“Belief is Only as Strong as the Believer”
by Don Gregorio Antón
I hope that you will forgive me for not providing you the standard bio you would expect in an article. I do not wish to disrespect you nor the interest 180 has permitted me. Their sincere dedication to furthering the discourse on photography has led me to you and I have but a few moments to share my thoughts before you move on to something else. Simply put, who I am and what I have felt can be found in what I’ve made. It is easy as that to find those thoughts still fresh in the work, all the clues are there. They speak of how I have been rather than where I’ve been. But what is far more important than this is in how we look at anything and for this I hope you will allow me your patience.
You may be wondering what I am trying to say. Well, let’s look at this way, maybe you are a student. Your eyes are still bright with the potential you have found through the lens. You are looking at this web site in search of someone who speaks your language. Someone who has created something that touches you deeply, something that is close to what you own. This is a great and significant gesture you are making and you should not take it for granted. Your inquisitiveness is of vital importance, it is helping you to build your own unique understanding. It is what will lead you to what you are meant to discover and allow you the possibility of seeing what only you can create. For this, your truth is essential. Not the one you were taught or the one you borrowed out of fear, but the one that speaks directly to who you are. By the way, this is not an easy thing to do. Just remember not to confuse yourself with others, not to make art that looks like art. What you already posses is far more important than that.
You see, we take much of this for granted and over time many become skeptical of the seeing process and grow weary. When this happens some begin to compare their creativity to those around them, they obsess over the business that surrounds the art. They wonder why certain works are published, why others are exhibited, why everyone seems to be copying every one else. In time, some begin to doubt the significance of their own work. They become disillusioned and often bitter. Soon they do far less of what they once loved most. This is hard to avoid for some of us but not for all and this should not deter you. Any image is just another form of the person who makes it, and since there is no one else like you, how will we know what there is still left to learn?
All I can say is that you have the potential to understand this. You have the chance to be aware of the complexities that often allow us to believe in our own limitations. Your camera is uniquely poised to help you with this, but it will all depend in how you hold it. Belief is only as strong the believer. I cannot tell you how to do this, but I will share with you what holding it close has meant to me.
It has explained in detail that we reflect ourselves in everything, that life lives us and that we live our perceptions of it. That who and what we are, is reflected in every shape that defines our interests. It is not in what we see, but in how we see anything that creates meaning and depth. It has taught me to be courageous, something not always stressed in schools. To believe in what is uniquely mine, and how crucial it is to add myself to whatever I come into contact with for learning to take place. It has described in detail that art, is never finished by the artist, but waits only for the viewer to complete it. It has patiently taught me that meaning has its own unique velocity and movement in each of us and that there is no mystery that surrounds anything that does not require a part of us for it to unfold.
These few lessons have taught me not to relinquish myself, but to believe in eyes like yours. Eyes capable of seeing below the surface of things that will reflect their meaning so that others may find their own. This is all I really care about, all that really matters in a bio.
I thank you for your patience in reading this. If I might be of some use to you now or in the future, please contact me at dga2@humboldt.edu. I will not have your answers, but I will have my own and maybe that is something we can talk about. What is really important is not knowing all the answers, but knowing your questions and how to ask them of yourself. From this you will have something truly unique to share.
180 Magazine
180 is a reflection of the combined vision of Kim Taylor and George Qua-Enoo. The magazine has a focus on the artist and the process of creation. They are committed to the support of new photographers and illustrators who have a distinctive vision, and established artists who have intensely personal work. While 180 magazine usually presents the work of invited guests in each issue, they are happy to look at the work of new artists, writers and book reciews.
