©2010 Charlene Tiedemann
Last semester I took an online, fine art, digital photography class. It became clear early into the semester that my “fine art” sensibilities from my college education days had been shaped by my multiple years working in the commercial/business world. The instructor, who I now can appreciate because of the distance (the class ended in May 2010), was incredibly enlightening. The course helped me realize that I was struggling with an internalized “commercial” filter. The habit of filtering the “me” factor out, due to concerns for the client’s brand authenticity and designing for an “audience, interfered in this case. Rather than responding to the raw inspiration in the world around me, I found myself struggling to “construct” images—that failed (at times) because they were too “contrived”.
The problem with filtering out the “me” in fine art, is that you filter out your vision, perspective and raw juices of self that make art interesting. While it is often necessary to think critically and strategically within a design concept for a client to solve a problem, utilizing that same process in a fine art medium—can thwart the creative potential. So, the painful, exhilarating and fulfilling process of rediscovering my inner artist began to take place. While technically some of my photos were good, their over-planned or commercial look created a stagnancy, rather than a story or lyricism or mood necessary for an effective and evocative fine art photo. I was amazed to learn how separated I had become from that inner voice or direction—that primitive understanding—that often drives an artist to uncover the visual depiction their soul is searching for. The “self portrait” photo above is an example of technically good, but conceptually unfinished. Ultimately I did not commit to a clear message. I had wanted something unassuming, but haphazardly allowed certain elements to enter without clear and distinct treatment of them (ie: the yard/knitting is not obvious, the t-shirt graphic is not entirely visible and so leaves the viewer confused about whether these two items are important). In the end (and the beginning)—I failed to commit.
I also began to find that the more open ended assignments were more suited to my exploration and ultimately my success. Somehow the “dream sequence” did not work out for me. But the projects where we were required to construct 3-D sculptural pieces (from whatever we chose)—those worked out much better for me. The following two images are examples of the sculptural projects. The one directly below required us to play with lighting. I had very little to work with… so, that ended up working out just fine. And it was constructed from found objects sitting in junk drawers at no cost to me!
©2010 Charlene Tiedemann
I encourage anyone in a creative field to actively pursue other fields of visual art to fuel your inspiration and creativity. You often will learn a lot more about your creative tendencies than you realize, perhaps even jar a new side of yourself loose allowing you a new avenue of expression whether for personal or professional purposes. The biggest lesson I learned from the photography class was in letting go and opening up. One of the professor’s most informing critiques was, “the photographer’s voice is too obvious”. I had been trying too hard to fulfill an assignment, and pleasing the teacher by losing sight of the need for creative exploration, ambiguity, and spontaneity.
©2010 Charlene Tiedemann
Lately I’ve been reading articles and hearing people talk about staying attuned to your gut reaction and instincts. While I sometimes wonder if this is an evasive way of describing a decision-making process that is essentially far more complex than the individual gives himself/herself credit for—I have to say that I have been allowing myself the space to find what my instincts might be reacting to. I realized while working on the fine art photography class assignments, that once I finally let go of my commitment to a determined “idea” something usually far more sublime would emerge through a process of exploration. Time, exploration, abandonment of pre-conceived notions are important fuels to creativity.
One of the more liberating assignments, that fostered this instinct was based on the art movement: Minimalism. The photograph below of amber colors is an example of the effectiveness of exploration and process. Trying to solve a problem of making a minimalist image, and yet have it be still evocative and interesting.
Process. Ahhhh, process: beloved and taxing. Below is one image that came from an exploration in minimalism. Yes, its something like: less is more…
©2010 Charlene Tiedemann
All written content © 2010 Charlene Tiedemann
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