Women Photographers at National Geographic

I've always admired photojournalists.

I know, I know, most people tend to lump photojournalists in almost the same category as paparazzi or almost as bad, as swashbuckling bastards, who wield a camera as an extension of their dick, their only interest proving how tough they are, rather than telling any sort of story, or offering much of any real import of interest. (Seriously, I heard this sort of sneering opinion a lot, amazingly enough, from a number of photographers.)

That being said, I've always admired photojournalists. The good ones. The ones that capture a moment, a moment of history, an image that can convey 1,000 emotions, worth 10,000 words, a graphic symbol that sidesteps out cognitive mind and goes straight for the heart, the soul, the emotions that make us human.

National Geographic published a great book in 2000 that I FINALLY actually got my hands on a copy to actually go through in detail. It's really a beautiful book. Stunning, haunting and beautiful images, many worthy of what you think of as the pinnacle of NG work. If for no other reason you want to look at this work.

Beyond that what is worthy is insight into the lives of women behind the lens. You see that not all photojournalists are male. Nor are they arrogant asses and world weary drunkards, the sort of stereotype Hollywood hands us. What you see instead are a number of different women, whose paths to getting behind the lens are as varied as the subjects they focus on. And you also get a taste of what it takes to do this sort of work, as a job and not just a hobby, and the risks and choices women have to make in order to have this sort of a career and lifestyle.

For the love of ART

Is art perhaps the second most over used word in the English language?

Second to the word "love?"

I've noticed recently that I've been periodically struggling, trying to avoid the use of the word "art" as it may relate to my work.  Amongst friends and fellow craftspeople I find myself using the word freely, but when I venture out into the public realm, either that of the internet or of showing work in galleries, some of the most pretentious, annoying, least talented people whose work I've seen, loudly proclaim their work as art, and themselves as artists.

It strikes terror into my heart, because the same pretentiousness I hear from them, I'm sure reverberates when I use the word in regards to my own work. And yet, if what I am creating is more than simply a beautiful work of craft, cannot something be truthful or intentionally made, with qualities that make it "art" and not craft?

What it boils down to is that even though many pretentious idiots also use the word art, I have a hard time abandoning the word as a concept.  For starters, if I didn't use the word "art" to describe some of the intent towards my work, what other word would I use?

It's somewhat akin to the word "love" to me, perhaps THE most over-used word in the English language.  And so utterly meaningless often. "I love you!" the phrase uttered in every romance novel, movie, greeting card, illicit affair and Springer show. But do you really?  What does it say that someone says they love someone just before they pull the trigger in a suicide-homicide?

But even if love is overly used by Hallmark and murderers, I still believe in the concept. Sure, it has been co-opted, commercialized, mis and over used, but even so, I feel in myself and think that the purity of love, the essence of it is a beautiful goal. So if love is true, why not use the word. It seems silly to try and come up with a new word or concept in order to avoid the word "love." "Honey, you're the best comingling dual asseted spiritually entwined intimate endeavour I've ever feasted my eyes on"....yeah, that really works.

The dilemma I feel with the word "love" is the same I feel about "art."  It's an over and oft times misused word. But I still believe in the concept, though what art actually is is open to debate. But for me, I think that "art" can still be a valid reference point, a horizon I want to take myself, and ultimately I think it's a beautiful goal. Especially when one compares it to the other options that are celebrated in our society.

But more about those later.

New ART SHOW HOBART GALLERIES IN FERNDALE CA!!!

February 3 to March 20, 2008 In Ferndale, CA: Seven international photographers will be featured in "Out of the Box" an invitational exhibit which runs concurrently with "Small Works in a Small Town," Hobart Galleries first open call show since the death of its founder, local celebrity and founder of the Kinetic Sculpture Race, Hobart Brown. Hobart Galleries is pleased to introduce seven talented national and international photographers and artists to Humboldt County. Include Mariah Carle, Leo Chan, Sita Mae Edwards, Leo Lam, Dave Levingston, Wolf 189 and me!

I'll make real links when I can to their separate blogs and sites.

Until then for more info

For being such a wealthy nation, America's health care system sucks

Here's an interesting statistic I wasn't familiar with...The World Health Organization ranks the United States health care system as 37th in the world. 37th!!! Morocco came in 8 ahead of us, Morocco ranked 29th. Morocco. You know, that not-so-large country on the northern portion of Africa, Morocco? Yeah, them.

This low ranking of health care in America is almost funny if I think about it long enough. For starters, on one level we are some of the luckiest people on earth. We have, for the most part, clean water, decent sanitation, proper electricity to ensure food supplies don't spoil. We don't have many people actually starving to death here, nor do we have millions dying of malaria and the like. And yet, if you just look around at us, we are terribly unhealthy in other ways.

For starters, we're fat. And not just a few of us with love handles either. We are an obsese nation. Off the top of my head I think I've read that fully 20% of our population is obese, 40-50% overweight but not quite obese yet. We have high rates of diabetes and heart disease, hypertension and high cholesterol. We have high levels of smoking, drinking, overeating, and stress, and that's the good news.

According to the CIA, the US is 45th in world rankings in life expectancy. 45th! Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands have better life expectancy rates than does the all powerful leader of the world, the US.

So what's really killing us? For starters, we can't ignore that our lifestyle and diet are doing a good job in putting Americans in the ground earlier than those Guamanians and Jordanians. A health care system is hopefully the last resort to keeping oneself healthy, common sense dictates that it's important for individuals to eat properly, get off the couch more than 7 times a week, not smoke like a Chinese coal burning powerplant and learn not to walk around in life like an angry WWF wrestler snarling at their opponent.

But even if you do take care of yourself, there are circumstances in life which occur where you WILL need medical intervention. And to that comes this little tidbit....as much as you might think insurance companies suck, as it stands now, nearly 47 million Americans are completely without health insurance. That's 1 out of 6 people living here in America. And the numbers are increasing as companies pull back on offering insurance, as the economy worsens and jobs are lost, as insurance premiums rise and people can no longer afford it.

Did I forget to mention that the WHO ranks our health care system behind that of Morocco?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing Morocco. They have, after all, given the world, couscous. And really good hash. And the concept of bazaar is pretty damn good too, lots of us have fond memories and experiences at flea-markets. But come on now. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at PPP in the US is $41,529. Second in the world. The GDP PPP in Morocco is $4,660, which is 80th in the world. So, you're telling me that a nation whose main exports are phosphates and good hashish, manages to rank higher than the United States in health care systems? Can someone tell me if they see something wrong with this picture?

Part of what astounds me is that this isn't big news. That instead of reporting about Britney Spear's latest arrest, that the fact that we've got worse health care statistics than Jordan, Guam and Morocco isn't part of our "Breaking Headline News" cycle.

And what I also don't understand is why that Americans aren't foaming at the mouth or embarassed with the situation. If our health care system were a basketball team it would be the Knicks. If it were a car, it would be a Yugo. If it were a team in an Olympic event, it would be a Jamaican bobsled team. Professional basketball, baseball, football,hockey and even soccer coaches get ridden out of town and fired for performances worse than this, and yet we in these United States go about our daily lives as if a failing performance is okay.

Does anyone else see a problem with this?

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