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Invisible - I joined 17 years ago
I guess the deal is its strange to me that in art there is so much competition and hustling and struggling to connect and be heard. It's been this way forever I suppose. It's a sad thing that we enter into this world with dreams and ideals, and we invest our passions and then we realize we were so naive, well I was anyways. The models are obviously naive as they are very young when they start and they not only get taken advantage of but they also make careless choices based on a lack of knowledge and experience. But this is true for all young people unless they are really sheltered and raised with some kind of foundation be it from family or from personal resolve. Some "kids" are just trying to survive and will do unpleasant things to do that. Some are willing to do unpleasant things in the promise of a great reward somewhere over the hill. So the topic is being naive. As I look back I see beauty and pain walking along side by side. I loved so many and so many have died or gone away for one reason or another. There was constant suffering. We don't always see it in the photos but I knew the models as real people and friends. Making photos was our way of trying to make something beautiful out of the futile mess that was our lives. Suffering really is everywhere, even among the popular or successful. It brings us all to the same level and we can all relate to suffering. So the topic changed to suffering. But I'll change it again. Purpose. I never thought much about my purpose as a photographer as I was always following my passions instead of questioning my passions. I did what i wanted whenever I wanted, and however I could. Looking back I wanted a family that loved me for who I was. I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to be loved. I didn't seek money or mange my money or have money, because I was always focused acceptance and love. Strange tho, I didn't wanna fit in. I wanted to be included. I wanted to be accepted in spite of and because I was different. And I had every opportunity to do so. I never knew when I was popular because I didn't spend time on social media checking stats. It came and went and I never knew it. I was making art while I was getting 100's of thousands of interactions on social sites, and I wasn't there to interact. I didn't even know how to use that stuff. People invited me to be in books and galleries. I was in a few, but only because a personal friend would contact me or whatever. Making art is never enough. Back in the day hundreds of years ago you had to be part of academia to be anything. Today you need a brand, etc and exposure, and not just that but lately you need to be aligned with politics and whatever the agenda is pushing. I guess it's evolution, but it's not the people who are evolving, but the systems that the people are dependent on. Enter the algorithm. Algorithms made the internet addictive. This made people less likely to seek out information but rather made people receptive to the stream of information and entertainment fed to them on their "feed". So now, the internet has become a waste land of people competing for space in that addictive feed. There is no place for the artist. I can't seen anything good in that. So I'll change the topic, or feather it into the topic of "Do What You Enjoy" Do what you enjoy. Pay the bills however you best can but always remember to cultivate what you enjoy as an artist. Keep a close circle of friends, and take care of that circle. Spend time with those people. Have quality time, talk about important things, and share love and inspiration. I honestly just hate feeling so invisible. Why do I feel invisible? I have had a lot of attention my whole career. I honestly don't know. I think it's my personality. I don't link up with too many people and I choose to be isolated. I don't really respond to people who reach out to me. Then I just got more and more mental until I couldn't function much. Now I'm having to take back my mind and body and learn to live again. I guess I'm always trying to redeem myself these days. But this has been going on. It's a big job. Blessings to all of you. Say hi. I'll respond. Matt - mojokiss.com Mar 14 22 10:35 am Link I joined 7 years ago and have never managed to work with a single model from here. So I can relate to feeling invisible. "For my whole life... I didn't know if I even really existed" Mar 14 22 10:44 am Link Sean Michael Foster wrote: people don't realize how futile their efforts are in this new internet. and it's designed that way in order to encourage participation. They are rewarded with false hope and greater emptiness. Mar 14 22 11:16 am Link I disagree with the conclusions presented here, regarding the newfound futility of being an artist thanks to algorithms. It would be much more consistent for you to notice the futility that was present even before!  I can accept and enjoy a nihilistic and fatalistic view, there are some inaccuracies I can contribute to though In your assessment of being part of an academie, centuries ago, such remains true now actually: think about how many artists think it is a badge of honor to say “self taught”, this practically ensures a lack of recognition or financial buy in, whereas simply having the pedigree of certain art schools and exhibitions propels an artist to other prestige. This is out of reach to most, inequality being so wide that its practically a different parallel society, worth ignoring. You’re either in or you’re out. Similarly, there has always been plenty of art that has no interest. I contend that the same evolution occurs now. I would say the art market is bigger than ever, higher volume than ever, you have to do the things the market wants. Some will figure it out, maybe you’ll read about it in an article a few years after the fact and be inspired, but by then its time for something else. Mar 14 22 01:32 pm Link Roaring 20s wrote: I enjoyed what you wrote. Well said. Mar 14 22 08:50 pm Link Sean Michael Foster wrote: I know I exist because I have a creative life outside of the internet. Mar 15 22 05:22 am Link I joined back in 2005 and have worked with a lot of models here, some I pay, some on trade. Some I have met here some on IG and they listed their MM number. It takes effort https://www.instagram.com/bob_helm_photography/ Mar 15 22 08:24 am Link Sean Michael Foster wrote: Jefferson Cole wrote: “I think, therefore I am” Mar 15 22 09:23 am Link Mark Salo wrote: Sean Michael Foster wrote: Jefferson Cole wrote: “I think, therefore I am” "I yam what I yam" Mar 15 22 02:28 pm Link mojokiss wrote: Yikes.... Mar 15 22 02:53 pm Link Sean Michael Foster wrote: There are a few "photographers" on this site with the same thing but for different reasons. They have no photos yet 400 friends and 6 lists all dedicated to shapes and sized of ladies. Or one with 5 comments and just comments on every photo. I don't think their intent is to work with people on the site but just look at the ladies but what do I know. Mar 15 22 06:57 pm Link mojokiss wrote: "It would be too easy to say that I feel invisible. Instead, I feel painfully visible ... and entirely ignored." Mar 16 22 06:30 am Link DTP - Photography wrote: Speaking possibly as one of the few "photographers" on this site who just look at the ladies ... please feel free to look at the beautiful ladies in my list. Mar 16 22 06:48 am Link I fixed the quotes for you, Jefferson. Sean Michael Foster wrote: Jefferson Cole wrote: Mark Salo wrote: Jefferson Cole wrote: Mar 16 22 06:53 am Link Iona Lynn 2 wrote: I guess where I see fragility that needs awareness, you see shame that needs to be suppressed. Mar 16 22 08:08 am Link Camera Buff wrote: god that is an amazing line! seriously. Mar 16 22 08:11 am Link Mark Salo wrote: Sean Michael Foster wrote: Jefferson Cole wrote: Mark Salo wrote: Jefferson Cole wrote: I am therefor I think - all stuff is equally conscious. we aren't special. Mar 16 22 08:12 am Link Mark Salo wrote: Sean Michael Foster wrote: Jefferson Cole wrote: Mark Salo wrote: I am suitably indebted Mark. Mar 16 22 08:57 am Link I seldom venture out of my cave . . . as soon as I feel the glare of the sun against my face, I scamper, very quickly back to the relative safety of my dank, dreary abode . . . I'm not sure if that earns me the "invisibility" tag, or just means I have a skin condition . . . either way, the less attention I garner, the better . . . just think how valuable the anonymity may be after I'm long gone and even more completely forgotten . . . some electronic surfer may stumble across one of my images and a legend may be born, the collector community may explode with an eagerness to know every facet of my being, see every image I ever had any minute connection with and pay tremendous sums of cryptocurrency to hoard every NFT they can find . . . good lord, how I hate being so popular! SOS Mar 18 22 02:07 pm Link Perhaps you haven’t come out of your comfort zone. It does take more effort to get the right models but it works. Not as freely and easily as it was a decade ago but it’s there. Also the location where you are in models are more abundant so more opportunities. Mar 18 22 04:45 pm Link sospix wrote: I am a fan of both your photography and humour. Mar 18 22 05:41 pm Link redacted Mar 18 22 07:11 pm Link I usually just comment on technical issues in posts here, but this one is certainly something else: a retrospective, a looking-back-at, a “sober assessment” of what-has-been; so, here are a few comments and observation, because this post warrants that at least. Naivety; Suffering; Purpose: Visibility, or lack thereof. My first comment is that, there is certainly more to life than simply being seen; and my first observation is, maybe being a photographer would tend to direct a person more toward placing value upon being seen. After all, that’s what photographers do: they make things be seen; so it stands to reason that perhaps, there might be an unexamined tendency for a photographer to preference that as an ultimate value, without examining what is going on there too closely. My academic background is in philosophy; so, what I tend to value for myself is, creating ideas (concepts) that other people can put to good use (and, having started into photography at the age of 14, back in 1974, I certainly also realize the value of having one’s work seen). I’m sure that other people from other walks of life would have different areas that they value most: for some, being heard might be the most important thing; for others, being remembered, or, just thought of fondly. And for some, of course, having more than almost anyone else is the ultimate drive that informs their life. I guess my one big take-away from the post I am responding to here is, that we only have this one life to live; and working out what that means to us as individuals, is a big part of what these lives of ours can be for each of us. Reading the post that started this thread, I can’t help but think how important it is to NOT let other people tell us what it is we should value, or what value itself should be for others: that’s really only something we can find within ourselves, by exploring the limits of what we are able to do as the people we are, and so, at least finding out what makes us capable of being distinct as individuals in this world. We can only ever be the best at being ourselves, as it is an impossible dream to forever be better than anyone else has ever been. Maybe that’s enough to make us stand out in a crowd; and, maybe it’s not: but it is always enough to make us stand up for ourselves. I suspect, in the very end, that will be all that really matters. But that’s a different kind of retrospective altogether. Mar 20 22 01:47 pm Link Mojokiss, I love what you've written in the original post. Thank you for being deeply human. For exposing the very parts of us we all feel but hide. I resonate with so much of what you said. Loving art. Wanting to be seen. Feeling invisible. Cycle of confusion. Mar 21 22 01:04 pm Link |
