John House...the artist!

Following on from my show post...

Its really hard to stay positive during a group show and not get too dismayed with things.

Some people get a lot of attention for their work, get loads of great feedback, win prizes, sell work etc etc etc.

If you don't get that sort of feedback immediately, then its hard to stay positive about your work and you naturally start to doubt yoruself and the body of work you have made.

I got a few nice responses in the Private View, but mostly from people I know. Thats all great, but you know they are a bit biased!

However, today, just before leaving the house to come to work, something happened that has made me 1) feel like a real artist, 2) be completely content with the show and my work no matter what else happens and 3) just gives me a real confidence boost.

A chap emailed me this afternoon saying that he had seen my series 'Landmark' (which is my final major project) in the exhibition and wanted to tell me how much he loved the images and the body of work as a whole. He said he wasn't a photographer and so didn't know lots about it, but he really liked my work (I did some research and he runs a kind of arty choir thing that do modern voice productions or something!). He then asked if I sold my work and if so how much it would cost him to buy a piece although he did add a caviat was that he didn't have much money!

But for me, that has just made it all worth while. A random ordinary Joe has seen my work amongst all the other great work in the show, took the time to find my postcard so he would have my contact details and then made the effort to send me an email asking if he can buy some!

If feels fantastic! For me, I always wanted to be a photographer for two main reasons 1) to explore the world and the way I view it and make statements or come to conclusions through photography and art. 2) To try and make work that the public would enjoy, respond to and hopefully learn something from or at least think about something in a new or different way.

So to get a member of the public to respond positively enough to enquire about buying a piece is increadible and such a confidence boost. I have no real interest in making art for other artists or photography for other photographers...whats the point? For me the real value of art is the effect it has on the general population and if I can have an impact on even one person, then that makes me an artist. Today, his email gave me that confirmation and hopefully will be the first of many people who will take something positive from my work.

Just got to work out how much I would sell them for now and perhaps the icing on the cake will be making a small amount back on the vast debt I have amassed creating it!

I think the whole exhibition thing has shown me the importance of publically displaying your work, in whatever way you can. There is no point in making it just for yourself (not for me anyway), it only comes alive when others get to see it and respond whether positively or negatively.

Art after all is horrendously subjective and if your work isn't out there, then you are not challenging yourself and for me are not an artist. Whether it goes down well or not, if nobody sees the work then there aint much point to doing it.