Collage

An abstract color photograph featuring a spiraling white shape in the center of the frame. Around it, a series of off-white, comma-shaped marks radiate out from it.

The inconceivable improbability of your art

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Which is to say… your art is one in a million* <3 A special warm WELCOME to new subscribers: Charlie, Glenn, Patrick, and William, and a huge THANK YOU to all subscribers, old and new, for reading and being a part of this community. *I struggle with really big numbers; I can’t visualize a million. Hell, a thousand somethings is hard to picture without organizing it somehow in my mind. Like, how many stars can you see in the sky? (Five thousand, at best). How long is the average person alive? (Around 29 thousand days.) Contemplating a million? Forgetaboutit.  As … >>

An abstract color photograph featuring a blue plane on the bottom, a large white square near the top, and 5 white rectangle objects in the center of the image.

Quitters never win and other half-truths about art

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Or, “Should I stay [with my art] or should I go [make something else]?” A special warm WELCOME to new subscribers: Judy, Kristin, and Will. Thank you to Mark Foard (who writes I’ve Snapped) for recommending Viewfinder, and a huge THANK YOU to all subscribers, old and new, for reading and being a part of this community. In this issue: The Dip (Quitting vs. keep going) If you’ve been around the business world in the last 15 years, especially in technology and software, you’re probably familiar with one of the many variations of the graph above. I first encountered it … >>

A color photograph made with a low-angle, showing the ground (which is red and white concrete) and yellow stairs.

“Where is art?”, as answered by Brad Pitt

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Thoughts and a hypothesis about a question you’ve probably never asked. In this issue: Where is art? At one time or another, you may have heard the question, “What is art?”. Perhaps you’ve even given this some thought and have arrived at an answer that works for you. If you’ve read previous issues of Viewfinder, you know I have a working definition. Artists, academics, and contrarians enjoy this discussion because it’s complicated, highly subjective, and inflammatory. It’s difficult to define definitively. There’s really no one “right” answer (but many wrong ones). I’m not going to jump into that particular quagmire … >>