art notes

An early critique at the Camera Club of NY

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(This post is cross-posted on the Camera Club of New York blog)

Last weekend, I looked through the Camera Club of New York's historical archives. They are safely kept in 18 boxes under Bryant park at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, also known as New York Public Library's main building. I will return over the next few months to dig around and choose a few pieces from the archive for this blog.

One of the first pieces I ran across was a clipped article by Theodore Dreiser on the Camera Club from Ainslee's Magazine.

One of this images in the article is this one by Camera Club of NY member and the Club's Vice President, Alfred Stieglitz.

Alfred Stieglitz, The Letter Box, 1894

Alfred Stieglitz, The Letter Box, 1894

The article describes an early account of a photography critique (circa 1899)—not dissimilar to those of today. I love the details and the phrasing:

Very few photos are perfect, and the critical zeal of the camera masters is exacting far beyond the pale of humble human accomplishment.

And yet it occasionally serves to make an humble student of a self-opinionated and self-exaggerated individuality. A case in point is a now distinguished member who came from Brooklyn.

"I was fine in Brooklyn," he remarked one time. "My experience there gave me a good opinion of my work. I began to make lantern slides and exercised my individual taste, with the result that my work was admired. Gradually I began to exhibit it more and more. I joined a local club whose fad was lantern slides and became a star member. Finally I gained such repute that I decided to come to New York and astonish them. I decided that I would quietly enter my plates for exhibition, and, in the vernacular, 'sweep 'em off their feet.'"

"Well?" I inquired as he mused reflectively.

"Oh, I exhibited. They walked on me. One of my pictures made them laugh, and it was intended to be sad. There were twenty-seven objections made to another. My best one came off easy with three criticisms, and all valid. Oh, lord! I thought I would never get out alive."

"Were they fair?"

"Yes; that was the bitter thing. I could realize that it was all kindly said and meant, and was good for me. After it was all over, one gentleman, who noted my crest-fallen state, came up and told me that my work was not bad. It was only the high standard of the club that laid it open to so much criticism. This was too much, and I went home in despair."

"And yet you profited by it."

"It was the best thing that could have happened. I began studying in earnest after that, merely to blot out my terrible defeat. In another year I exhibited again, and the whole set passed the 'test' audience with only a few suggestions."

Below is a photograph from this article and possibly the room that this critique took place.

Here are some pictures from some more recent critiques:

Ansel Adams – Conducting A Critique Session, Courtesy the Ansel Adams Gallery.

Ansel Adams – Conducting A Critique Session, Courtesy the Ansel Adams Gallery.

A recent critique at the Yale School of Art's Photography Department. The panel: John Pilson making a point on the left, Lisa Kereszi, Shirin Neshat and Richard Prince. Image from this post by Photographe…

A recent critique at the Yale School of Art's Photography Department. The panel: John Pilson making a point on the left, Lisa Kereszi, Shirin Neshat and Richard Prince. Image from this post by Photographer Davin Ellicson.

GUGGENHEIM FORUM: Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance

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There is an Online Forum going on now presented by the Guggenheim Museum on in relation to their current exhibition Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance. Every photographer should take a hard look at the debates in this forum and the art in the show. The show is one of the best group photography shows I have seen in a long time. Many of the artworks I have seen before or have learned about in school but its great to see them in relation to other works that are unfamiliar.

Tonight there is an Live Forum. I'm looking forward to seeing how its run and comparing it to how we have been doing #artphotochat.

On Repeat: Session 1

On Repeat: Session 2

On Repeat: Session 3

PARTICIPATE ONLINE IN THE GUGGENHEIM FORUM Panel Discussion: Mon, June 21–Fri, June 25 Live Chat: Thurs, June 24, 3 pm EDT Join thinkers from a variety of fields to discuss the cultural impulse toward repetition in life and art, inspired by the current exhibition Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance. Learn how reenactment and reiteration have become important devices in contemporary artistic practice across creative mediums.

The Guggenheim Forum is a continuing series of moderated online discussions catalyzing intelligent conversation on the arts, architecture, and design. This fourth installment, titled On Repeat, runs now through Friday, June 25. Visitors from around the world are invited to share their thoughts and participate in a live chat session with participants on Thursday, June 24, at 3 pm EDT.

Participants

  • Drew Daniel, professor at Johns Hopkins University, author of 20 Jazz Funk Greats, and one half of the electronic music-duo Matmos
  • Simon During, professor at the University of Queensland and author of Exit Capitalism: Literary Culture, Theory and Post-Secular Modernity
  • John Malpede, director of acclaimed theatrical, installation, and public-art projects. His workBright Futures was shown at the 2009 Performa Festival
  • Amy Taubin, contributing editor of Sight & Sound and Film Comment magazines, a frequent contributor to Artforum, and former curator of video and film at the Kitchen