Comments on: Vermont Studio Center, Part II

By: J.T.

J.T. — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:16:51 +0000

Rob,

I know what you’re saying. I tried multiple angles to shoot the work and in some I was able to mimic the look and feel of our more informal shots. However, that doesn’t really capture the essence of the work either. It gives too much power to the effects of the gloss. As you know, from some angles you can’t see the gloss at all. So what I’m thinking is that I need the subtle shot, the alive shot and shots in between. In other words, a video. The next issue is that I can’t really post several images of each piece to my web site or send them out for submissions. I’ll eventually play with some other solutions, but so far I’m at a loss. Well, now that I think of it, maybe I could include one installation shot of many different pieces. That might be an easy, less intrusive, way to share more information about the work. I’ll have to think about that.

Thanks for the feedback!

By: John M. Adams

John M. Adams — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:08:53 +0000

That’s great JT – I hope they like the work – I understand that they shouldn’t work totally as photos – I’ve got the same issue with my work and its funny that you mentioned the video – and old art buddy of mine who lives in Oregon was looking at my website recently and asked about shooting videos or even a 3-D format (he’s a bit of a tech nerd and was really excited about that idea).

By: Rob H

Rob H — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:35:45 +0000

It is interesting that the quality of your formal photographs looks good but the information presented in them is actually less than the informal photographs either of us took. There must be a better way to do it that captures the best of both. My favorite piece is still #1 but from these two images you are missing the entire point of the work. Good luck struggling with it and congratulations on a productive residency.

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:20:35 +0000

Dayumm!
#4 and #5 are my favorites, though they are all pretty spectacular. Great getting to know you at VSC– count me as a fan!

By: J.T.

J.T. — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:37:07 +0000

Thanks man! What I’ve learned with some of these pieces is that still images just won’t capture this work well. And when you think about it, they shouldn’t. I say that because the work really has to be interacted with for it to have its effect. You have to see them from a distance, then up close and then from each side. The pieces look different from every view. We tried lots of different lighting setups and even when we could see the clear coat better, it didn’t make the image or representation of the piece any better. In actuality, it made them worse.

Someone at VSC had a good idea to take video of the pieces. Someone else suggested sending the work to galleries who might be interested (with their OK first, of course) so that they could hold the work and interact with it. I’ve got a couple galleries lined up to get the work, so hopefully that goes well.

I look forward to showing you the work!

By: John M. Adams

John M. Adams — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:25:29 +0000

I can’t wait to see them in person, Some of them look great in these photos and some of them need some adjustment to the lighting before they really show you what is going on and represent the pieces well – which is going to be tough. Looking good JT!