» Seeing red
Very fed up with Flickr today. I’m at a low ebb. I know my success so far, is down to Cyberspace - down to Flickr, but I know also that ultimately my artwork (and everyone else’s on there) stands within its own right. Flickr artists’ work, even if it developed through one’s Flickr experience as did mine, should be seen as independent of the ‘containers’ like Flickr which are only valid in that they showcase the art.
One day in the hopefully near future my website will function independently of the photo-sharing site. I don’t like being under the power of another operation, censoring what they think doesn’t fit, not that I desperately want to upload nudes (I think putting nudes on the internet is risky full stop, which means the Flickr experience is useful in that it shows what is considered ‘dirty’ in the mainstream consensus itself) but I look forward to the day when I don’t have to worry about what could happen to my stream if a higher power chooses to flick a button.
I am aware however that the community Flickr brings together is a crucial aspect. That’s how so many people see each other’s work. Not as many people (by far!) will come to my site as they would come to my Flickr stream, because lots of different people’s images can be seen there in the same arena. And that is why I want to stick with Flickr as much as possible, but I will welcome new ways of diversifying the way I show my work. My exhibition, for instance, will show my images physically, and will be independent of a nipple-censoring network.
Anyway, still preparing for the exhibition, thanks for all your support on that so far. x
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 at 9:58 pm and is filed under From the same shoot as.../Outtakes, UnFlickred. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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March 15th, 2007 at 6:05 am
I so wish I could be there at the opening. I know it will help you grow even more as a photographer.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Cheer up! There is sure to be an alternative to Flickr in the very near future. For the moment the ‘flavour of the day’ is video, with new tool sets for sharing and hosting popping up almost weekly. Some of these are Europe-based, which can mean a more enlightened content policy than that of American operations.
In the meantime, yes, diversify to the max! Wait till you see big prints of your images on that gallery’s walls. Something to anticipate, to fight the low ebb feeling.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Well, I never would have found your artwork and your blog if it were not for Flickr, and I would have been the worse for it. And I’m glad you use it, because 17000km is a little far to go to see your exhibition.
One comment: I don’t think it’s so much that Flickr censors, for example, nipples because people think they are dirty - but filters them because people may not think they are appropriate to display in public. It’s also harder on the net than in the physical world - if you want to avoid art with nipples in the physical world, you can simply avoid those exhbitions or art galleries. On Flickr, you could come across them when looking for something completely different. (I didn’t think that Flickr did censor breasts/nipples - just anything ‘heavier’ than that?) Also, you could still display them on Flickr and just change the way you use contacts to allow your contacts to see them, as some people do.
Perhaps a different perspective on Flickr: it’s not a medium itself and it’s not about art - it’s just a photo sharing website.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to you sharing your art in many more forms.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
I think that so far as community goes, setting up this blog was a really good idea. It allows you to keep that sense of community and a steady stream of feedback that Flickr offers, but also allows you to post pictures without anyone else’s guidelines. I also appreciate the way that you treat the blog and Flickr as two different things, as if the blog were to merely mimic or mirror the Flickr photostream it would lose a lot of its effectiveness.
I guess what I’m saying is keep up the flickr photostream, as it gives you great promotion and feedback, but I’d also like to see you do some more work with the blog. It seems to me that the photos you post here have a different feel to them, and the comments that you write in your blog post seem to be a little bit more about the background to your work and your artistic context, which I really like reading.
Keep up the great work!
March 15th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I have spent now, a pleasurable hour looking at your work - both here and at Flickr and one of the artisits your work reminds me of (though you use colour rather than momochrome) is Francesca Woodman. Influenced by the visuals of surealist work, stemming from a feminist stand-point (however loosely defined).
If you are not familiar with her work, see:
http://www.fly.net/~kiki/woodman.html
http://www.uscanada.org/rus1.html
Also, AnnaGatskill:
http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_works_191_0.html
Best, Sean.
March 15th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
@ Gary - thanks.
@ malcolm - yes I agree, thanks for that. I’m feeling better today already…
@ Tim - yes, Flickr is just a photo-sharing site. But its views on nudity, for whatever reason it doesn’t want that nudity on display, reminds me that nudity in other forums could be misconstrued/seen as porn etc, like the art teacher who got sacked after pics were their nude pics were found on the net…
@ Matt - thanks, it’s encouraging to know u are enjoying my site/blog.
@ Sean - thanks, I think I have been told about Woodman once before, but I never checked her work out. I will do.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
I have no idea how you’re managing to keep a blog and a Flickr account running so smoothly at the same time. I guess since I’ve had Flickr, all my emotions got channeled into my photography and the descriptions of my photos. But with you, ever little thing you write is so packed with emotion that I have no idea how you still have any energy left at the end of the day. You’re amazing just for that… I’ll probably be checking up here often just to see what you’re up to.
Actually when I looked up your blog I was expecting a lot more comments than maybe 10 per post. I’m sure this place will get a lot more active as time goes on, though, especially if you put some more links up on your Flickr uploads. Guess people need to be reminded? I understand what you mean about the limitations of Flickr (though I don’t see myself as having the same problem), and I wish you luck in your quest for freedom of limitations. Don’t worry, Flickr only started you out and probably will continue as a source of freedom, but I know you’ll break out of the organization. I can see you as being one of the first ones to pull this off. There aren’t many who are as outrageously looked up to as you are, and so I’m sure many of your fans will follow you where ever you go, even outside of Flickr.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:46 pm
I appreciate your message Elizabeth… you are very encouraging.
Thanks!
March 17th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
The calm of the blog ,j’aime beaucoup.Focus in the vernissage & enjoy the experience to select the images ,show your work to friends et famille…Have a great time well rewarded.
March 20th, 2007 at 3:31 am
Thing with Flickr is that it is a photo-sharing website - that is, two-way. A blog such as this is rather one-sided, and as such, makes the author more remote from any feeling of wider community.
I don’t think that that will harm you at all, and a blog does set up a more intimate community, but you should realise that your audience will change, not only in size, but in nature as well.
Good luck with it, i will still be among your audience either way. Best wishes 9again) for the exhibit also…
Michael
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:32 am
Maybe it’s late to join this discussion. I barely have time to keep up with my friends on Flickr and I’m just not used to you having a separate site. But I like that you can say what you want here without attracting the ire of some of your critics. It’s a safer place in that respect. I look forward to when your site isn’t “powered by Flickr.” What’s stopping you from using a site like Photobucket to host your pictures?
March 24th, 2007 at 6:27 am
Hey Aniela,
I think your blog is a great idea, and if I may, I have two suggestions for you.
First one, as coming from a fan of your work, I would really start checking out your website more if I knew you were updating your blog more often than you do Flickr, and wrote more of your stories here than you did there. And perhaps if you had something else extra special here that does not appear on Flickr, such as images that are not allowed to be public there? Or simply if you post here more images than you do there?
There are lots of ways to promote a website outside of Flickr - Flickr should not be your only stream of traffic.
Second suggestion, and it is coming from a professional web designer - white text on black background really hurts the eyes and it makes it physically unpleasant to read after a couple of sentences.
This is a common complaint - that’s why when I create dark websites I always watch if there would be areas with large blocks of text (such as a blog), and change those to dark text on a lighter backgound. It’s just more user-friendly
But anyway… you’re really doing fantastic work, and I will be enthusiastically following your growth as an artist
March 24th, 2007 at 6:29 am
P.S. Your strawberry series is one of my favorites.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
thanks for your suggestions, i will take them on board…
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:48 pm
I am kidnapped from your photos - creatures… compliment true. to your art and your sexiness.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:56 pm
demanded small …..
i love “Memoirs of a Woman of Leisure”
do you send me a large version??
thanks a lot.
sè from italy