Good art- Really good art

I went to The Met yesterday and spent some time in the photo galleries and then more time in the European Painting gallery. It was all very inspiring. There was such a passion, detail and story to the paintings I saw. It was wonderful.

The photo galleries showed work from Fox Talbot to Richard Prince. I was inspired by the simple and limited techniques of the early days. Images consisted of long exposures requiring the subject to remain still. The image was a bit blurred, soft and filled with expression and gesture. I especially liked the work of Julia Margaret Cameron (see above). Cameron forced her subjects to sit for long periods of time to make her dreamy often sensuous images. She created blur through both long exposures, where the subject moved and by leaving the lens intentionally out of focus. She created some of the most beautiful portraits I have ever seen.

I will use this inspiration in my own work and develop something that speaks to my interpretation of the sensuality and narrative that came out of the early European painters and photographers that I admire.