specimens of social commentary.
Gable is based here in Buffalo, but is one of those after our own heart who enjoys the footwork as much as the final product. He is discontented to be confined within these city walls, and chooses instead to travel to the Andes, Antarctica, Central America and everywhere in between. This is a necessity in his field because it is a different pursuit to begin with an imagined piece in your mind and then try to find it in the real world, than it is to construct it yourself on canvas. It is almost necessary to go beyond your means in order to claim a niche in the photography world, in order to surpass your competition.
Scott Gable has constructed a series of images from Mexico that relay the hardships faced by it's inhabitants without photographing the models in action. The story that Gable desires his audience to understand, is told using the subject's wrinkles and the fortitude found in their eyes. Pictured above, the lockers are illuminated by a frothy orange glow that reverberates somewhere within the viewer to signal a childhood and a life of fruitfulness. However, the lockers are in the final stages of oxidation and death, a coming of age story. Gable does with a camera what writers spend their entire lives attempting to create - a depiction and not an explanation.
I suggest taking careful steps if further researching his photography - there is a gay porn star/nude model/blogger/photographer with his same name. Or click here to be redirected to his official site.
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| Mike Parker's Flat Feet |
| 2/19 by laura |
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Mike Parker must have a hairy back and flat feet to be so gifted in the variety of artistic mediums that he is. Likened to separate functionalities of the brain, Mike divides his specialties into two categories: Dispatches and Inversions.
Dispatches is a website dedicated to his series of large-scale form renderings. These works appear to be constructed with ink, charcoal and perhaps even graphite to convey contour, but then subtle shading is added to build the form. The sketches are loose but retain excellent proportion and perspective precision. I found it difficult to imagine a techno producer calmly dragging charcoal across paper to form a gestural image when he spends the other half of his time counting beats, interlacing heavy chords and creating verbose sound. It makes perfect sense that his other half is called Inversions.
Inversion is not only the inverse of chords but also, the process of finding function from a given such that the product under a particular operation is the identity. Mike has that power to take one thing and distort it, using his own methods, into a new tech-symphony with its own identity. His carefully constructed tracks have a robotic and manufactured quality, a lack of human interaction. They drag, stretch and leap, gathering momentum until they climax. Similar to his drawings, an abstract dimension is met with his musical endeavors.
Did I mention he is also an Art Teacher? Guess that discredits the old saying, "those who can't do, teach."
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| Did Someone Ask For DH Lawrence? |
| 2/20 by laura |
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, by Elizabeth Gilbert, is a novel that uses adjectives so fluidly that that the entire story seems to roll off your tongue. The language displays such conviction for the subject matter - places visited, that regardless of factual evidence, the reader is seduced and enthralled. There is a clear understanding of personal passion and a love for environment that is seldom conveyed through written text, mostly because of the editing process and an inability to know when to stop editing.
The success of the novel is due to the vast and various audience that it immediately acquired. I read this novel before even looking at the Dali Lama's lasted book feeling that, although they touched on similar topics, Gilbert had an emotional affair with the content, and not duty to the words she was putting forth. The challenge for most writers is the ability to sit and type without scrutinizing every sentence or editing a document that hasn't been finished yet. The result of this lesson in futility is a dry and over edited document, not a living breathing narrative.
Enough with the PR for Gilbert, my main purpose in speaking on this topic is the lack of literary related content that we have sifting through our own site. Being a writer and an internet research junkie myself, I read hundreds of blogs, articles and documents a day and yet fail to share my findings with other writers that are kind enough to visit The Artery hoping for some sort of inspiration or at least a link or two. Writing is a creative medium as well, you know.
There are sites that can help with tips and tricks if you are a beginner writer, be it poems or a newspaper column. is an excellent source for all things written. Its advantage is the variety of information which is written by established authors from all over the country, who all have their own voice and perspective. "A List Apart is written by the community it serves: designers, developers, architects, producers, project managers, and assorted specialists," says the ALA About page. This means that it is a great way to gain perspective on how the minds of creative others work, study their voice and therefor cater to them. The forum is open to comments and feedback, as long as it is productive. In most cases, contact info is available for follow up questions should you have additional questions.
A site that has been entirely dedicated to a certain niche and maintaining a certain voice is . I could link to specific articles but I think that it is worthwhile to browse the archives and read what appeals to you. If the topics that they write about don't appeal to you, too bad, and furthermore, you don't belong on our site either. They have centered their business on such a small area of expertise and yet have developed a huge audience. What you write about doesn't matter as long as the attitude is right and the voice ties into the graphics and topics.
Writers seem to be constantly in need of jobs, even though the average person is unable to walk 2 feet without seeing a word. Apparently, someone said that writers should write for free or suffer the consequences and everyone listened. For those still trucking along, offers some of the most concise and correct tips for freelance writers, that are out there on the web. They have dedicated numerous blogs to finding work, maintaining work and have even provided a calculator by which to figure out a good rate of pay for all your hard work. If you are attempting to get noticed or self published, this is the place to be.
Back to my original thought - gracefulness on paper. Your words should be natural, but not rambley (or made up) and they should be written for a purpose. If you are not writing for a reason, stop writing, or your entry will be an updated version of your college term paper.
Buffalo Small Press is hosting their annual Fair next month. Many local authors, I believe tend to fall back on obvious topics and similar interests in attempt to appeal to the largest crowd possible. They might take a lesson from Gilbert, whose novel has been read more than just bored, Buddhist housewives with median income families.
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