hi hi,

just a note to say, formally, that i am leaving this website indefinitely.

my reasons are a bit complicated, but for anyone that is interested, here it goes...
this site seemed to open a new world to me when i first began as , i was learning all sorts of new things and this seemed like the perfect place to grow.

when i started this account for my photography, i was still hopeful. the first faves that trickled in were precious to me, the idea that someone had added one of my photos to their "favourites" really appealed to me. then, as that stream began to increase, the watches started to trickle in. i appreciate the fact that some people want to follow my work, so this rant excludes most of you (thanks for the support).

my main problem is the great art apathy on this website. if we put aside all the pubescent girls posting emo self-portraits ala myspace, and the blatant pornography that passes for art (fine art nude is one thing, but posting a picture of a vagina captured on a cellphone with no motivational work is crap, not art); there is still a deeper, far worse problem with dA. a fundamental one.

i joined this site to progress as an artist and grow. i expected to receive constructive crit from artists, but this was naive. dA's great success ends up being its downfall in the end. popular artists get so much attention, that they can not possibly communicate on a personal level with anyone but a select few. i am sad to say that the deepest comment i think i have ever received on a work was something about someone liking the colour or idea of a photo.

this obsession with pleasing others has led to me back-tracking creatively. instead of posting what i feel is the best work of mine, i have started to post what i think other people will like. maybe this is my own fault, but i see it in a different light. the vast majority of good artists never get any exposure here, just because they don't have connections. dA is all about who you know and who features you. the fact of the matter is that 90% of "faves" and attention come from people with no deeper knowledge of the work than realising that it is pleasing aesthetically.

such a great tragedy, much of the work is so kitsch; yet that is the most popular and regarded as "masterful". i understand if someone is trying to sell their photos that they will make stuff people want to put on their wall, but then they shouldn't be on deviantART. it's just so frustrating to me that the vast majority of great artists are never seen, and many rubbish "artists" get acclaim afforded to few great mainstream artists of today. i guess this is just a modern continuation of what has always occurred in the art world.

this made me realise how shallow many of the "faves" i had received actually were, even though they were now counting in at several per day. most people just browse around, faving anything that they like without giving it much thought. i like to think that, even if i don't comment, i give each work i look at its fair share of thought and i allow myself to experience every image, rather than just rushing through them.

faves are so common now that they have lost their value.

all that aside, this account is a bit of a white elephant for me. it's stagnating somewhere between a photoblog that nobody (save 2 or 3 people) reads, and a portfolio site selling prints of my work (that nobody buys).

sure, i may not be a master by any means, but i definitely consider some of my work better than the tripe passing for masterpieces in the modern photography rings. that's just my opinion, which obviously doesn't count for much.

at this point, i will be taking my prints down, only to sell individually in galleries or by email, with all my best work on my website: [link] i will be keeping a photoblog here: [link]
i believe this increases the value of my work, which will now be limited edition, presented to my specifications and signed.

thanks to everyone that has actually paid any attention to my page here, i trust that you will make the progression of visiting my photoblog and website, which will now be updated far more regularly. if not, thanks for all the support so far.



bye


*jim