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Michael Grace-Martin

~ Photography, Art & Life

Michael Grace-Martin

Category Archives: Writing

On Seeking Artistic Validation

02 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by mgm in Commentary, Writing

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art, validation

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Only seek validation of your personal artistic endeavors if it’s okay for you to get little or none. Otherwise, don’t seek it.

If validation comes along anyway, let it come. But don’t get drunk on its offerings. It may turn around and leave.

If validation never comes (during your lifetime), your artistic endeavors are none the worse. They were there for you and you gained energy from their presence. That is enough.

–MGM



Visit Michael's Art Photography Portfolio at SaatchiArt.com!

About Hobbies..

02 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by mgm in Commentary, Writing

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hobbies

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If a hobby starts taking up most of your time, it is no longer a hobby. And unless you’re financially independent, it’d better starting paying for more than itself.



Visit Michael's Art Photography Portfolio at SaatchiArt.com!

Photography as a Journey with Willing Passengers

06 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by mgm in Commentary, Writing

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journey, photography

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For me, photography is primarily an *exploration*. And I keep wanting to believe others might like to accompany me on this (my) journey.

–mgm



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Bad Modern Poem Dining

07 Friday Mar 2014

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modern, poetry

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We have here yet again the result of photographing poetry readings..

Bad Modern Poem Dining

Hair
Teeth
I did not order the opossum.

Savage
Twerking
Hold the onions, was I not clear?

Pinch this
Click this
Eat….this?

Lint
Skid marks
Fork slips under the table.

Froth
Frothing
Wormhole
The waiter frowns at my bitcoins.

— Michael Grace-Martin



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Taken Away

06 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by mgm in Writing

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computers, verse, writing

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I am occasionally reminded
of the quiet..
taken away
by the computers.

–MGM



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My Top Tweets for 2013

07 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by mgm in Commentary, Writing

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2013, favorite, mgmsbrain, tweets, twitter

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I opened a Twitter account last June to replace my personal Facebook page (the latter became distracting and problematic in a number of ways). I tweeted 161 times in 2013 over the six months I had the account.

When I was a teenager (well before the time of The Internet), I used to write things and post them on the back of my bedroom door. Occasionally, I would remove notes that seemed stupid or were no longer relevant to my life and keep the ones that still “spoke to me”.

Here now are my favorite tweets of 2013 (in chronological order), some of which may seem stupid or irrelevant by the end of 2014…(!)

  1. True artists are self-propelled…the fanfare is nice, but that ain’t why they’re doing it
  2. Art has become a hard sell it seems. Entertainment, however, continues to attract a hearty share of people’s “disposable” income.
  3. Belched and said “excuse me” with only my cat in earshot. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with manners between species..
  4. I like doing #photography, but it’s not about being a “photographer” for me. It’s about communicating something interesting.
  5. Facebook is not necessary.
  6. Making money “doing your own thing” requires mega marketing because you have to convince people “your own thing” has anything to do w/ them.
  7. Once upon a time, people had to buy books or magazines, or go to a museum or gallery to see artistic photographs.
  8. When you wipe all the friends off your FB list, what happens? There’s less to see on FB, so you move on to other things, like taking walks.
  9. W/ few exceptions, there’s no such thing now as shooting the one photo that knocks people out. consistently producing..that’s where it’s at.
  10. Important thing I learned at Grassroots Festival today: use porta-johns that are in the shade! Otherwise they get up to 150 degs in the sun.
  11. I don’t like to copy/repeat what others have done. I don’t like to repeat/copy what I’ve done.
  12. And somewhere in my mind is the thought: If I ever became famous for my photography, I’d have to quit and start doing something else.
  13. I need to go to more art museums…whether there’s photography included or not.
  14. For some reason, I find it way more interesting to watch programs about musicians than photographers to gain insights into creative process.
  15. A photo that doesn’t distinguish itself is a commodity
  16. Doing your own thing and hoping someone notices isn’t a very efficient way to get notoriety or make money
  17. Most successful artists were able to dial in “commercial” when it came down to it.
  18. Some need others’ opinions to have their own opinion
  19. I don’t think there’s an option: if u don’t like what the art photo “establishment” calls good, develop a dialog directly w/ the collector.
  20. A successful photograph investment-wise requires that it contain a good amount of “cultural currency”.
  21. I just think if my name were David Butt Philip, I’d tend not to use my middle name.
  22. I find it kind of funny how artists refer to their artwork as “The Work”, thereby distancing themselves from it
  23. The web is like putting *everyone* in charge of television programming and having all of it broadcast simultaneously.
  24. Sex: the adult pacifier
  25. I used to think I wanted to be a web designer, but the promised land turned into a shitter. This is the last one I do, I swear.
  26. Size “zero”? sounds like the clothing size one’s imaginary friend might wear
  27. I find it interesting that YouTube seems to group Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin together in search results
  28. I think there’s something alluring about an artist who’s work you sense was created without looking for your (the viewer’s) approval.
  29. One of the things that stands out about Marilyn Monroe: she was pre-cosmetic surgery.
  30. Without communication, the best we could do would be hedonism.
  31. Taking a photo is not the end. It can then be contextualized and recontextualized. I see photos as fluid and dynamic.
  32. Art that is not relevant is not art; if it doesn’t communicate something relevant or consequential, it’s decoration
  33. “Though she never considered herself an unattractive woman, she felt like she was suffering from ‘premature ugliness’ in her middle age.”
  34. Wanting to be rich & lazy is just a reaction to being poor and overworked. Ultimately, rich & lazy would be pretty boring.
  35. Maybe if people focused more on creative activities, they’d spend less money on trying to purchase joy.
  36. Maybe most photographers think that emulating past photography is what “doing photography” is
  37. Art yearns for a unique voice, not a refinement of a previous or existing voice.
  38. For me photography is just a way to capture portions of my visual experience so I can do shit with it.
  39. The challenge is to find your own voice (when making art) & it may take a while. And it may come from a very different place than u expect.
  40. Maybe I could come up with a better word than “art” to describe what I’m trying to do..
  41. When you’re finally *not trying to be like anyone*…that’s when you truly get there.
  42. Momentary “truths” have an annoying habit of expiring before you can string them together with other “truths” and make an actual dent.
  43. What is needed is not *more* photography, but rather, better editing.
  44. It’s pretty easy to like or not like almost any photo. It depends pretty hugely on the context and one’s frame of mind at the time.
  45. “Michael is a self-taught photographer. His photography explores the relationship between his camera and his visible surroundings.”
  46. A “good photo” no longer involves anything like light, composition, etc. It just means *people want to look at it*.
  47. One of the big misconceptions: that a good or great idea will be instantly recognized as such.
  48. With photography, I see stuff I would have *never* noticed otherwise because my field of view as I move through life is too fleeting.
  49. One of the most splendid is capturing the hidden moment on display to all but only “seen” by a device that can pluck out a sliver of time.
  50. Going forward while integrating backwards.
  51. Maybe there’s an alternative to riding on the ever-increasing-shock-to-gain-attention train wreck…?
  52. Aging = becoming a caricature of yourself.
  53. Here’s one to keep pounding: There’s more to art than making pretty or beautiful objects. Meaning is not always pretty.
  54. Circumventing the 140 character constraint..BbtE6pzCQAAkqGR
  55. Street photography is as much *sport* as it is art.
  56. My (woman) dermatologist wears pink rubber boots during appointments

Hopefully my 2014 tweets will be even more fun, insightful, and goofy…:p. And, of course, feel free to “follow” me @MGMSBRAIN.



Visit Michael's Art Photography Portfolio at SaatchiArt.com!

Aside

Transience of Elevation

05 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by mgm in Writing

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art, transience

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Abstract Driving (Jan 2011)

Abstract Driving (Jan 2011)

In most cases, an artist cannot give but a transient experience of sensory or cognitive elevation. The opportunity lies in the initial moment/exposure; then it is gone.



Visit Michael's Art Photography Portfolio at SaatchiArt.com!

Naked Boredom and other Confounds

05 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by mgm in Writing

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poetry, verse, writing

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I attended a poetry reading yesterday (I was photographing the event), and I believe it was the genesis of the following…

Naked Boredom
Boredom.
More boredom
and even more, boredom.
Oh, hold on, naked
more naked
even more naked
naked!
hmmmm..naked subsiding
less naked
more boredom
only boredom
boredom.

Blanketed by Perception
I blanketed them with my perception
my fuzzy blanket
the one that hides sharp corners.

Diary Entry
Friday,
At the mall:
Must get away from this blathering Zoltar.

The Cleverest
He was the cleverest writer
Whatever he wrote was the most clever
And what he wrote…
never landed on paper.

Mass Culture
mass media
mass consumption
mass market
mass culture
mass = density
density = impenetrability
impenetrability = closed system
closed system = independence from input
..human input.

The Pudgy Critic
“Thumbs down”, he said.
“worst popcorn ever.”

(RIP R.E.)

 



Visit Michael's Art Photography Portfolio at SaatchiArt.com!

Everyone is a Photographer Now

12 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by mgm in Writing

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photography, poem

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It used to be
a photograph wasn’t free
and the method was surrounded by mystery.

But then Kodak said
just press a button,
we will do the rest
making your photos look their best.

And Land tried his hand
making the Polaroid cam
which many found hard
to avoid.

But it was the computer mob
that did the job,
with its electrons
the camera maker dons.

Now they’re in every device
like an infestation of lice,
and…

Everyone is a Photographer Now.

–(c) Michael Grace-Martin

[See a related post at another blog]

 



Visit Michael's Art Photography Portfolio at SaatchiArt.com!

MGM’s Twitter Feed

Twitter
Michael Grace-Martin
Michael Grace-Martin
@mgmsbrain

@cbouzy I'm moving my Twitter account over to Spoutible. Already started an account at spoutible.com/mgracemar 😀

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8:32 pm · April 7, 2023
Twitter
Michael Grace-Martin
Michael Grace-Martin
@mgmsbrain

I think I'm just going to move over to Spoutible because I like how they're doing things over there. Check it out and maybe follow me there at spoutible.com/mgracemar

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10:26 pm · April 6, 2023
Twitter
Michael Grace-Martin
Michael Grace-Martin
@mgmsbrain

Saratoga Racetrack (Aug 2019) #streetphoto #streetphotography #colorphotography #eventphotography #candidphotography #saratogany #saratogaracetrack #photography pic.twitter.com/rNRYx2T23F

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6:20 pm · January 25, 2023
Twitter
Michael Grace-Martin
Michael Grace-Martin
@mgmsbrain

Seat at the Table (2011) #portraitphotography #portrait #portraiture #female #woman #throwbackthursday #throwback #bnwportrait #bnw #bnwphoto #photography pic.twitter.com/CIMurIxGGb

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9:56 pm · January 17, 2023
Twitter
Michael Grace-Martin
Michael Grace-Martin
@mgmsbrain

Grassroots Festival (July 2022) #street #streetphotography #photography #eventphotography #candidphotography #people #grassrootsfestival #trumansburg #streetshot #fashionstyle pic.twitter.com/xd2rsmO3bu

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9:55 pm · January 17, 2023
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