Weekend of Contrasts

Attended the National Photo Symposium held in The Bluecoat for a day of lectures and discussions. Amongst others was a fascinating talk by Raoul Eshelman on his theory of Performatism: Photography after Post Modernism! We learnt that irony in photography is out and beauty and transcendence is in ! One of us was glad this was the case and one of us was dismayed.

After a long day, with plenty of thinking, and chatting to other photographers, we were thrust into the hubbub of the Look 13 launch.  Tom discovered his coat was missing, believed pinched, and had to sit in the Bluecoat garden wearing a hat a scarf to keep warm (the chicken didn’t belong to him!). The coat was discovered later across a chair in the far corner of the room.

It was also Light Night, and we had a  crazy evening wandering across the city to many venues and ending up in Camp & Furnace for the after show party.

McCoy Wynne were one of the selected photographers whose work was shown as part of Made In Liverpool Projections at the launch party.

On Saturday morning Tom Wood’s rare discussion of his work was thought provoking and contemplative, in contrast to the partying the night before. His work raised issues, in our minds, about the balance of order and composition imposed on the real dis-ordered and chaotic world. The formalism of Cartier-Bresson seemed very mannered compared to the looser compositions of Tom photographs.

But we had to leave slightly early to photograph the serenity of the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra and the mud spattered fun of Mabs Magical Fair. We tried not be ironic and did our best to concentrate on beauty and transcendence !