The world needs photographers. There are plenty of cameras, but that
doesn't mean nothin'. Making a photograph
that matters to the general public is not an easy task, not by any measure. What does a photograph need in order to
live its own life? The
answer is simple: it has to have come from someone who dedicated vital time and
energy to doing the work of a photographer. It has to find its way into people’s minds and hearts. This work divides into categories. First of all, like William Blake's vision of art, it is a mixture of
intellectual and manual labor, a marriage of heaven and hell.
Photography, like most art, requires the harmony between mind and body. I’ll call this first work the
achievement of balance.
It isn’t just a balance of mental
and manual labor, though. It
requires an emotional, energetic, and spiritual equilibrium. Making great photographs is not an easy
task. You gotta come wit’ it. You have to have style and
substance. You have to show up
with more than a camera. You have
to have heart.
You have possess the stamina to be
in the right place at the right time whether that means traveling to Cuba
during your time off, or staying up late to meet someone for a drink during a
workday when you're down to your last dollar. The photographer is like
a private investigator. You have
to follow leads and make appointments.
It’s a rough gig, and the rewards are minimal. It is no lifestyle for the timid. You have to have confidence. You have to believe in yourself in a world full of people
who are quick to offer wooden nickels when you're handing them gold.
The photographer is an explorer and
embodies one of our most primary desires as humans. The will to know, the will to see for one’s self what the
world is like, drives this particular activity to its ends.
I met Lewis Watts for a beer last
week and had the chance to catch up with him a bit. Since I last wrote about his work, he's made some major
changes, including: working in Cuba, working with color, and working on a new
book. I’m excited to see his
latest work, which he plans to exhibit again sometime early next year in the Bay Area
at a location to be determined. He
also has a book soon to be released through UC Press, and will be traveling to
Paris to promote it.
 |
| Luckily for me, Lewis Watts grabbed my camera and snapped this portrait. |
I’ll be checking back in with Lewis
Watts, soon! He’s definitely a
favorite artist, and I can’t wait to see his latest work. In the meantime, you can look at some
of his images online, here: http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/watts/pages/noalbum1.html
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