Stand By Me

I find it interesting that at times one has to resort to social media to get the exposure one needs to stand out.  I read somewhere that Picasso was very good at that.  He befriended the French Resistance while sipping wine with the Nazis.  The alternative is one dies and hopefully gets discovered after decades like what happened to Van Gogh and Vivian Maier.

What does this have to do with this picture?  Actually, nothing.


But the last few days, I've found myself hysterically campaigning to get my photo entry noticed that I've lose sight of the trees from the forest (or was that the other way around?)  In one of my previous post, I quoted Magnum founder Henri Cartier-Bresson, "You want to give something to know that somebody will accept it. In fact, when you love somebody, somebody will not turn you down, your love is accepted. And this is communication to me. To give something which is..."  At the end of the day, art should be about communicating.  That is sobering to me.  It is not about scoring points and receiving accolades - although that in itself is not bad.  But when that becomes the end, the pursuit of art becomes vain and empty.

I still think that the brilliant minds were able to convey their messages effectively through their art... perhaps they got their art published through some social connection but that's the way it is for most competing endeavors.  Social networking it seems is neither good nor bad -- but when it becomes quid-pro-quo then honest art is compromised.  At least, that's what I think.  But I would also like to think that my heroes in art never gave in to just be popular.  True art is about being true to oneself.