FISH OR PEOPLE---THE CALIFORNIA WATER DEBATE

digialts are not my forte but your photograph does make some sense to me, even though i am equally ignorant about the Californian Water Debate... i'd guess it's a great jumble of assorted issues and opinions with no great clarity... in other words: confusion!

Yeah, the title is kind of esoteric. Where I live, there is not enough water for the farms. The farmers want to take water from other parts of the state. One system of water delivery has been taken away from them because of an environmental issue. The issue concerns the extinction of a very small fish that is on the endangered species list. Of course it is way more complicated than this, but the folks who like to oversimplify or cannot grasp complexity well, have adopted the slogan implying that fish are being favored over people. Thus, the "fish of people" title.

 

Thanks for taking a look. It is meant to be kind of a gross exaggeration in presentation, to mimic the gross simplification of such complex social issues. It is not much in terms of art, but I tend to enjoy making political statements.

I've given up hope that we can solve anything. We have as a country developed intransigence into a fine art. I'm sure it will lead us to friendship, happiness and world peace over the coming years. I've never been a great fan of systems and America seems to have developed a hum-dinger. We think if we tinker around with it a bit, kind of change the spark plugs and rebalance the wheels everything's gonna be all right. There's nothing fundamentally wrong. It never occurs to us that the system might not be working quite as well as we imagine it to be or in the ways we advertise it to the world. We are masters at swallowing our own hyperbole. Personally, I don't think anything will change until the disfunctional engine finally blows up and the whole damn contraption stops dead in the road.

 

This of course has nothing whatsoever to do with the picture which is delightfully incongruous and colored like an old, hand-tinted postcard. But it seems that political/social sensibilities are never far from your mind, even with camera in hand.

Thanks. I think you are one hundred percent correct in your assessment. People want to blame government, but never realize that we the people are the problem and are the government They seem to think the government just sprouted up from some demon seed. We've become contentious and divisive to the point, where the vehicle may just stop dead in its tracks. I shudder to think of what our life shall be like at that point. All in all, I'm dreadfully disappointed in people. They seemingly had so much promise, but seem hellbent on squandering that promise with profligate use of resources, poor choices and a hatred of others that is unabiding. Then I meet some fine folks here, on Flickr and a few other places, and almost think there is hope. Almost.........

 

I do like to make social comment with my images. Alas, I never feel that the comments are clear or persuasive, but I keep plugging away. I've quoted it before, but I love Mike Marcotte's comment to the effect, "someday I hope to make a photograph that matters." That about sums it up for me too.

this is great. the reality presented in this window is probably more honest than the politicos on either side of the issue.

I choose plastic. Plastic is forever.

 

 

Yesterday, I was listening to an NPR piece on the unemployment rates this month. A comment was made that the Republicans are gloating over the numbers, and I thought...whoah, why would the Republicans GLOAT over the bad news. Well, of course, in politics bad news equates to political opportunity. There was an overview of how the bad economic situation would play out in the next election. And then my mind went to the places that Jack so aptly described. I began to imagine this all as some damn football game with each side taking advantage when the other side fumbles and trying to score some points. Ultimately no one wins. I understand it, but I just don't get it.

 

 

I like the tilt of the picture. I like that the world is too bright and brilliant and smiley and contained to be real. My favorite part is the Japanese doll peeking out, stylized, but somehow more real than the open-mouthed dolls and the one-gallon oceans.