More Than a Rock, 2nd Edition

1The Mission of Art

It’s easy to rediscover part of yourself, but through art you can be shown part of yourself you never knew existed. That’s the real mission of art.

—Bill Evans

I’ve often been accused of taking my work too seriously. Understandably, many who practice photography as a fun hobby or as distraction from less rewarding impositions may be reluctant to overthink it. As a friend jokingly expressed, “why ruin a perfectly good hobby?” In truth, I never made the conscious choice to pursue photographic art as seriously as I do, just as I never made the conscious choice to limit art’s role in my life to being simply a satisfying hobby. I just followed where photography led me until I realized somewhere along the way that it had ceased ...