Dec 16, 2007

printing, framing & empty walls

my blogging seems to have dipped along with the temps.

i'm printing and framing like mad for my show in February. i've got time, and it feels good to slowly see this work culminate behind glass. as the project originally started coming together i would print and begin assembling different edits on my office/studio/spare bedroom wall. it worked well for seeing a direction and keeping the whole in focus, but toward the end it also became my undoing. a few months ago i pulled down the proofs and just let the whole thing simmer. i needed to step away from the photos to see them clearly again. to be honest, i was so sick of looking at these photos i was beginning to convince myself that they were all shit. i started to get really anxious about the work, the show, and started shooting a last minute new direction for a few images, and basically second guessing myself to death. so, having come back to the work months later to make the final edit of 17 images, i was reinvigorated to find that i am really pleased with what i had produced. my perspective is fresh, and the edit only moderately painful.

so, my wall is clean. i'm hanging the final prints one at a time, on the bare wall under bright light, then framing, hanging again, reviewing, and finally committing.

in a couple weeks i'll be done and my once filled wall will be empty. a bare slate. a new project, actually two, will start to occupy the white space. it's a transition that i welcome.

you local folks, mark your calenders for Friday, February 1st at Well Street.

4 comments:

Billie Mercer said...

Ben, I just recently wrote something on my blog about how hard printing is and how you keep second guessing yourself but the final edit is just as hard. I can definitely relate to being sick of the photos and needing to step back and take a breather to get a fresh perspective.

Anonymous said...

This might be a terrible question.. but.. Ben, why are you not on the "artists" page of the Well Street Art Co. website? And.. is there a way to see your exhibit (or at least part of it) if we are not in Alaska?

-Ben M.

ben said...

Billie, thanks for the comment.

Ben, not a terrible question at all. this is my first show at Well Street, i'll be listed eventually.

as for seeing the final edit- i hope to have it online in a couple weeks. i've posted many images from the series here- some have worked, some haven't. i'll have the work in full soon, and photos from the show.

thanks for your interest.

Pod said...

we are funny creatures aren't we. no this is shit! oh no, it's great. shit great shit great.

bet they're great huffy!

 
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