2024 12 20
Photography isnāt art. Itās too easy to make a photo. Thereās no skill involved, therefore no artistic value.
I disagree with this, of course, however completely understand and agree with the logic behind it. Seeing photography as art will never be something everyone can do, I donāt think. Anyone can make a good photo (good is relative in any art form, of course). Anyone can also make a good painting (good to someone, at least!), even if theyāve never painted once in their life, but the ābarrier to entryā is far more difficult. To make a photo, you just take the phone of our your pocket and push a button. To make a paining, youāll at least need to find a store that sells the necessary supplies, or place an order on Amazon and wait a few days.
In my younger years as a photographer, I would often scoff at fine art photography, mostly because I didnāt understand the thought process or put in the time necessary to understand what the photographers were trying to do or say. Iād see them using a giant large format film camera to make some images I often found boring and label the whole process unnecessary and self important. Sure, I still dislike plenty of photography that is overwhelmingly embraced by the more formal art world, however, I do now have a far larger appreciation for, and valuing of, photographic art that is challenging to make. Using 4x5 film instead of a 100mp digital medium format camera, for example, should earn you some respect, even though at the end of the day itās the work (and the person doing the work, but thatās another topic for another day) that most matters.
Yesterday, this video popped into my feed which I found fascinating in many ways. While the clickbait headline is off topic for this blog post, his sentiment at the end is spot on. The guy makes a technologically-impressive camera that produces terrible images, however, the process is what makes the images incredible, and therefore, in his opinion, art.
āI know this thing makes worse pictures than a camera that costs $2ā¦ but when I use this thing, I fee like Iām making actual art, which I do not feel when Iām using a digital camera.ā
As always, art is in the eye of the beholder, but it is also made in the decisions of the person making the art.
That toilet image would be much better art if I made it on 4x5 film instead of a film-emulating smartphone camera.
-Clayton
Channelling Duchamp. Chicago, Illinois. November, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Photography isnāt art. Itās too easy to make a photo. Thereās no skill involved, therefore no artistic value.
I disagree with this, of course, however completely understand and agree with the logic behind it. Seeing photography as art will never be something everyone can do, I donāt think. Anyone can make a good photo (good is relative in any art form, of course). Anyone can also make a good painting (good to someone, at least!), even if theyāve never painted once in their life, but the ābarrier to entryā is far more difficult. To make a photo, you just take the phone of our your pocket and push a button. To make a painting, youāll at least need to find a store that sells the necessary supplies, or place an order on Amazon and wait a few days.
In my younger years as a photographer, I would often scoff at fine art photography, mostly because I didnāt understand the thought process or put in the time necessary to understand what the photographers were trying to do or say. Iād see them using a giant large format film camera to make some images I often found boring and label the whole process unnecessary and self important. Sure, I still dislike plenty of photography that is overwhelmingly embraced by the more formal art world, however, I do now have a far larger appreciation for, and valuing of, photographic art that is challenging to make. Using 4x5 film instead of a 100mp digital medium format camera, for example, should earn you some respect, even though at the end of the day itās the work (and the person doing the work, but thatās another topic for another day) that most matters.
Yesterday, this video popped into my feed which I found fascinating in many ways. While the clickbait headline is off topic for this blog post, his sentiment at the end is spot on. The guy makes a technologically-impressive camera that produces terrible images, however, the process is what makes the images incredible, and therefore, in his opinion, art.
āI know this thing makes worse pictures than a camera that costs $2ā¦ but when I use this thing, I fee like Iām making actual art, which I do not feel when Iām using a digital camera.ā
As always, art is in the eye of the beholder, but it is also made in the decisions of the person making the art.
That toilet image would be much better art if I made it on 4x5 film instead of a film-emulating smartphone camera.
-Clayton
2024 11 28
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Clayton
Art in the wild. Donāt Fret. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Clayton
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 isnāt just true for commercial photography but fine art, crafts, trades, etc.
Tonight, I read the latest Tim Kreider Loaf piece about how thereās 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 childrenās 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 Iāve 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 isnāt just true for commercial photography but fine art, crafts, trades, etc.
Tonight, I read the latest Tim Kreider Loaf piece about how thereās 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 childrenās 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 Iāve 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
2024 09 09
Look ā admittedly I donāt 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 canāt pay people to enjoy quality entertainment these days. I donāt 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 doesnāt 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.
āWe crossed this country a million times. Trillion roads, gazillion signs.ā -David Dondero
Who knows if weāll 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 donāt 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 canāt pay people to enjoy quality entertainment these days. I donāt 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 doesnāt 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.
āWe crossed this country a million times. Trillion roads, gazillion signs.ā -David Dondero
Who knows if weāll ever end up getting there but at least we tried.
-Clayton
2024 07 23
Today, a note to self:
Iāve 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 Artistās 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: Itās 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. Iām 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 (Iāve 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 Iād 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 Iām 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, Iām 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 todayās 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:
Iāve 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 Artistās 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: Itās 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. Iām 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 (Iāve 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 Iād 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 Iām 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, Iām 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 todayās note to self.
-Clayton
2024 05 19
Hereās another view of Alvaro Ilizarbeās amazing art installation at the mall, which I mentioned yesterday. Itās 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. Iām 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 thatāt 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, itās 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
Hereās another view of Alvaro Ilizarbeās amazing art installation at the mall, which I mentioned yesterday. Itās 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. Iām 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 thatāt 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, itās 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
2024 04 16
Art, itās neat!
I had a weekend full of art and have been spending a lot of time pondering the fine art marketplace. Recently, Iāve 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. Itās relatively straightforward. The fine art world, however, has always been a mysterious and intimidating place to me. Nobody is to say I canāt 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 artās value, I suppose. Artist E Lee, Iām 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 itās 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, itās neat!
I had a weekend full of art and have been spending a lot of time pondering the fine art marketplace. Recently, Iāve 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. Itās relatively straightforward. The fine art world, however, has always been a mysterious and intimidating place to me. Nobody is to say I canāt 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 artās value, I suppose. Artist E Lee, Iām 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 itās worth additional consideration.
-Clayton