A: That’s already been covered by [Western concept-based art movement].
Me: I don’t think he’s aware of [Western concept-based art movement].
B: Well, that’s kind of his problem.
Yes, it is. How naive is too naive?
I agree that a lack of awareness (i.e. naivety) could result in something interesting. It’s just a question of how much is too much?
Lots more to be said about the relationship between “Western thought” and “Japan” (“Asia”??)
I think I would agree with the “Asia” though vs Western. Even here in Taiwan, there are a lot of things most people aren’t aware of, and if they are, it’s the watered down exposure they have to it. I’m not exactly sure where it comes from, or if they have a discourse for it in their education system or not.
I do wonder if not knowing sometimes is better for the artist? Personally, I think not.
How much – that would depend on whatever art movement we’re taking about (as in how extensively it has been covered). Though I would say that success through naivety is only the result of luck. It’s better not to be naive at all.
For Western vs Asia (perhaps more specifically ‘East Asia’ and those closely related) thought, Dan you would know more than I do. Nevertheless, the use of culture in an effective manner it can add another level of depth to a body of work. Hisaji Hara’s work on emulating the Balthus paintings for example, I can’t speak for others but what stood out for me was how he translated the work into another culture with the use of people, location and costume (cultures were blended at other times too). There was more to the photos than simply just being recreations of the paintings, and the choices made in those aspects carried their own voice.
What worked about Hara’s Balthus series (great example!) was precisely his depth of engagement with the originals, enough to get beyond simple resemblance or Asia/West distinctions and work towards a more full reinterpretation.
“Coverage” doesn’t seem like the right way of thinking about this, as if your style has to fit into some college survey course. I’d like to think the point of knowing about what came before is less about finding a niche, and more about learning about what others have done in order to be challenged to develop your style even further – and save time by not having to reinvent what already been achieved.
P.s. these dialogical posts are great : )
Even though [whatever art movements] will always have wiggle room to explore within, there is a problem when being unaware of what came before for one, limits your scope of what can be done and two, that potentially a project too similar is repeated. On the other hand as a “western” movement the cultural differences a Japanese photographer could bring could be enough to develop an interesting project even without prior knowledge. Still, isn’t this the point where someone says to the person in question “Hey, you might want to check this out”?