WITH KEVIN TULLY
WHEN: Friday, September 19th, 10 am
WHERE: Strickland’s in Concord GA
COST: $140
LIMITED TO 6 PARTICIPANTS.
“In all products of human industry we notice the keenness with which the eye is attracted to the mere appearance of things: great sacrifices of time and labour are made to it in the most vulgar manufactures; nor does man select his dwelling, his clothes, or his companions without reference to their effect on his æsthetic senses. Of late we have even learned that the forms of many animals are due to the survival by sexual selection of the colours and forms most attractive to the eye. There must therefore be in our nature a very radical and wide-spread tendency to observe beauty, and to value it.” George Santayana, 1896
Most of us are not aware how profoundly our personal aesthetic influences our lives. It is an integral aspect of our humanity and an especially important gift to creatives. It influences us and our art more than we know. Our choice of tennis shoes, political causes, wallpaper, music, pets, restaurants, motor cars and artistic pursuits are all guided by our personal aesthetic.
The photographer and educator, Garry Winogrand, would say in talks to students, “You need to go out to shoot with a strategy.” Casually looking at his photography it may appear that he didn’t follow his own advice.
His in your face, somewhat confrontational, not concerned with framing, almost snapshot approach, at first glance appears to be a non-aesthetic aesthetic. However, when one observes his large body of work, he is consistent, he has a strategy, a personal aesthetic.
So, how can one go out and shoot, with the intention of creating a cohesive body of work, if you don’t have a good understanding of your personal aesthetic? Or be able to articulate it?
Over the past eleven years, conducting workshops, mentoring, and doing photography reviews, I have become aware that many photographers cannot articulate their personal aesthetic as it applies to their practice. The inability to do so and act upon it can hinder one’s creative path: lack of focus, difficulty in creating bodies of work, difficulty in recognizing successful, innate creative choices. The combination of mastering one’s craft and working within the context of one’s personal aesthetic is critical in developing a successful art practice.
The workshop will be a five-hour conversation with a combination of introduction/explanation, writing and critique/discovery. The participants will be asked to bring a flash drive with one or two bodies of work, pen and paper, one printed image and artist statement that you think best represents your art.
“Finding one’s personal aesthetic can be a simple thing. Like finding a flower in one’s pocket, or a dragon.” Franklin Cincinnatus
About Kevin Tully:
Kevin is a photographer, designer and artist. He has over thirty-five years of experience as a landscape designer, furniture designer, fine art painter and photographer. He is the co-director of A Smith Gallery in Johnson City, Texas.
The workshop is full. Thank you!