CURATING QUALITY OUT OF QUANTITY IS AMERICAN.
Ever tried putting a label on your art?
I never cared to, but since I’ve been doing photography for some years I thought it’d be good practice to get my thoughts in order and really find an answer.
I think a lot, and whenever I’m thinking about my identity and the visuals that accompany it, I always get this feeling that American society expects me to make work about my African heritage and the struggles that come with being a minority in a prejudiced country.
Black Excellence, 2022
And the thing is, I’m not obligated to create art about “being black in America”, but it’s difficult to not feel like I should when so many of my people do.
I understand the importance of having a stance for whenever others want some insight into my work. Especially if it’s work made by a minority. So if I must label my oeuvre, I’d say it’s American overall.
Micky D, 2023
Although, not in a thematic sense of the term. More of, in how I utilize the American consumer-focused ideology of “quantity over quality” in my creative process.
Pet Evaporated Milk, 2023
Initially, when an artist develops a creative process they may compare what they’re doing to other successful artists and sow doubt. They start believing that they’re doing something “wrong”.
NOMA, 2021
This isn’t the case at all. They just need to trust their gut and analyze why they do the things they do. Artists must understand that following the creative process is law.
Take me for example.
I know people wonder how I capture my photographs. And I’ve given plenty of tips and tricks on how I capture: having my camera with me at all times; shooting even when I don’t know what I’m looking for; keeping even the “bad” photos etc.
Cycle Blur, 2023
Just from these tricks alone I’ve collected thousands of quality photographs, yet I wouldn’t say these are the reasons for my growing collection. It’s my daily routine of going for quantity over quality.
An approach like this may seem counterintuitive for an artist, but in my opinion, it’s the best way to consistently capture quality. America’s capitalistic society encourages it; each year the digital camera and memory storage markets improve further and further, allowing us to hoard images.
After using compact cameras and DSLRs for a time, I stopped caring about crafting the perfect scene or waiting for something “miraculous” to happen. Why should I when the world around me is forever interesting?
I can keep shooting a variety of photographs throughout the day and not even have to think twice about it because an SD card is like one big film roll. Instead of 36 shots, I can do hundreds until my camera battery goes kaput. I collect for days to weeks at a time and once I’m ready to upload all of my captures, I’ll jet to the past. Some occurrences I remember, some I don’t.
Davy Schwazy Honolulu, 2020
And of course, I understand not wanting to brazenly shoot just anything. But that’s the beauty of it all. How I make art may not work for you. That’s why you have to find your own creative process and follow it as law.
For me, photography is like collecting and gambling. As long as I have a camera and some type of memory card, I can hoard copies of the world and sometimes win big.
Fish, 2021
