There is something unreal in the world of fiction. Now get me right; I’ve written fiction, so I understand that unreality is kind of the point. However, it sometimes leaves a plastic sheen that the producers of the work didn’t intend. Writers write too hard. Actors try to hard to achieve the beneath-the-nail grit that…
“Come and listen to my story about a man named Steve (McCurry) poor (world-traveling, cover-page-earning, National Geographic) picture-taker with some photos up his sleeve. And then one day he was shootin’ at some fool, when down from the sky came that editing tool. Photoshop that is, red line crossed, big festuche*.” So, stop me if…
Once upon a time, on a WOW Air flight from Reykjavik, Iceland to Baltimore, USA, a twenty-something man named Abraham turned to the totally doesn’t look forty-something woman in the next seat and said, “I wish I could go back to the eighties [or before] and experience what it was like to see the Star…
There has been a great deal of discussion on social media this week regarding Jordan Peele, writer, comedian, founder of Monkeypaw Productions, and the writer/director of the surprise hit movie, Get Out. Now admittedly, I haven’t seen the movie, nor am I likely to since horror films generally irritate me without providing either scares or…
You’ve undoubtedly read this title to this piece, so let’s cut right to the chase. Must we respect the wishes of dead artists? In my opinion, the answer is no, or more accurately, the annoying it depends. If an artist leaves explicit instructions as to the distribution and use of their work in the form…
Much is being written this week about the protest of a young, biracial athlete’s refusal to stand for the U.S. national anthem. For an old-timer like me, it is noteworthy only in that his protest echoes similar protests made nearly 50 years ago, not to mention my own protests in 1970, spurred on by Tommie…
During yesterday’s morning walk through the Internet, I came across a ream of articles proclaiming that “Justin Bieber Quits Instagram.” Apparently, Bieber objected to fans’ criticism of his new girlfriend, stating, “”I’m gonna make my Instagram private if you guys don’t stop the hate.” Fans objected, as did his former girlfriend, Whatever Thehellhernameis. Apparently, Whatever…
History lies. That is, the human interpretation of historical events is and has always been subject to change and distortion from historians. Stated more directly, people bend facts in order to substantiate whatever socio-political view they are expectorating. However photos, although subject to the same distortions as anything else, are unique in that they allow…
One of the things that pains Maria and me is the number of people who are enamored with a single shot by Henri Cartier-Bresson (“Behind the Gare Saint Lazare“). You know the one, the “Defining Moment” shot. But here’s the thing: it’s a shitty photo. It’s underexposed, details are lost because of the lack of…
I began penning my response to Bill’s comment regarding my recent post, ‘Never a right time’, and realised that it constituted an essay’s worth of wordage, so I thought I’d post it instead as it also happens to be a fascinating discussion. The subject of prejudice will never get old unfortunately. Not being terribly…
Raw, Naked Art 