The Ones I Like List of 2008 – A Countdown [#9]
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All autobiography is self-indulgent.
-Daphne du Maurier
pastures – It’s an odd thing, compiling a “The Ones I Like” list — highlighting one’s own work. On the internet, we are taught — encouraged — to introduce worthwhile creations by others to the masses — sharing a link here, giving a shout-out there. It makes sense. A nurturing, altruistic community coupled with a fairly easy mechanism for allowing the proverbial cream to rise to the top — not a bad system. Today, word of mouth is everything.
But word of mouth — the good kind — relies on people, lots of people, being interested enough to spare the breath, to burden the digital “vocal chords.” It relies on people liking you, or what you do, or…preferably…both. So, how does one compile a “The Ones I Like” list without giving at least some thought to audience. While some artists create solely for themselves, I am not, nor have I ever been deaf to the ear of my partners in this grand, collective experiment. You (yes, you!) are always in the back of my mind. Sometimes I try to block you out. But, you are there. You are always there.
Nothing gave me greater grief this year in choosing my “Top 10” than deciding whether or not to include the image pastures. Without a doubt, it belongs on my list, but with almost the same certainty, I can say that it doesn’t belong on yours. It’s an entirely self-indulgent photo, created while not “under the influence,” while throwing caution to the wind and rebelling against the “work” that has begun to constrain me. It sits tenuously in the #9 spot, a compromise of sorts. If this “autobiography” was truly self-indulgent, Ms. du Maurier, pastures would have made one of the “if I could take only five photos to a desert island” positions. But by the very fact that I subscribe to the “what is mine is yours and what is yours is mine” of it all, pastures sits right where it belongs…at #9…tenuously, but truthfully.
Other examples I like that were tinted by self-indulgence this year include Family Book and in dreams [yesteryear].
