And in the End...

So this may be my last blog post (probably). It will be a stream of ideas, mulling about, and mostly summations of emotional breakdowns I will reisst. But still, I mean it all.

I must start by first saying the Art Department at UR has probably been the best part of my time here. Yes I know this is days before I graduate, but credit due where its earned. The last nine months of my life have been a whirlwind. Don't go back in time and tell the June, July, or August version of Dan Neuner that he would lose to gain. It's an uphill battle that I won't stop keep pursuing. I think I look at the world differently. Why does Sage matter? It has been a sanctuary as much as it was an academic institution. To me Allen, Stephanie, Michael, Marni, Rachael & Heather have certainly made the best of a tiny and incredibly underfunded department at a large and incredibly wealthy university. I have been privileged to have learned from such a dynamic, intelligent, thoughtful, and lively group. Sage has been my transplanted home, believe it or not.

Tomorrow is my reception for my thesis which is entitled Closer Than We Notice. From this work I have learned that the concept of memory, history and society are incredibly important to me as a photographer. I will hopefully always pursue my passion for visually capturing the world in these ways. Aesthetics are important too, but not as much as meaning. And, I've learned, I have no effing clue sometimes what an image means. Sometimes, it just works and, on a subconscious level too. Bliss? Maybe but ideally photojournalism seems to me the only and the most important way of doing something that matters with my passion. What a dream.

"I don't think art changes anything" -Sydney Lumet

Then, in response to the questions 'well why do it?' Sydney Lumet, responded "...because I like it and its a wonderful life."


Sydney Lumet, the director most famous for Serpico has died at age 86.

Check out this video: worth every minute

Filippo Minelli

Why I like this work:

Shapes are ephemerally abstract and preserved
Composition is perfectly centered: precise
Textures are minute but influential, especially in regard to the contrast in palate, which is both overwhelming and subtle.

All photographs courtesy of Filippo Minelli

This work is contrasting, sharp, muddy, and, most of all, not too literal. Unlike the rest of Minelli's work, which, using semantics, is blandly contrived. I hope Minelli continues his more 'silent' photographs

So I just gave a talk to Marni's class

My biggest concern (not blaming the lack of coffee) has been my endless inability to say what I want to about my work.

Over this past weekend, I had an incredibly thought provoking conversation with someone about the ability to talk about art. It seems, though we were talking about non-attachment and impermanence, that both of us felt that our abilities to really talk and write about what we do in photography is limited by many other forces. For me, these forces are timidness, and confusion about ambiguity in my own life, which come off as incoherence.

I'm sure that I am exaggerating on my lack of comfort that I felt about talking about my work today. I just really felt out of body in talking with peers. I am limited by this mental plague where I believe I must not sound preachy, nor must I sound too confident. Thus my feelings become introverted and I attack myself. This is not who I want to be.

It is time for me to move on in my work. I have shyed far away from the person I was when I began the work for Closer Than We Notice and thus I don't feel comfortable with talking about my work, for I feel as if I am talking about someone else's work, not my own. I thrive right now on interactions with other people when making photography, which sounds contradictory, but it's not. Whereas Closer only worked when I was photographing alone, I feel I need to interact more with other photographers and non-photographers when I work now. Because I use photography as a way of creating memories, I feel this is a good thing. I am in a passionate desire for memories with other people.

These are just ideas. Is it ok that I'm unsure?

Ed Panar "Animals That Saw Me"

Holy moley, what a great series of works. Brilliantly done capture of a relatively simple concept (which sometiems feel the hardest)

All Images Courtesy of http://edpanar.com/animals/index.html

Ed Panar_ Work Like Mine

More than any other effect, Ed Panar's photographs reminded me that there is nothing wrong with shooting the same thing. I must just find another angle if I'm really worried about exhausting originality. From Panar's photographs, I have come to believe that it's not my style and subject matter that's getting stale for me, rather my energy should be refocused. I believe that clarity will come with a new geographical location. Patience Dan.

Panar seems attracted to a similar color palate and depth of field as me. His photographs are more varied than my own, less restricted. However, this provides his single images with a greater, more overarching idea. It's more grown up- it has a distinct atmosphere and moodiness that works extraordinarily well.

It's not that I chose to restrict my photographs to specific settings because I'm disciplining myself. Rather, from Panar's model, I am not (thoroughly enough) engrossing all beauty in the mundane. I am setting too many parameters upon myself.

With my thesis work pretty much printed, I believe a constant glance at Panar's work will set the stage for the next step of my photography. I am free from boundaries now, ready and willing to engross myself in all experiences, not just specific feelings, with a camera. I believe I know a camera is not just a tool anymore, it's what I've accepted as part of my life experience.

All Photos Courtesy of Ed Panar

"An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way." -Charles Bukowski