Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 11 28

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Clayton

Art in the wild. Donā€™t Fret. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Clayton

Read More
Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 11 25

This morning, I woke up a bit grumpy, thinking about how success at my job has increasingly more to do with being good at sales than it does being good at photography. This isnā€™t just true for commercial photography but fine art, crafts, trades, etc.

Tonight, I read the latest Tim Kreider Loaf piece about how thereā€™s a show at The Met right now consisting of art made by employees of The Met. He sums it up humorously by saying the museum is promoting it as well as if they were hanging their childrenā€™s macaroni art up on the fridge. Is art worthy if it was made by the security guard of the art museum?

Is art better if it is made by an attractive female who gains tens of thousands of views via social media posts consisting of high-energy videos of herself? It is worse because of this?

Of course, none of this is new, but Iā€™ve been thinking about the landscape of the art world (you know, bananas taped to the wall and whatnot) a lot lately, as I myself wade deeper into art both through my photography and a documentary project, which is in the early stages of development. That documentary will likely explore these thoughts, ideas, and frustrations in further detail, so I need to figure out what art is. If anyone reading this knows, please leave it in the comment section below.

Thanks!

-Clayton

The art of skating as seen through neon art by Neon Mike. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

This morning, I woke up a bit grumpy, thinking about how success at my job has increasingly more to do with being good at sales than it does being good at photography. This isnā€™t just true for commercial photography but fine art, crafts, trades, etc.

Tonight, I read the latest Tim Kreider Loaf piece about how thereā€™s a show at The Met right now consisting of art made by employees of The Met. He sums it up humorously by saying the museum is promoting it as well as if they were hanging their childrenā€™s macaroni art up on the fridge. Is art worthy if it was made by the security guard of the art museum?

Is art better if it is made by an attractive female who gains tens of thousands of views via social media posts consisting of high-energy videos of herself? It is worse because of this?

Of course, none of this is new, but Iā€™ve been thinking about the landscape of the art world (you know, bananas taped to the wall and whatnot) a lot lately, as I myself wade deeper into art both through my photography and a documentary project, which is in the early stages of development. That documentary will likely explore these thoughts, ideas, and frustrations in further detail, so I need to figure out what art is. If anyone reading this knows, please leave it in the comment section below.

Thanks!

-Clayton

Read More
Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 09 09

Look ā€” admittedly I donā€™t know the answer. You book your favorite artist in the world, the best songwriter alive, and nobody comes to the show. It is what it is. You canā€™t pay people to enjoy quality entertainment these days. I donā€™t have an answer but the bummer part is you can be the most talented person in the world but unless you have a following, it doesnā€™t matter. This is a sad entry but the night was amazing I just choose to dwell on the negative aspects of it.

Ironically, the thing that likely makes the art that good is all the shit that happens en route to the art.

ā€œWe crossed this country a million times. Trillion roads, gazillion signs.ā€ -David Dondero

Who knows if weā€™ll ever end up getting there but at least we tried.

-Clayton

Get rich or try sharing. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Look ā€” admittedly I donā€™t know the answer. You book your favorite artist in the world, the best songwriter alive, and nobody comes to the show. It is what it is. You canā€™t pay people to enjoy quality entertainment these days. I donā€™t have an answer but the bummer part is you can be the most talented person in the world but unless you have a following, it doesnā€™t matter. This is a sad entry but the night was amazing I just choose to dwell on the negative aspects of it.

Ironically, the thing that likely makes the art that good is all the shit that happens en route to the art.

ā€œWe crossed this country a million times. Trillion roads, gazillion signs.ā€ -David Dondero

Who knows if weā€™ll ever end up getting there but at least we tried.

-Clayton

Read More
Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 07 23

Today, a note to self:

Iā€™ve been a bit hard on myself lately and I feel the need to remind myself of the original aim of this here photo blog. While walking to the studio this morning, I spent the walk thinking in my head about how to word what I wanted to say. While I was doing this, The Artistā€™s Way audiobook was playing into my ear drums but delegated to the background of my inner monologue. Fortunately, my brain picked up on it because the words being said to me were almost exactly what I wanted to say myself.

Remarkable timing combined with listening to what the Universe is telling me: Itā€™s impossible to get better and look good at the same time. In order to recover as an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist. Give yourself permission to be a beginner.

This blog was started on whim as a place for me to post words and text without the pressure of needing to be great. Iā€™m a firm believer in limitations leading to improvement, so I gave myself some loose rules I would need to follow.

No posting images from the archives (a few exceptions, sure).

No posting images from personal projects unrelated to my daily artistic photo making (Iā€™ve made thousands of images this year for a separate project, none of which have been posted here even though it would increase the quality of images being shown).

Minimal posting of images made for paid assignments. Basically, if they are artful and fit the vibe or match up with something Iā€™d like to write about, sure, but my aim is not to make this space my commercial photography portfolio.

One post every day, regardless of whether or not I have anything Iā€™m excited to share or have the proper amount of free time to write something thoughtful.

With these loose rules, the aim is not to become a rich and famous fine art photographer overnight, but to slowly rewire my brain to think more artistically each and every day. I realize most people will not care to look at my images of trees or flowers or cats or hands, but again, Iā€™m doing this for myself. Some days I will have posts that I am proud of and share more widely. Many days I will not.

This concludes todayā€™s note to self.

-Clayton

Art and hands and colors and ideas. Emmy Star Brown at Vertical Gallery. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Today, a note to self:

Iā€™ve been a bit hard on myself lately and I feel the need to remind myself of the original aim of this here photo blog. While walking to the studio this morning, I spent the walk thinking in my head about how to word what I wanted to say. While I was doing this, The Artistā€™s Way audiobook was playing into my ear drums but delegated to the background of my inner monologue. Fortunately, my brain picked up on it because the words being said to me were almost exactly what I wanted to say myself.

Remarkable timing combined with listening to what the Universe is telling me: Itā€™s impossible to get better and look good at the same time. In order to recover as an artist, you must be willing to be a bad artist. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. 

This blog was started on whim as a place for me to post words and text without the pressure of needing to be great. Iā€™m a firm believer in limitations leading to improvement, so I gave myself some loose rules I would need to follow.

  • No posting images from the archives (a few exceptions, sure).

  • No posting images from personal projects unrelated to my daily artistic photo making (Iā€™ve made thousands of images this year for a separate project, none of which have been posted here even though it would increase the quality of images being shown).

  • Minimal posting of images made for paid assignments. Basically, if they are artful and fit the vibe or match up with something Iā€™d like to write about, sure, but my aim is not to make this space my commercial photography portfolio.

  • One post every day, regardless of whether or not I have anything Iā€™m excited to share or have the proper amount of free time to write something thoughtful.

With these loose rules, the aim is not to become a rich and famous fine art photographer overnight, but to slowly rewire my brain to think more artistically each and every day. I realize most people will not care to look at my images of trees or flowers or cats or hands, but again, Iā€™m doing this for myself. Some days I will have posts that I am proud of and share more widely. Many days I will not.

This concludes todayā€™s note to self.

-Clayton

Read More
Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 05 19

Hereā€™s another view of Alvaro Ilizarbeā€™s amazing art installation at the mall, which I mentioned yesterday. Itā€™s hard to tell in this image since there is no point of reference, but the painting here is like 30ft high and the overall area he painted in the mall is pretty big and much of it is on the ceiling, which he painted while laying down horizontally atop a huge metal scaffold. Iā€™m still impressed when I see this in person and offended by all the shoppers who whizz right past it on their way back to the parking lot. But thatā€™t the case with all the art in this mall ā€” out of context, things take on a different meaning and hold different value. If 40% Nike Outlet discount codes were embedded into this art piece, itā€™s likely people would all of a sudden become far more interested in it.

Now, I use this image as one of over 400 and rising in rotation as backdrops of my Keep it 100 portrait sessions.

-Clayton

An Alvaro Ilizarbe art installation at the Fashion Outlet Mall in Rosemont, Illinois. November, 2023. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Hereā€™s another view of Alvaro Ilizarbeā€™s amazing art installation at the mall, which I mentioned yesterday. Itā€™s hard to tell in this image since there is no point of reference, but the painting here is like 30ft high and the overall area he painted in the mall is pretty big and much of it is on the ceiling, which he painted while laying down horizontally atop a huge metal scaffold. Iā€™m still impressed when I see this in person and offended by all the shoppers who whizz right past it on their way back to the parking lot. But thatā€™t the case with all the art in this mall ā€” out of context, things take on a different meaning and hold different value. If 40% Nike Outlet discount codes were embedded into this art piece, itā€™s likely people would all of a sudden become far more interested in it.

Now, I use this image as one of over 400 and rising in rotation as backdrops of my Keep it 100 portrait sessions.

-Clayton

Read More
Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 04 16

Art, itā€™s neat!

I had a weekend full of art and have been spending a lot of time pondering the fine art marketplace. Recently, Iā€™ve come to the conclusion that I have been drawn to commercial photography largely because things are more defined and transactional. I have something a company wants and they pay me a set price to deliver it. Itā€™s relatively straightforward. The fine art world, however, has always been a mysterious and intimidating place to me. Nobody is to say I canā€™t make a photo of a pile of hot dogs and offer it for sale for $950,000, as was the asking price for a painting of a pile of hot dogs at Expo over the weekend. An insane asking price is part of the appeal and part of artā€™s value, I suppose. Artist E Lee, Iā€™m sure, has some fascinating viewpoints on art as it relates to commerce considering he features currency in much of his work. This is something I should explore in a future blog post. For now, I offer this quick open-ended pondering as a reminder to myself that itā€™s worth additional consideration.

-Clayton

Super neat art piece by E Lee as part of his solo show at All Star Press in Chicago. November, 2023. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Art, itā€™s neat!

I had a weekend full of art and have been spending a lot of time pondering the fine art marketplace. Recently, Iā€™ve come to the conclusion that I have been drawn to commercial photography largely because things are more defined and transactional. I have something a company wants and they pay me a set price to deliver it. Itā€™s relatively straightforward. The fine art world, however, has always been a mysterious and intimidating place to me. Nobody is to say I canā€™t make a photo of a pile of hot dogs and offer it for sale for $950,000, as was the asking price for a painting of a pile of hot dogs at Expo over the weekend. An insane asking price is part of the appeal and part of artā€™s value, I suppose. Artist E Lee, Iā€™m sure, has some fascinating viewpoints on art as it relates to commerce considering he features currency in much of his work. This is something I should explore in a future blog post. For now, I offer this quick open-ended pondering as a reminder to myself that itā€™s worth additional consideration.

-Clayton

Read More