Growing at Your Own Speed

For a young artist, it is as important to study the lives of other artists as their work. One has no idea how to proceed and is looking about desperately for a clue. Of course, every artist is--as every life is--different. There is no one way.

The early, seemingly predetermined success of a Picasso, a Basquiat or a Brakhage can be quite unnerving to a young stumbler. Stories of late-bloomers are both welcome and necessary for those of us whose actual achievements have not yet aligned with our ambitions. As such, Hollis Frampton's memories of his own artistic development are comforting:

"I didn't find it a picnic to be a photographer, through the sixties, not because photography was disregarded, although of course that was true, but because my predicament was that of a committed illusionist in an environment that was officially dedicated to the eradication of illusion and, of course, utterly dominated by painting and sculpture. At that time I didn't understand how luxurious it was to find myself alienated in that way. Nothing is more wonderful than to have no one pay the slightest attention to what you are doing; if you're going to grow, you can grow at your own speed." --Hollis Frampton

"Works of art... teach, move and delight."

Circles of Confusion, a mini-retrospective of the work of Hollis Frampton presented by Los Angeles Filmforum and Khastoo Gallery in conjunction with Art Los Angeles Contemporary at the Pacific Design Center, will screen from January 21-February 7. A full schedule is available here.

After the screenings, many guest speakers--including David James, Erika Vogt and Yvonne Rainer--will consider the impact of Frampton's films as well as his writing. I will participate in one such discussion at the Pacific Design Center on Saturday, January 30 at 2:00 pm.

Frampton's rich film work is as relevant now as ever. The problems he considers and attempts to solve in his films have not left us. In this audio recording, Frampton discusses cinema with Ken Jacobs and students at what was then known as the State University of New York at Binghamton.

"I seek whatever... feeling you can intensely construe for yourselves."

Part 2 of the recording can be found here.

Help Haiti

Before humanity can come to grips with the cataclysmic loss of life in Haiti, there are many places where one can go to financially assist the devastated region. Here are some of them:

Doctors Without Borders
Partners In Health
American Red Cross
Yele

I don't pray, but for those who have lost loved ones, my sincerest condolences.