My Six

My six.

one.

Conscience

by Henry D.Thoreau

Conscience is instinct bred in the house,
Feeling and Thinking propagate the sin
By an unnatural breeding in and in.
I say, Turn it out doors,
Into the moors.
I love a life whose plot is simple,
And does not thicken with every pimple,
A soul so sound no sickly conscience binds it,
That makes the universe no worse than 't finds it.
I love an earnest soul,
Whose mighty joy and sorrow
Are not drowned in a bowl,
And brought to life to-morrow;
That lives one tragedy,
And not seventy;
A conscience worth keeping;
Laughing not weeping;
A conscience wise and steady,
And forever ready;
Not changing with events,
Dealing in compliments;
A conscience exercised about
Large things, where one may doubt.
I love a soul not all of wood,
Predestinated to be good,
But true to the backbone
Unto itself alone,
And false to none;
Born to its own affairs,
Its own joys and own cares;
By whom the work which God begun
Is finished, and not undone;
Taken up where he left off,
Whether to worship or to scoff;
If not good, why then evil,
If not good god, good devil.
Goodness! you hypocrite, come out of that,
Live your life, do your work, then take your hat.
I have no patience towards
Such conscientious cowards.
Give me simple laboring folk,
Who love their work,
Whose virtue is song
To cheer God along.



I know that, after most likely being forced to read his work in an intro composition course, Thoreau is not the favorite of most. However, his words bring somewhat of a comfort to my heart. It lets me know that, in the clutter of things… throughout this materialistic, cram packed, busy life of mine, that if everything mundane gets stripped away, this world still has something to offer, something of great value. When nothing else helps, if nothing else is available, that nature will allow me to continue my “identity adventure” in figuring out who the hell I am. Out there, you can always get a little closer to yourself, because it is just you and the whispers Mother Nature sends to you in the rustle of the leaves, the shift in the clouds, the rolling in the water, and the beat of the branches. So leave your cell phone at home, get off myspace, put down your pencil and take the time to listen to what she has to say.

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two.

Philippe Halsman

I’ve been called “quite quirky” recently. Yea – those words exactly. I suppose the feeling I get from Philippe Halsman’s portraits is how I feel I am viewed sometimes. A bit obscure. If you’re familiar with Dali at all, he had Halsman do all of his portraits. He did mainly photographs of celeberties during his time. One in particular, was done to warn soldiers during WWII of the dangers of syphilis that the alluring women were carrying in Germany. I think his imagination and innovation were amazing. He always pushed the envelope. I love the eerie nature of his photographs.




"Most people stiffen with self-consciousness when they pose for a photograph. Lighting and fine camera equipment are useless if the photographer cannot make them drop the mask, at least for a moment, so he can capture on his film their real, undistorted personality and character. "
- Halsman

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three.

Chris Killip

"Killip is well known for his gritty black and white images of people and places suffering from thatcherism." (Thatcherism: the political policy of Margaret Thatcher in England)

This guy is amazing! His photographs are raw, but very sophisticated. They are dark, and most have a sad feel to them, but triumphant as well. He is work checking out if you're not familiar with his work, no doubt.

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four.

Peter O'Neill

O'Neill is an oil painter, and his work is absolutely beautiful. He is entierly self taught, and is proud to be. The lighting he catches and color cominations he uses are amazing to me. This painting of the young girl in the water is my favorite, it reminds me of my little sister one summer when the two of us got to spend the whole vacation at my Nana's house. She loved along Rehobeth beach in Delaware. Allison even had a red bathing suit and long brown hair like this little girl. It almost allows me to smell the salty water and hear the seagulls overhead again...

"art is a communication between the viewer and the creator. It should never be judged. There is no good or bad art, only the message of the piece. I am living proof of that. I paint from life experience. My work can be sad, sentimental, happy, rude, or whatever – but it must convey feeling at the core level." - O'Neill

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five.

Andre Kertesz

Andre was born in Hungary, and was quiet the controversy in America up until a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1964 which relaunched his career and reputation. He became well known for capturing the mood of the times, and that he does. He is now known as one of the seminal figures of photojournalism. I love the authenticity of his photographs, and the focus/shade techniques he uses. Killip and Kertesz both caught amazing photo's of the "common people", and I love the realness of these people, their emotions and surroundings caught on film.

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six.

Raya

I can't hide from my guilty pleasure: obscure high fashion photography. My all time favorite fashion photographer is Raya. He was born in Israel, worked 10 years in Paris, now based in New York. He is able to come up with the most interesting, wacky fashion shots of anyone I've ever seen. I love the lighting he captures on the models and their odd props, the make up, and the costumes. All of these elements create a very unique and interesting photograph!