{"id":13785,"date":"2014-09-10T11:11:09","date_gmt":"2014-09-10T15:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?p=13785"},"modified":"2024-06-10T15:34:52","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T20:34:52","slug":"unlocking-the-secrets-of-the-creative-process-a-conversation-with-photographer-eric-meola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/13785\/unlocking-the-secrets-of-the-creative-process-a-conversation-with-photographer-eric-meola\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0\u201cUnlocking The Secrets Of The Creative Process – Part 1" A Conversation With Photographer Eric Meola"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Incubation<\/a>
\nPhotographer Eric Meola<\/a> and I share our insights on the creative process in this three-part conversation. In the first installment, I share the influences of my parents and meetings with many remarkable men and women including Eliot Porter, Ansel Adams, and Georgia O\u2019Keeffe. Then we discuss the power of words.<\/p>\n

\u201cWords can be powerful tools. Think of all the things you can do with words. Generate ideas. Clarify a response. Determine a goal. Frame a question. Evaluate strengths and weaknesses. Make comparisons and contrasts. Identify an influence. Select an approach. Test a theory. Explore alternatives. Identify what\u2019s missing. Solve a problem. Advocate. Motivate. Evaluate. Find a new direction.<\/p>\n

No matter what discipline you\u2019re in, why wouldn\u2019t you use these powerful tools we call words? Try not using them! Can you? So why not use them well and unlock as much of their power as you can?<\/p>\n

Many linguists have explored how language influences thought, going almost as far as saying language\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>thought. Benjamin Whorf said, \u201cLanguage is not simply a reporting device for experience but a framework for it.\u201d If a culture has a lot of words for something, it indicates those people have a highly developed relationship with it. If a culture doesn\u2019t have a word for something, it indicates either a very different relationship to a subject or a blind spot. Certain tribes in the Amazon jungle have many words for green, but none for blue. The Inuit have dozens of words for snow. We currently have too few words for photography. (At best, we amend the word photography with other words\u2014photojournalism and photo illustration.) Look at all the words we have for various kinds of writing: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, journalism, journaling, interview, biography, autobiography, screenplay, short story, novel, trilogy, epic, lyric, etc, etc, etc. The photographic community and culture at large would do well to repurpose many words drawn from our literary traditions and use them in our visual traditions.<\/p>\n

The question is not, \u201cShould I manipulate a photograph?\u201d Since the invention of photography, all kinds of things have been done to photographs. The question is, \u201cWhat happens when I do or don\u2019t manipulate a photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n

Limited language wastes time and results in less productive debates and diverts attention away from more productive discussions. One of the fundamental things I\u2019m trying to address through my work is complicated by limited language. Our culture often talks about people versus nature; we use words like \u201cus\u201d and \u201cit.\u201d We draw lines and take sides. Our current use of language psychologically distances us. This makes it harder to describe people as parts of nature. If we enter that mindset, we think about ourselves and act in our world differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the rest of Part I\u00a0here.<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\nRead Part II here.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>
\nRead my interview of Eric here.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photographer Eric Meola and I share our insights on the creative process in this three-part conversation. In the first installment, I share the influences of my parents and meetings with many remarkable men and women including Eliot Porter, Ansel Adams, and Georgia O\u2019Keeffe. 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