Art is often, or usually, more than just pretty pictures

I used to wonder why someone can't just make pretty pictures and be an appreciated artist. It does happen, but it seems that more often one needs to have a body of work with clear themes. (Clarity of theme can be pretty questionable given some artsy doublespeak I’ve read rivaling in nonsense much of the corporate doublespeak I’ve been subjected to in the business world.) But anyway, these themes are often not technical like studies of composition or color, but rather they have to explore something roughly philosophical.

However, as I'm finding—or making—time to think more deeply about my own stuff, I find myself ever more forcefully drawn to certain themes and concepts beyond the raw photographic technique. I want to study these ideas more and explore them more and integrate them with the particularities of my photographic style to flesh them out into coherent works that can appeal to people on both a visual aesthetic level and a more abstract, thoughtful level.

It took me a while to get to this point. But here I am.