“What is Real Art made of?” Did Andy Warhol initiate a perpetual Rorschach artistic validity test with his Campbell Soup Cans? Or Jim Dine’s Hearts and Hammers? Are my images of old tin buildings and rows of Jeeps really “works of art”? How about my photos of manhole covers and dog paw prints? If they’re muddy or old and rusty, are they then transformed into wabi sabi artistic objects? After studying and photographing thousands of acres of weeds and mountains of rusty rubble and worshipping in the highest sanctuaries of contemporary art, I would say “Absolutely YES.” Common items are not always appreciated.
Great Photos don’t all have to be of far away Egyptian pyramids as those photographed by Frick or the mountains of Ansel or of the Beatles of Linda. Rusty rebar looks fine and yes, can be monumental too! Likewise there are times in the course of our lives when public grandiose spectacles can occur locally and cause millions of people to visit, like the 4th of July Boston Pops concert and fireworks. They come to us. When the grand arrives, why not see it and capture it?
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Francis Gardino, of Brighton and a member of the Council of Advisors for Unbound Visual Arts, received his Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Painting from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He is a member of the Allston Arts District Open Studios, the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University and the Marblehead Art Association. He has participated in many solo and group exhibitions throughout Massachusetts. His personal artist website is www.frangardino.com