Flowering Fields
Flowering Fields © Roberta Murray
The other day Robert Genn wrote about finding your artist’s voice. It was an interesting subject which I have been spending a bit of time with for the past several months. When I was first told my work lacked direction I was really taken aback. To me, my focus was pretty clear and I just couldn’t understand why anyone would want artist’s to fit their work into a narrow focus. Wouldn’t that be akin to working in a box? Isn’t the point of being an artist creativity and experimentation? How does that fit with being focused? To me being focused meant everything you produced looked pretty much the same. Long exposure B&W photos of ocean pilings. Bright coloured photos of flowers. Gritty street scenes in which one person looks pretty much the same as the next. How boring to produce same over same over same.
Robert Genn wrote (I’ve not quoted in exact order): “You need curiosity. Wondering how things will turn out is more powerful than having a pretty good idea beforehand. Wondering if you can do it gives you reason to try.”
“You need hunger. It can be the hunger for knowledge or for self-knowledge. It can be the desire to find an antidote for some injustice or human miscalculation.”
“You need to make stuff. Artists who put in regular working hours find their voice. Work itself generates clarity and direction. It’s like invention–one thing leads to another. One must only lurk for voice.”
It is curiosity which has driven the direction of my work, and it will likely be curiosity which continues to shape my future work. There is a hunger too. Part of my drive comes from a rebelliousness at the current trends in photography. I dislike most of the over-sharpened, realistic landscapes I see in photography today. I don’t see the world like that. I have poor eyesight. I see the world a bit soft and fuzzy, so to view these super detailed, sharp images seems foreign. My world is softer, gentler….. Combined with my beliefs society has miscalculated it’s purpose, it’s also quite nostalgic and sentimental.
I show up for my art just about every day. I put in regular hours. I am not completely focused on producing one style, or even working in one medium, but I am finding a voice in my photography. As shown through the website redesign, I am becoming more focused. The story I am trying to tell is becoming clearer to me, and hopefully to my viewers as a result. I don’t feel there’s a need to rush. Most days, when I’m working, the furthest thing from my mind is whether or not the work fits within my focus. I am more concerned with producing the work itself and the message I want that particular image to convey. I don’t think about whether my voice is coming through loud and clear, because as long as I’m telling my story from my perspective, my voice will be heard.
In: Creativity · Tagged with: canola, farm, field, pinhole
on July 28, 2010 at 5:13 am
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You really make me think a lot about my own work..and where I’m heading and what I’m doing. I – too – have a hard time with the concept of fitting oneself into a particular style or box. I love your work…and your voice!!!
on July 26, 2010 at 11:19 am
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You follow that which drives you. I started out creating work in a variety of styles, but quickly found my direction narrowing down. I now work almost entirely in one visual style. Yet the more I focus, the more I find *fascinating* about that style. The more I limit myself, the more I find a lack of limits. But that’s me. Others would be bored silly!
Just goes to show that any one “expert’s” idea of what a well-balanced or focused portfolio is is just that one person’s opinion. We each pursue our own path and see where it leads.
on July 26, 2010 at 6:12 am
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I’m really enjoying your new site Roberta, and your thoughtful posts keep me thinking…..
on July 26, 2010 at 7:20 am
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Thanks Paul.