Mixed Emotions

This weekend comes with some mixed emotions.  The Procession West show has just been taken down at the Art Gallery of Regina.  Though this is only the first public showing of this project, and the second exhibition is already underway, this brings some somber feelings.  I received an e-mail this morning from Karen Schoonover, the curator at the Art Gallery of Regina.  She sent it with the heading "End of Procession".  I guess it is the end... at least in Regina... but hopefully it is just the beginning of a long run of exhibitions.  I understand that the show in Regina was very well received.  Karen forwarded scans of the Guest Book to me, and most of the comments were very positive.  The worst I could find was one neutral comment, that commended the images but criticized the heavy printing.  Other than that all of the comments were very positive and included entries such as these...

“The usual subjects that have been photographed many times before now look somewhat different, enchanted somehow.”

“I moved from photo to photo gasping in awed recognition, surprise, and delight. Not enough superlatives in my vocabulary. I’m so glad I saw this show!”

“Both artists are fantastic! I felt calmness and sadness all at the same moment.”

“Thank you so much for your mutually reinforcing visions...so powerful and other worldly...a beautiful contrast of the human and the natural. Very impressive!”

“Beautiful scenes, media, and the technical talent to capture those places so well! As a scenic photographer I can really appreciate these timeless works.”

“They are stunning!”

“The thought and skill kept taking my breath away! How uplifting to me personally. Thank you for this presentation.”

“This show warms my heart - beautiful work. There is nothing like working with black and white film and the raft of darkroom painting.”

“As an artist I appreciate the talent of these two photographers to find beauty even in subjects often seen as ugly such as abandoned buildings.”

Congratulations to you both. It’s not very often we get so much enthusiastic feedback from visitors! I want to thank you both for your cooperation over the last several months. It’s been a pleasure working with you.

~Karen

Even though none of the pieces sold at the gallery, it is feedback such as this that drives me to keep working. My photography is not really about making money. It would be nice to have someone recognize and appreciate the work enough to buy it. And the income generated would offset some of the costs. But I arrived at a crossroads in my photographic career many years ago and came to this conclusion... As much as I enjoy photography for the personal satisfaction that it brings me, at some point it becomes meaningless to keep producing prints, only to file them away in a storage cupboard. They need an audience... to be seen and appreciated... and to evoke some response in the viewer. That is the purpose of this project and this exhibition. Anything beyond that is a bonus.