Manifesto

I record presence,
portray stillness,
convey only truth,
document the specific,
seek the extraordinary in the ordinary,
look only as far as the surface of things,
turn light into colour,
record absence,
portray movement,
convey only untruth,
document the unspecific,
seek the ordinary in the extraordinary,
look only beyond the surface of things,
have yet to make up my mind about viewfinders.

Free your mind and your ass will follow
(George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic)

Being an Artist is primarily a state of mind. No matter what is physically made in the studio, at the heart of an artist’s practice lies exploratory thought opened by observation. Discovery and speculation will lead to unforeseeable developments, often in more than one direction. Comparable, perhaps, to the branches of a tree.

Questions and ideas matter more than answers or conclusions; the end of a thought may never arrive. Being able to operate with such an open mind is a unique yet learnable skill; a rare privilege.

In the world created for us, on the other hand, thinking is primarily conducted along familiar paths, rendering discovery and speculation largely obsolete. In that world we are likely to perceive an unfamiliar thought as demanding; it complicates life and throws into question what we already know. Spare mental capacity, excess, is easily dissipated by distraction, consequently we rarely entertain a challenging idea. We fear the freedoms available in complexity. In the ready-made world, comfortable as it may feel, we are condemned to the existence of an onlooker.

It is a moot point that, as our thoughts guide our actions, our inner life will direct the path of our fate. What will save us from an onlooker’s existence are ideas: it is in thought that our freedom begins.

An artist must aim to disseminate ideas – not so much her own, but the currency of ideas and of untried thought; and if all goes well, to tickle minds into unfamiliar positions.

[A man walks into a bar.]

Ed Ruscha: 'Hi!'

Sol LeWitt: 'Hi.  You alright?'

Ed Ruscha: 'Yeah,  you alright?'

Sol LeWitt: 'Yeah...'

Ed Ruscha: 'yeah...'

Ed Ruscha: 'Well,  see you then.'

Sol LeWitt: 'Yeah,  see you.'

MANIFESTO

THE OBLIQUE PORTRAITIST’S MANIFESTO

PHOTOGRAPHY is a valid form of art
AMBIGUITY is the central pivot and tenet of the work in question
A project can be entirely in one’s own mind but more often completely within the confines of one’s own BATHROOM
A photographic portrait does NOT necessarily involve photographing a person
The mundane and familiar can be SINISTER and unnerving
The PLASTIC and artificial can visually transform and morph into human flesh
The WHOLE picture is not an essential requirement in the presentation of the subject
ALLUSION and implication are encouraged
To BLUR is to reveal
COLOUR, light, pattern, shape are crucial elements in any photograph
INANIMATE objects have personalities
CROPPING can be expansive
Observing the DETAIL and magnifying the MICROSCOPIC is to be celebrated
Experimentation, exploration and having FUN are the starting points for any art endeavour
The QUIRKY and the KITSCH are as authentic as forms of so-called high art
To like and enjoy one’s OWN art is more important than outside appreciation – but that can be really nice actually and is not to be discouraged
To stage and to FABRICATE is welcomed and often essential
To be completely original is almost impossible in this post-post-post modernist era and deliberate PLAGIARISMcan be seen as ‘the new originality’ *

*(not that I am actually deliberately plagiarising anybody’s work at the moment – but it’s nice to have the option)

100 WORDS

Penny Dampier 100

Suggestive
Substitution
Repetition
Close-up
Red
Plastic
Anthropomorphism
Light
Focus
Green
Ambiguity
Photographic
Childhood
Artificial
Identity
Innersense
Innocence
Veneer
Human
Kitsch
Pregnancy
Texture
Decay
Imitation
Replacement
Exchange
Distortion
Shape
Pattern
Object
Obsession
Subject
Mutilated
Chopped
Symbolism
Portrait
Compartmentalised
Sinister
Freakish
Staged
Inanimate
Waxwork
Gaze
Perception
Cropping
Micro
Revealing
Sick
Intimate
Detail
Hidden
Section
Part
Body
Incomplete
Unnerving
Indistinct
Vague
Humanise
Dehumanise
Subtle
Visual
Quirky
Observed
Metaphor
Interpretation
Relational
Edited
Fabricated
Exploratory
Implied
Doll
Toy
Baby
Blurred
Representative
Conception
Image
Abstracted
Familiar
Reference
Tautological
Copy
Fragment
Mimic
Imply
Allusion
Memory
Enigma
Sexual
Belief
Mundane
Found
Impart
Colour
Form
Apparent
Evolve
Illusion
Mannequin




50

Substitution
Abstracted
Inanimate
Anthropomorphism
Ambiguity
Plastic
Detail
Compartmentalised
Object
Fragment
Chopped
Micro
Gaze
Colour
Doll
Staged
Obsession
Quirky
Freakish
Body
Tautological
Innersense
Close-up
Intimate
Pattern
Mannequin
Indistinct
Blurred
Revealing
Allusion
Red
Green
Familiar
Observed
Form
Sinister
Baby
Humanise
Cropping
Mutilated
Implied
Innocence
Replacement
Perception
Kitsch
Suggestive
Portrait
Distortion
Light
Section



10

Anthropomorphism
Gaze
Close-up
Sinister
Ambiguity
Chopped
Plastic
Allusion
Colour
Light


1

Anthropomorphism