My friend David informed me that he was glad to learn the I had finally abandoned the idea of serving on the Committee for the Recognition of Art Photography. Also known as CRAP.
There is some very real world wisdom in my friend's rather cynical appraisal of those who promote the photographic arts and try to profit from that promotion.
My time serving on a couple of boards of organizations that promote photography was very well spent. I met some wonderful people and learned a great deal about the photographic art world, the problem is, I wasn't making any photographs!
While the various organizations that try to promote the art of photography do bring some work to a wider audience I'm not so sure that they really do much to help photographers become better at what they're trying to do. It also seems to me that the people who run those organizations are really trying to promote their own vision and to prove to the world what visionaries they truly are.
Does that do any thing useful for the photographers who are making the work? Maybe for a few.
Szarkowski has it right, the only reward worth seeking in making art, is in doing the work.
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