Art Appreciation and the Human Connection, The Play "3 Hours, 10 minutes"

     In July of this year, I was in Hamilton, Ontario and had the pleasure of attending three performances that were part of the Hamilton Fringe Festival. https://hftco.ca/hamilton-fringe-festival/ 

    Of these performances, the one that had the greatest impact on me was a play, "3 Hours, 10 Minutes" written and directed by Raymond Beauchemin.   https://www.raymondbeauchemin.com/

    I recently attended a repeat performance of the play presented as part of the Art + Music + Food Festival at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. https://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/ What can I say about this play? I liked it so  much, I saw it twice!

                         With Playwright/Director Raymond Beauchemin,  "3 Hours, 10 Minutes" at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

    The essence of the play revolves around a New York Times article which challenged the readers to spend 5 to 10 minutes looking at a piece of art rather than the usual average of about 15 seconds. A man, responding to this challenge, becomes so engrossed in a piece of art, In this case, the Lawren Harris piece, "Grey Day in Town" that he spends 3 hours and 10 minutes looking at the painting in a gallery. He is eventually joined by a woman who starts viewing the painting as well and they strike up a conversation. 

Actor Mark Gamache, "3 Hours, 10 Minutes" with the painting "Grey Day in Town" by Lawren S. Harris, at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

With Actor Melissa Murray-Mutch "3 Hours, 10 Minutes" at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

 

     I don't think that I'm giving away too much  when I say that the conversation transcends the discussion of a painting and becomes very human. The appreciation of the painting, in a way, becomes analogous to our appreciation of one another as humans. 

      At the Art Gallery of Hamilton presentation of the play, there was a discussion and q&a session complete with the original painting in the room. Before the session began, Raymond Beauchemin (playwright and director) and Melissa Murray-Mutch (actor in the play) were discussing a detail in the painting and at one point Raymond had his hand out pointing to said detail. I should have had my camera ready! It would have been a cool shot!

    I laughed as I said to them that after writing and directing the play, as well as performances and endless rehearsals, they should know that painting better than any two people in the world. Yet here they were, still discussing details about it! I'm not sure if this was a case of art imitating life or life imitating art!

      The play hit home for me on a number of levels. In one way, I could almost consider myself it's target demographic. I mean, as a photographer and creative, I present my vision in both digital and printed form. As both a creator and consumer of content, I'm more than well aware of the attention span of most people looking at images or reading written copy in this digitally deluged world.

    I liked how the play made the connection between art and humanity. While 3 hours, 10 minutes may seem like an excessively long time to spend gazing at a painting, it may well be what it takes to really come to know and appreciate the piece. Similarly, it requires more than a quick glance and a   passing acknowledgement to come to know and appreciate a fellow human being. Perhaps the way that we appreciate art has a direct correlation to our appreciation of one another.

    If you get a chance to see this play, I'd definitely recommend it. It may change the way you see and appreciate art. Hell, it may change the way you see and appreciate humanity! In the words of "the man" character in the play, "It's really something!"

                   ...more later 

  

    

    

Remembrance Day 2025

    It's been a while since I've written a Remembrance Day blog.  The last one I published was in my old blog, Multifarious Musings, https://multifarious-musings.blogspot.com/2012/11/remembrance-day.html 

    It was a cold grey November morning as I put the trash and recycling boxes to the curb. Then, I remembered, it's Remembrance Day. It's my day off. Did I really want to spend a good chunk of the day standing in the cold at the local Cenotaph? The short answer was an emphatic "No!" I even almost convinced myself that one of the things my Dad fought for in the Second World War was the freedom to choose to not attend. But I try to make a point of attending when I'm not working.

    After mulling it over, while enjoying a second cup of coffee, I finally ended up giving myself a much needed psychological kick in the butt.  After a quick cleanup, I grabbed my camera bag and went out the door. 

    The main street in town, Grand River Street, has been under construction for quite some time. As I made my way up the street, I noticed that the construction workers, in their neon yellow vests, had stopped working and were making their way up to the Cenotaph area. There would be no construction noise during the service.

    As I got to the Cenotaph the weather got worse, there was a cold wind and flurries of wet snow. I wandered about the area and made some photographs. Of course, fool that I am, the camera that I was using was not one of the weatherproof ones that I own. No matter. When I wasn't making photos, I shielded it from the snow as best I could with my arm and wiped it with a cloth that I had in the camera bag. It, like me, survived the inclement weather.

   

  And maybe that's what it's about. I'm always amazed at Remembrance Day services. The people, everyone from elderly seniors to young school children, will brave the invariably bad November weather to pay homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It's kind of symbolic. In paying tribute, we endure an hour or so of adversity  so that, ultimately, we can appreciate the freedoms of our existence. It's part of being a Canadian. We always have to say thanks.

    We will remember them.

    As the Remembrance Day ceremony ended and those in the parade were leaving the Cenotaph area, a flight of Canada Geese lifted off from the river and flew over the crowd. 

                           

    It doesn't get much more Canadian then that.

                                        ... more later

     

Thanksgiving Colour At The Dam by: Gord Barker

    I've got it pretty dam good right now! Okay, a bad pun is probably not the best way to start a blog post. But, here's the thing. I live ridiculously close to Penman's Dam in Paris, On. The Penman's Dam area is beautiful all year round, but in Autumn, it is one of the most beautiful spots in Southern Ontario for fall colour photography. I know this to be true. I photograph it a lot. So much so, that it has become a running joke within my photography group, The Paris Photo Collective, to claim that I own the spot!  Okay, I don't really own it,  but, as a photographer, I'm clearly not above taking full advantage of my proximity to it! Due to a very warm dry September, the colors haven't really peaked yet. Stayed tuned! I think it's going to get better!

      It has become a tradition for me to post "Autumn At The Dam" photos every year at Thanksgiving. After all, living so close to such a beautiful spot is one of the things for which  I'm very grateful. So without further ado, here is this year's crop.

     

     

 

 

    

                                   

     While I do feel a profound sense of gratitude for being able to live so close to such a beautiful spot, what I am most thankful for is the love and kindness of family and friends. They truly allow me to live a life of fulfilment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

                ...more later

The Blog

     I've been writing blogs for quite a while now. I wrote my first post in  "Multifarious Musings" in October of 2011. For the past several years, I've been publishing a post in "Refractive Reasoning" on the last Saturday of every month. 

   Sometimes it has been difficult to write a post to a set deadline. Sometimes I feel that I'm just cranking out content to meet said deadline and not creating good content about a subject about which I'm passionate. 

      To remedy the situation, I've decided to do away with the "Last Saturday" deadline as well as not making every post photography related. This will probably result in fewer posts but hopefully better content about a wider range of topics.

     I'd like to express my gratitude to the loyal readers who read my posts at the end of every month. Rest assured, I will still be writing blog posts and sharing my photos but, hopefully, in a much better way. 

        ...more later 

             ( Yeah I'm still keeping that tag line. )

Spring

     I saw a heron this morning. Although I know that robins are the traditional birds of Spring, for me, it's the heron. I think that it has something to do with the heron being a bit of a totem creature for me. It is a bird from which I learned a lesson many years ago. Perhaps I will tell the full story in a future post. Ultimately the lesson is patience. Wait until the time is right and then strike like lightening!

    As a sign of Spring, the heron needs open water to catch fish. It signifies an end to temperatures cold enough to freeze over a river or pond. 

    I went out for a walk this morning. The river is running dangerously high from several consecutive days of rain, snow and snow melt. The weather today is cold grey and rainy.

 South of the border, a narcissistic lunatic is threatening the sovereignty of my homeland as well as the economic well being of the entire world. But, later, I was walking  on a street downtown.

 A couple was walking in front of me. The lady opened an umbrella and moved a little closer to her partner to hold it over both of their heads. It was a simple act perhaps. But one that proves that love, caring and kindness still exists in a cold, grey, rainy world.

    And I saw a heron this morning.

                    more later

What I Want From A Photograph

    What I'm doing when I look at a photograph is basically a feat of  reverse engineering. I want to look at the picture and be able to look into the lens, through the camera out the eyepiece or screen and into the eye and mind of the photographer when he or she took it. 

    It was American photographer Dorothea Lange who said, "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera." That quote implies a certain emotional investment in the creation of the image. For a photograph to be successful, it is not enough to simply create an image of the subject or scene in front of the camera. Essentially, what I am trying to do when I make a photograph, is not simply make an image of the subject but portray my reaction to it or experience of it.

    Doing that involves a bit of self examination. How do I feel about the subject? What about the subject appeals to me? After answering these questions either literally or instinctively, the next question is, "What visual elements, line, shape, colour, form etc. can I use to emphasize the aspect of the image or scene that appeals to me?" This is where shooting with intent comes into play.

    An architectural shot of a building is a collection of shapes and lines. A photograph of an Autumn scene is a pallette of warm toned colours. A portrait can consist of  the abstract shapes of facial features or simply a warm inviting smile. 

    For the viewer to like a photograph, it has to appeal at a visceral level. Achieving that requires an emotional investment on the part of the photographer and a level of skill in bringing it out. Anything less is not a photograph, but just another picture. 

            ...more later

 

    

Coffeeshop Philosophy

    There's a fine line every that photographer walks. It's the subtle line of simultaneously being in the moment enough to appreciate it, while having enough presence of mind to capture it and do it well.

 

    This duality of mind can be a bit of a burden in that sometimes the urge to capture a moment overwhelms the joy of simply experiencing the moment. The urge to be a photographer capturing life can overpower the urge to be a human just experiencing it.

     One very real aspect of being a photographer is recognizing the need to step away from the camera long enough to experience the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfjkiTB1fHQ

   However, one of the greatest joys of being a photographer is having the camera as an excuse to experience any given moment in the first place!    

    Case in point;  The Mulberry  Coffehouse https://www.mulberrycoffeehouse.com/ (one of my favourite coffee shops in Hamilton) has a counter at the front windows that face on to James St. N. It's a great place to relax, sip a great coffee and just watch passersby on the street. While passing by the window, I was struck by the line of faces as I walked by on the street. I wanted a photo of it!

     However I didn't want to intrude on the patrons sitting there who were just there to have a cup of coffee. I did what to some street photographers is the unthinkable. I went inside and talked to my subjects. I walked down the line of people at the counter and explained who I was and exactly what I wanted to do. Maybe the Fujifilm X-T1 camera (Thanks Tom) slung around my neck leant me a little street cred, but, to my surprise, everyone I talked to was agreeable to the photo. "What do you want us to do?" Answer, "Nothing. Enjoy your coffee. Chat with each other. Whatever you were doing before I got here."

    I initially tried to shoot the photo using the panoramic setting on the X-T1 but that didn't work out very well. Eventually I did a quick lens change (from 35mm f2 to 16mm f2.8 wide angle) to get all of the front windows into the frame. 

    Here's the result.

    Not exactly the shot I had in mind. (I might try shooting it again.) But It's a pretty cool shot nonetheless.

    For the record, this isn't the first time I've made a photo at the Mulberry Coffeehouse. I don't know. Street photography and coffeeshops just seem to go together!

    I guess that what I'm saying is that being a photographer has allowed me to live my life with an intensity I would have otherwise not thought possible. Let's face it, the camera is the ultimate tool to capture the moment. But, sometimes it's best to put the camera down and just live in the moment.

            ...more later