An ongoing theme in this blog is the exploration of the role intellect vs. emotion play in creative endeavors — a topic referenced in a 1996 radio interview I came across with late writer David Foster Wallace. This particular observation piqued my interest since it aptly describes the raison d'etre of much contemporary photography… indeed, art in general:
When you see student’s work where the point, whether it’s stated or not, is basically that they’re clever; and to try to articulate to the students how empty and frustrating it is for a reader to invest their time and attention in something that they feel the agenda is basically to show you that the writer’s clever.