Prescott Moore Lassman, a Washington, D.C. based artist, participates in the Artists Interview Artists Project. Below Prescott responds to another artist's five questions (Mary Hackett from Culver City, CA). In order to participate, Prescott had to provide me with five questions for some other artist to answer. The assigning of questions to artists is completely random. If you're an artist and interested in participating, let me know.
1. Have you ever gotten to a point where you feel like you're cranking out work, using comfortable strategies, or do you tend to purposely work in a manner that leaves more room for chance, and possibly, failure?
I would love to have the problem of feeling like I'm cranking out work. These days, my problem is actually the opposite -- I'm struggling to find time to work on my art as much as I would like. But I know what you mean. I have gotten into ruts where I'm just churning out photos, but none of them are any good. I remember that happening once in college, and I decided one day to stop tripping the shutter at the slightest provocation and wait for something really good to come along. I think I took 2 or 3 photos the entire day. And one of them still blows my mind 20 years later.
2. How do you feel about didactic panels in museums and galleries? Do you read them before or after looking at the work? Do they help you appreciate the art, or do you feel like they manipulate the relationship between the art and the viewer? Do you feel it necessary to explain your own work using text or an artist statement? Why or why not?
I like didactic panels in museums and galleries and usually read them before looking at the work. Since I have virtually no training in art or art history, I find them helpful -- or even necessary -- to appreciate the art. I prefer panels with historical information or information about the artist's life (I'm thinking of the recent Kertesz exhibit here). I find artist statements to be (usually) pretty useless. That's because, as I said on JT's site many months ago, the artist often does not know what is going on with his or her own art, so the artist's explanation oftentimes is just made-up bullshit. I find that for my work and others it's often more enlightening to gain the insight of somebody other than the artist, especially somebody who is very articulate about visual art.
3. How do you define success, and what keeps you going?
That's a loaded question. There are lots of different levels of "success." On a strictly personal level, i define success as taking and printing a photograph that resonates for me. I love going back to those resonant photographs and trying to figure out why they resonate. On a more "professional" level, I define success as getting my photographs displayed in public, either in print or in exhibitions, and seeing if they resonate for others. I've got a day job that I likely will not leave, so selling my photographs is not a huge goal (though it's always nice when it happens). But ultimately I would like to work my way up to getting my photographs in museum collections and/or publishing a book of my photographs. I've got a few ideas kicking around, and getting a book published will probably be my next big goal.
4. Do you troll through art blogs on a regular basis and if so, has it broadened your sense of community?
Yes and yes. I troll way more than I should, but I think it's worth it because it has made me think alot about my own art and I've also met some great people and great artists through these blogs.
5. What are some fun facts about you that may or may not be directly related to your art?
I'm a lawyer. Oh wait, you said "fun" facts. Ok, I've got a master's in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. I studied Carl Jung in grad school and view my photography as a Jungian exercise in synchronicity. I've noticed that many of my best pictures are preceded by very strange animal behavior -- usually birds. For instance, the picture I mentioned above that still blows me away was preceded by a picture of a chickadee sitting on a stump and allowing people to walk right up to it without flying away. I don't recall seeing anything similar before or since. I took a picture of the bird but also interpreted it as a sign that I should stop and go back and take the other picture. I'm really glad I did. Even though I've got some great new cameras, my favorite is the one I've had since college -- a Canon AE-1 Program. I'm beginning to have problems figuring out what to do with all of my photographs.
Previous Interviews:
Juno Doran (questions by James W. Bailey)
Josh Feldman (questions by Joseph Barbaccia)
Lisa Stephenson (questions by Whitney Lynn)
Joseph Barbaccia (questions by Josh Feldman)
James W. Bailey (questions by Matt Hollis)
Matt Hollis (questions by Juno Doran)
Carol Es (questions by James Leonard)
Alexandra Silverthorne (questions by Ami Lahoff)
Christine Buckton Tillman (questions by Carol Es)
Douglas Witmer (questions by Alexandra Silverthorne)
Sky Pape (questions by Douglas Witmer)
Whitney Lynn (questions by Lisa Stephenson)
Heather Levy (questions by Joanne Greenbaum)
Heather Lowe (questions by Samantha Wolov)
Samantha Wolov (questions by Heather Levy)
Timothy McClellan (questions by Heather Lowe)
James Leonard (questions by Sky Pape)
Joanne Greenbaum (questions by Timothy McClellan)
Richard Kooyman (questions by Robert Walton)
Candy Keegan (questions by Warren Craghead)
Robert Walton (questions by Candy Keegan)
John M. Adams (questions by Richard Kooyman)
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