Dog Walk Philosophy: The Art We Never See
I walk my dog every morning. Most mornings we walk pretty much the same route. So I decided to give myself a challenge. Find something unique along the path I tread daily and take a photo. Somedays there will be something genuinely new. Others I will have to find a way to shoot the mundane with a new perspective.
Sometimes I wonder about creations that we will never see. The creations that either eroded over time or the ones hidden in basements and attics. There are likely more Vivian Maiers in the world than Gordon Parks.
I imagine the internet has made it so that the undiscovered are now the overlooked, but art is such a disposable commodity that the results are the same.
The question becomes how does it matter to you that your work be recognized? Does it have to be recognized while you are alive?
I have a distinct fear of the world not knowing who I was when I die. I don’t need Beyoncé levels of recognition but some future hipster saying “I followed Shane Paul Neil’s work before it was cool.”
A cadre of people who appreciate and pass along my work would make me happy. Even better would be my work being adapted into newer art.
I can’t live forever but the idea of my work being immortal makes life worth living.
