The Photography Zone

Weird how it takes me at least a week into my vacation to truly decompress and  look at things more clearly without  distractions and incessant thoughts about teaching and my distance learning duties. There’s no doubt one must be in a certain ZONE in order to create. It doesn’t matter what medium or art form you work in  (photography, writing, painting) anxiety and the demands of ones “real job” inhibit the creative process. At least it does for me.

I’ve been making photographs and teaching photography for 25+ years, yet I still feel as though I still have so much to learn.  The technical dynamics of photography can be taught (and acquired) with instruction, however the creative part – the SEEING and AWARENESS can’t be taught as easily -  if at all.

View From Back of Ocracoke Ferry leaving the Island

I can be away from a camera for months, then all of a sudden life slows down a little and I have some time to pick up my camera and it ALL comes flooding back to me – the technical part is intuitive almost immediately and the SEEING part of the process slowly creeps back into my heart, mind and soul. After all…this is where the personal style (vision) of the image maker resides, evolves and is nurtured.  The pictures are an integral part of the serious photographer – an extension of who he/she is.

Pelican on piling – Foggy Silver Lake, Ocracoke

This is what I miss as an artist when the demands of work keep me from my passion for any extended length of time.  I immerse myself in my regular 9-5 job and therefore am not able to get to that “place”. I’m either to distracted or tired to explore and act upon my creative spirit whether it be  photography and/or painting.

So here I sit in the Ocracoke Coffee Shop totally relaxed and in the mind-set to photograph around the Island. There may not be a lot of great subject matter on this mild winters day, but that’s ok. It’s more about having an opportunity to pick up my camera – put myself “in the moment” and let everything else in my life go long enough to step into the “photography zone” and open my eyes to the world around me – to SEE – CONNECT – and CAPTURE those magical visual snippets around me.

If I come back with one or two really good pictures I’ll consider my photographic excursion successful. I’ve grown as a photographer over the years. There’s something personally enriching in the creative process.  Photographically exploring my surroundings feeds me – nourishes the artist within me like no other activity.

Sunset over Bogue Sound

I think back from where I sit in this little coffee shop on Ocracoke and realize the one major reason I feel “less than whole” much of the time is because I’m detached from my true passion.  Making pictures!

On Family……

Most people would admit that families in America are very different from what they were 30 – 40 – 50 years ago. I grew up in a 2 parent household  on Long Island, NY as did all of my friends in our suburban neighborhood.

We were your typical 1950’s / 60’s Leave to Beaver and Father Knows Best households.  I could go on and on about the demise of the family in America,  however I think that horse has been beat to death, so I’ll take a different tack on this post. There’s something good to be said about the stability and viability of the traditional family unit and I think its unfortunate that we’ve seen families across this country (including mine) disintegrate over the years.  After all the family is the backbone of our culture and a critical building block for civilization in general.

Ok…with that said, I’m sitting here alone on Christmas morning sipping a cup of coffee contemplating my life, my family and the world I live in. I’ve woken up alone on Christmas mornings before so it is no big deal to me especially considering my son Adam is in town and the great time I had with him and his family (mother, step-dad and friends) last night at a Christmas party in Beaufort. Even though I have one child “Andei” in Paris, France this Christmas day and my parents still alive and well living in New York I can sit here in my empty house and feel extremely lucky and blessed that even though we are scattered around the world we still have a strong bond and deep and sincere love for one another.

Adam, Mom and Andei, Thanksgiving 2008

It’s also great that I have amiable relationships with the mother’s of my 2 children and we can all get along and work towards the good of our children. I’m very aware that not all broken families get along after separation and Divorce, so I consider myself extremely blessed that I have loving (amiable) relationships with my extended family.

This is a difficult time of the year for many people. Its hard on single mothers, fathers, grandparents and definitely the children.  I’m sure there are many people waking up in empty homes with children away visiting spouses or grandparents. During this Christmas season and when feeling down its still important to remember and be aware of the blessing we do have. There are a lot of people out of work right now so if we have a decent job that is a blessing to be thankful for – good health is another, friends that care about us and of course our children, even if they are not with us at this moment in time.

Sure…we can yearn for those simpler days when Dad went to work, Mom cleaned the house and cooked our meals and children played outside without fear of being abducted. A time without computers, internet, rampant commercialism and parents working two jobs in order to stay ahead of the bills.  A time when families woke up together on Christmas morning and shared gifts under the tree, sat together at breakfast and went off to church.

American society continues to evolve…and evolve for better or worse.  I don’t know where its going to lead and if our economy is going to get better or collapse. All I know right now – this Christmas morning is that things could be a whole lot worse in my personal life and I’m going to count my blessings and be thankful for my family and friends, even though it is nothing like the one I grew up in on Long Island 50 years ago.  I’m also thankful for my faith and in God. In him all things are possible and can work out in the end for good.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all who read the KeO Blog!

Christmas Vacation – A Much Needed Break!

I turned my grades in a few hours ago, in addition to my final distance learning reports. It’s been an absolutely insanely busy semester and I’m very much ready for a long, restful break.  I put my daughter Andei on a plane to Paris this past Sunday  so she could spend a few weeks with her Italian friends who are visiting Paris for the Christmas holidays. That was a very emotional afternoon for me to say the least. This is the last photo I took of her right before waking her up to leave for the airport in Raleigh. Her dog Mojo loves to sleep with her – I think he misses Andei more than I do.  She’s been e-mailing me photographs from Paris (see posted below) and I even got to talk with her on Skype last night which made me feel better knowing  she has nice friends to spend time with and a safe place to stay.

This has been a week filled with lots of change for my family and I. Andei had been living with me for the past 3 months and now she is off again on new journey and adventures. Just when I was getting used to having her around. She will be flying to Nassau in the Bahamas to meet her Mom and step-dad who are sailing their 40+ foot sailboat tomorrow from Beaufort to the Bahamas. Andei will be living on the boat with them until the summer and then hopefully she will come back to NC or possibly I’ll go visit her in the Carrabean.

My son Adam called me today with good news. He finally got accepted in the Peace Corp and is leaving February, 1st for training in Washington DC and then off to South America (El Salvador) for 2 years.

I’m really proud of him and hopefully I’ll get to visit him in South American in the Spring or Summer of 09.

Here are some photos Andei’s sent me so far from Paris. Once I can decompress, I hope to do a little photography myself over my break – possibly do a little painting and writing in-between updating (retooling) my online courses for Spring semester. It never ends!

Andei Keough Photographs from Paris

Paris Street Scene – Andei Keough 12/08

Views of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris France by Andei Keough

Gotta keep making pictures, writing and try, try -  TRY to paint in between all the madness and demands on my time and energy.

Merry Christmas!

Fall Semester Down to the Wire

This is the time of the year I’ve got to seriously step it up and put it into hyper drive to get all my online courses wrapped up and grades turned in. I have 200 + online art appreciation / history exams to evaluate and final discussions to moderate in the next week, in addition to my regular photography courses at Carteret Community College. I’m really looking forward to the Christmas break, however I can’t believe my daughter Andei is leaving to fly to Paris for 2 weeks and then the Bahamas to live on a sailboat with her Mom and step-dad. It’s been a fantastic 3 months spent with Andei. We’ve done a lot of fun things together as well as spending a lot of time working on her photography “technical” skills and nurturing her unique personal vision as a artist / image maker. This is a photo she took of me last week in the TV room as I graded homework essays. I’m constantly amazed (and impressed) at her ability to SEE and CAPTURE everyday subject matter with such a unique / creative perspective. I love the fish eye shot (below) she took of my Dad, Adam and I in New York. I’m going to blink and she will be flying to Paris and off to new adventures. I’ve been so very blessed to have Andei with me for 3 months – we learned a lot about one another and reconnected as Dad and daughter after being separated for 9 months. It really doesn’t matter how long we are apart – we have a very strong bond and nothing can ever break it. Now I have to get back to my grading. It’s going to be an extremely hectic week. I am not looking forward to putting her on the plane to Paris next Sunday.

Dad, Me and Adam St. James, NY 11/2008

Andei and Adam on Long Island Beach Thanksgiving 08

Observations from my recent Museum Visits in NYC

MET Museum November 25th

Looking at the great paintings by Van Gogh and Gauguin for example truly gives the serious viewer of art a glimpse into the heart, mind and soul of the artist in addition to the time he/she lived. Great art reveals the emotional / spiritual state of the artist. Great paintings are like locked treasure chests that we the viewers must attempt to unlock and unravel the mysteries, stories and content within the picture plane.

Why did Van Gogh paint sunflowers? Gauguin primitive natives? Degas ballet dancers and horse races? We must ask ourselves questions as we scrutinize any great work of art. What was the driving force (inspiration) behind Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel? The answers can be varied. The patron for example may play an important role in addition to the emotional state of the artist, the time and place – social issues / pressures can all be factors that contribute to HOW that art is made and what it communicates.

It is up to US the viewers of art to seriously investigate these issues if we are to have a better, deeper appreciation and understanding of art through the ages.

Skelaton with Skates – MOMA Museum

The MOMA – Modern Art Museum in NY is very VERY different from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Modern (late) 20th Century art reflects a culture (in my opinion) that seems confused and constantly questioning everything in life from values, social mores, religion, relationships, etc. Some of it in my opinion communicates a sense of loss, fear, apathy and as my daughter Andei said to me a deep introspection.

I also sense a disconnect from faith based religion – or any type of spirituality. Much of the art in the MOMA (again in my opinion) expresses a craving for meaning yet without a spiritual component / element. Most of this highly conceptual art is secular in nature.

Art is really about SEARCHING and looking for answers to the biggest questions in life.

I don’t see post-modern art as having any answers. Post-Modern art seems to respond with more questions. It’s not in vogue to say that God is the only one with the answers to all of our questions and that is why so much of modern art after the mid-20th Century is so secular in nature and devoid of any religious connotations (except possibly negative).

It really hit me aesthetically as I walked through the MET and then the MOMA (Modern Art Museum) the following day. Both museums have very different feels to them. I like the MET more because even though I enjoy and can appreciate abstract / non-objective art – an entire museum of it gives me an empty feeling after awhile, where as the galleries of Christian – Renaissance – Baroque – Impressionism to me has more substance and content that feeds me intellectually and spiritually. My in-depth knowledge of Art History and the social / cultural issues behind art through the ages makes the MET a more positive and enriching experience for me.

MET Greek / Roman Sculpture Gallery – Gauguin Post-Impressionism Paintings

Like I mentioned earlier, so much of modern and post-modern conceptual art seems fragmented, disjointed and purely secular giving me a hopeless feeling. It’s like I don’t have a point of reference and I do with art created before 1950’s.

I believe based on the art being created NOW that American culture is devolving and the art in the MOMA is a reflection of the secularization of society and the elimination of religious faith (iconography) as an element in art and our educational system. Some people may think this is a good thing, but I find it disconcerting.

Photographic Installation MOMA