Perked

All photos by Richard Perkins except the Jack Keruoac by Allen Ginsberg.

Local Artiste Richard Perkins premiered a photo exhibit at A Latte Cafe on Friday night. I love his work on his blog, Parachute Full of Forks, and got more familiar with it a few months ago when I scoured his various websites to feature him as a Friday Featured Artist for AltDaily. I particularly like how he incorporates poetry and photography (he's since also been a Featured Poet at AltDaily).

Just a hipster taking pics of his hipster friends and writing around the edges...

When we put him up as a Featured Artist, some of the feedback from the online commentators was that his work was amateurish and nothing more than a hipster taking pictures of his hipster friends. Well, while this is true, does this make it any less artistic? I defended him at the time by comparing his work to an Allen Ginsberg exhibit I'd just seen in DC's National Gallery of Art. Documenting the truth of the situation and making it pretty, ugly, odd, etc--that's what art is.

The thing is, when I go to Richard's blog, the combination of all the photos together, sometimes linked with random statements written somewhere between prose and dada, I get it. It's youthful and dirty and trying and sometimes it's wrong but most of the time it's right.

So, I was excited, stoked even, to hit up A Latte last Friday to see his exhibit. Not sure what I thought upon arrival. There were a couple of awesome pictures. One big frame with a small pic--the extra space used for creative writing. I especially liked the one they used for the invite:

After a quick walk around, though, I wasn't feeling it. And I hate to say that, because I really really like his stuff. Maybe it was the framing? Or the juxtaposition that works so so well online doesn't work on real walls? Maybe A Latte just isn't the right venue, with its arts & crafts vibe and vintage bookshelves? I couldn't put a finger on it, but knew if this had been just some show I walked into without knowing about the artist, I wouldn't have dug it at all. I told Adam, "Seriously, wait til you see this stuff online, it's so much better."

What does that mean? Can art exist solely online? How can one transition the pairings of multiple pictures to solo prints that lose the core of their meaning when separated from the rest of the night they were taken? I'm not sure and I'm certainly not giving up on Richard Perkins as a photographer or as an exhibitionist in various forms of creative expression. I think this was one of his first shows, and, you know, it shows. Can't wait for the next one though.