21 November 2023
I'm working on a prose-piece right now that has two refrains that have become like mantras, one is "This is not a grand art work." The second is, "what is a simple picture?
Jonathan Mark Jackson
Craft /kraft/: noun, verb
Craft might be thought of in parallel with practice. It is something that involves an element of manual construction. In my photography this “manipulation” occurs in the construction of a scene. I shape the light and re-stage things. Prior to the physical production of the photograph however, there are blurry methods of envisioning things or coming upon images. Whether that should be defined as my practice or craft, I try to leave enough space open in my days for those moments of sudden clarity. Often they occur when I am taking a long walk.
Manual: as opposed to contemplation, or theory. As opposed to the use of the intellect. As opposed to looking, viewing, contemplating. As opposed to thinking, reflecting, scheming, plotting, planning, weighing, brooding. The use of the hands as opposed to a conception of mental scheme or paradigm. Manual: the concrete, the physical, the embodied as opposed to abstract knowledge and the formulation of it. As opposed to reason. Manual: as pertaining to ignorance, obtuseness, stupidity, and as opposed to erudition.
Saidiya Hartman, Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments