Part II of the introduction to Friends, Figures and Infinites- a photographic exhibit shown in New York
City in 1963 and Newport R.I. in 1965
As a Catholic I can appreciate and accept much of the good brought in by the fresh winds of existentialism, but only when it takes its place in a hierarchy of eternal values. Otherwise the joie de vivre of Kerouac's characters in a more or less real world withdraw into the narcotic fantasies of a Burroughs.
To the new film makers, Jack Smith, Bergman, the young Poles, et al, must go most of the recent credit for turning the lens into a poet's eye. To them, also must go credit for first setting up or finding poetic situations and filming them. (The poetic situation occurs when the participants, be they actors, models or plainfolk, are consciously or unconsciously LIVING a beautiful event. This occurs to a lesser degree in "happenings".)
If you want to make beautiful and exciting creations, and you believe your art should be woven closely with your life- and every person is or can be some sort of artist- then you must continusously strive to beautify and vivify your life. My photography becomes then for me an impulse constantly triggering my life toward the beautiful, new, meaningful and fasciinating.
To show this I have divided the exhibit into three uneven parts. The first is "The Outside"- the 'objective' world of sad strangers that I often see about me, particularly in New York City. the second is "The Inside"- my world- God's own countryside, transformed by my friends and my camera into a universe playground where body and soul retreat toward Eden and approach oneness. Many of the photographs in this section are candid, and in many others, the shooting situation became in itself a meaningful and memorable event. The third part is "the Outside from the Inside", where people and things available to the gaze of most eyes become for me- without losing their own existential meaning- symbols of the wonder, majesty and mystery of God and his Creation.
Monday 28 March 2011
Thursday 24 March 2011
Introduction to "Friends, Figures and Infinites"- Part I
An introduction to my first solo photographic exhibit entitled "Friends, Figures and Infinites" held in Novermber of 1963 at Gallery 110 in New York City
My photographs are an extension of myself, a part of my life. This life is based on a universal, eternal philosophy, the symbols of which I often find reflected in the minute by minute existence of myself and those around me.
It has been said that as sculpture was the chief expression of the Greco-Roman civilization and painting of the Renaissance, so photography is the medium of our time. The many faceted philosophy of existentialism dominates, much of it sprung from a disillusion with our age of calculation. Nevertheless, the moods of our time still reflect strongly scientific accuracy, documentation, objectivity. Photography is an ideal medium to record these moods and most of the great work has been and is being done in the field of photojournalism and documention.
Many of the earliest photographs dealt with ideas and ideals, but stated with more Victorian prose than poetry, they speak to us only negatively today. Reacting against the moral dualism of that time, we threw out the baby with the bath and a directionless society today often finds itself equating photos of puppies with mangled bodies, astronauts with murderers, strangers on street corners with glamorous nudes, psychologically peeling paint with scenes of stark tragedy.
(to be continued)
My photographs are an extension of myself, a part of my life. This life is based on a universal, eternal philosophy, the symbols of which I often find reflected in the minute by minute existence of myself and those around me.
It has been said that as sculpture was the chief expression of the Greco-Roman civilization and painting of the Renaissance, so photography is the medium of our time. The many faceted philosophy of existentialism dominates, much of it sprung from a disillusion with our age of calculation. Nevertheless, the moods of our time still reflect strongly scientific accuracy, documentation, objectivity. Photography is an ideal medium to record these moods and most of the great work has been and is being done in the field of photojournalism and documention.
Many of the earliest photographs dealt with ideas and ideals, but stated with more Victorian prose than poetry, they speak to us only negatively today. Reacting against the moral dualism of that time, we threw out the baby with the bath and a directionless society today often finds itself equating photos of puppies with mangled bodies, astronauts with murderers, strangers on street corners with glamorous nudes, psychologically peeling paint with scenes of stark tragedy.
(to be continued)
Wednesday 23 March 2011
I will be filling in here, now and then, my philosophy of creation through photography and art, my new projects that I'm working on and of course, the link to my website www.artistsincanada.com/mccaffrey
where for 2 and a half years I've been #1 in lifetime hits out of 6000 Canadian artists.
Not being terribly computer literate (in fact the owner of an internet capable computer for only the last 6 months), it may take a while to set things up and get the hang of posting images, writing about them, etc.
Have patience and we may eventually have something worthwhile here.
Bernard McCaffrey- Wilno, Ontario, Canada
where for 2 and a half years I've been #1 in lifetime hits out of 6000 Canadian artists.
Not being terribly computer literate (in fact the owner of an internet capable computer for only the last 6 months), it may take a while to set things up and get the hang of posting images, writing about them, etc.
Have patience and we may eventually have something worthwhile here.
Bernard McCaffrey- Wilno, Ontario, Canada
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