This subject comes around the list a couple times a year, but
this one is taking an interesting twist as it has centered so
much on Ansel Adams.
There is a uniqueness to A.A. in that he was an Artist through
and through. His "Craft" happened to be photography, but he
would have been famous and cutting edge even if he was making
windchimes. His mindset and upbringing was the development of
artistic skills beyond "taking pictures". Remember he was
training to be a concert pianist.
Art is a mindset. Craft is the ability to produce the Art.
Don't forget, he was a successful marketeer. There were better
photographers in his era, but non as successful as he was in
developing the reputation, connections and product.
John Lind mentioned "The Wall". I've seen the one in DC many
times. I never go to DC without visiting it. Why? I have no
relatives or friends names on the wall. Doesn't make sense,
does it? The Wall is an emotional experience for all. In an
artistic sense it is so drawing, so demanding upon your psyche,
so stark, so focused. It's the names--each one representing a
soul. You can hear the roll-call in your mind--names called
out, but no answer. The sons and daughters that never returned
home. The parents suffering the never-ending ache of losing a
child. Holidays that never will be complete. In war, the
victor gets to write history and we end up with these memorials
to a victory, to a battle, to a cause, to an event. With
Viatnam we honor not the successes but the sacrifice. The Wall
isn't a place to cheer, to praise, to self-indulge--it's a place
that demands whispering, a gentle touch of the stone--your
fingers tracing out the names of people you never got to know.
Tears.
That is Art!
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