Why?
“Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask ‘how’, while others of a more curious nature will ask ‘why’. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information.”
– Man Ray
We spoke a lot about Man Ray today with solarisation and Lee Miller and Dada as an art moment. So if you think Man Ray is great, take a moment to look at Lee Miller.
Dada was inspirational to me as an art student. ‘Anti Art’. The birth of avant- guard and really modernism. How to throw the rules out the window. What does the canon of art history really tell us? That the people who wrote art history were self interested and promoted the collections of art in thier museums or friends. They promoted art that increased the value of thier collections.
This was really highlighted when I stood at MOMA in New York and only saw the paintings that were in my art history books at school. They wrote the history book about the work they owned. I was simultaneously devistated and delighted. Strange.
Out of all the questions you can ask. The best one is ‘Why?’
’WHY?’
perhaps “How?”
Who?
When?
The rhetoric of a journalist. If I was to choose one perhaps it is what Man Ray suggests? Why?
Ivy. Photography and text copyright © Len Metcalf 2018
