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Jack, something that struck me when I saw this photo in the Critique lineup was its juxtaposition with Wayne Melia's photo. https://www.photo.net/photo/18486576/Partially-Hidden. Coincidence or not, I don't know, but the similar look was curious.

 

I think your photo brings up the question of whose art is this? I'm assuming the alligator woodcut is something you found, and not your creation. If that's the case, then someone else made the artwork and selected the white wall on which it's posted. You decided how much of the wall to include as a "mat", and you composed and snapped the photo, and you put a frame around it, and changed it from a woodcut to a photograph. I'd consider you a co-creator. But it makes me wonder where the line is. At what point does taking a picture of a picture (or a woodcut or a painting) cross the line into plagiarism or copyright infringement? This isn't a critique of your photo, so such a question belongs in the Philosophy forum, I know. But it is one thought that was triggered in me when I saw your photo.

Thanks, Mark for your comment. I came upon this picture pasted on a wall near my apartment. It was there for a couple of weeks then disappeared. I don't give much thought to questions about whose work is it, I'm more interested in saying "I find this interesting" when I post a picture - even a picture of a picture. This one was so odd that I believe it deserved recognition beyond the few glances it attracted from passersby on the back street where it was posted. I've always considered my pictures to be more calling cards than simply something to be admired. The Japanese have a saying," Rui wa, tomo o yobu" which means "kind calls to kind" or as we say, "birds of a feather flock together". I have a certain understanding of the world that I'm eager to share with like-minded souls and am interested to learn of their understanding and experience and anecdotes from their journey. When I find a photograph on PN that intrigues me, I immediately go to the photographer's portfolio to see if this was a one-off chance hit or a visual anecdote, a part of a theme from an interesting story teller, maybe a person who views the world a little differently from most.

 

 

When I was much younger I was in the play "Camino Real" by Tennessee Williams. It's one of his lesser known works and very different from his other plays, a fantasy populated by literary figures stuck in a small town at the end of the road (The Camino Real). Don Quixote is one of these characters and he says of his quest: "When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone." So each of us looks for companions on our lonely journey, to break bread with. As I said, my pictures are my calling card and I look forward to any responses they might receive from interested parties when I send them out into the void.

Hi dear friend Jack: Aside from this being an unusual painting - and oh so glad you captured it to share it's uniqueness and strange beauty - there are several people I know for whom I should have a couple of these beasts parked in my garage for ready use :-)), although I notice this is a woman....yes, men should not be the only condemned obnoxious ones to be swallowed whole, head first like a fish! Only ase a few that have a mother in law.....ha ha ha....I find this painting so special that I will keep it in a special place in my favorites.....unless this prehistoric remnant does not "erase" the whole portfolio.... All the best! DG

Jack, I like the idea of photos being like calling cards, things to let others know what you find interesting. Maybe that is one thing that makes posting photos on social media popular. The internet certainly offers more exposure for one's photos than in the old days when snapshots got circulated only to a circle of friends. It's been very useful to me to be able to peruse so many portfolios from people physically far from me. In my early decades it would have been fantasy to think of sharing photos with people around the globe, and regularly connecting with someone in Osaka.

First, I'll address Mark's question about shooting a photograph of a woodcut or painting. I can't even pretend to know how Japanese law addresses the matter, and won't hazard a guess. But my feeling is that, given that we're looking at a " . . . picture posted on a wall near [Jack's] apartment," it's possibly a matter of public domain.

Now, on to my comments . . . . . Initially, I might have guessed that the artwork was on a building's exterior based on the horizontal structure at the top. The image's lighting provides a trademark McRitchie feature - a black horizontal dividing the frame into segments. (As Jack stated in his remarks, a "calling card.") Although some might think less of the smaller segment than the larger one containing the art, I do not. To me, it's just as important to the image's overall appearance and atmosphere . As to the artwork itself, the image captures all of the craft that went into it as well as a rather interesting story based on the crocodilian devouring a human being (and what seems to be a large crocodilian, at that). Jack, notwithstanding the calling cards you left for us, I find (as in a previous case) that this image isn't your usual taste.

Michael, you said that this photo isn't typical of Jack's work. I see it as near one end of a spectrum of his work that incorporates "art" by others. Some of Jack's recent work has walls of graffiti, posters, and other applied or stenciled images or signs. Most of the time he shows multiple things, but here he's concentrating on just one piece of art, so that's one kind of spectrum he's operating with. Another spectrum of his has endpoints of purely random or found objects, and at the other end is intentionally made art. I think that while much of Jack's work tends to be on the "found" half of that spectrum, here he's moving the slider way over to the intentional side by framing a single complete work of art.

 

It would be interesting to know if the person who posted the crocodile is also the artist, or if the poster was leaving a kind of calling card, too.

I've been down this slippery slope a few times myself with tons of guilt and concern about posting someones' work. Mark I know where you're coming from and Jack I agree with your philosophy. I've taken images at Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey. Clearly many artists' work on display, I find many I like and take pictures of them. Then the ones I like the most I post to PN, why? Because I want to share something I like with others and see if we connect. I always try to recognize and inform viewers of the original artist of the sculpture or painting etc. and I would never dream of passing it off as my creation, just my interpretation, I think that is where your line is located Mark. An enjoyable and interesting image Jack. I too would like to hear others opinion on this subject...................Best To All, Holger

Just to be clear, I'm sure Jack's photo complies with PN's Terms, and here in the States it would be "fair use" under copyright laws. I see no problem there. There is obviously no claim by Jack that he made the woodcut, and there is no commercial use, nor harm to the artist. The question I asked in my first post is one I've found intriguing for years, and seeing Jack's photo just brought it up in my mind again. It was a somewhat tangential thought.

 

Holger, I think that sculptures in public places can be great photographic subjects. I take photos of them with zero guilt, because like you, I'm not claiming I made the sculpture, nor is my purpose commercial in any way.