Comments on: Tomasz Lazar – Theater of Life https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/ burn is an online feature for emerging photographers worldwide. burn is curated by magnum photographer david alan harvey. Sat, 18 Jun 2016 11:12:11 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.4 By: Zisis Kardianos https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102922 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:10:34 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102922 I like the photos, a lot. The statement seems irrelevant.
The theater of life is a broad subject but then again numerous excellent projects/essays/books have a broad, all-encompassing subject on their title.

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By: billy_mac https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102635 Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:31:57 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102635 Hi all,

Firstly, congrats to the Burn team for a great initiative. Thanks for supporting budding young photographers.

Next: Tomazs, I really like some of the images. Some of the others on your site caught my eye too.
Keep going bro, your images are inventive and full of life. Not many people out there can genuinely say that.

I thought I’d mention that this project reminds me a bit of the excellent ‘Dream / Life’ by Trent Parke, viewable on the Magnum site. Check it out mate, if you haven’t already.

Regarding the personal statement, I do agree that perhaps it could be narrowed/focused a bit -maybe it is a bit too wide. But personal statements are tough, and I feel it does make better sense as part of the longer edit.

Keep up the good work guys, it is SO good to see these projects. Fascinating.
Billy

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By: Andrew Wiese https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102486 Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:20:23 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102486 Some great images — I like the website edit better, but hey. Thanks for featuring the series, and congratulations Tomasz.

As an aside, there seems to be a strong strain of thought in the comments that any concept must be narrative, descriptive and simple. This risks coming off in some places as anti-intellectual. Interesting concepts and real stories are fuzzy, complex and mostly impossible to convey completely or perfectly. Insisting on neatness and a perfect fit insults a thinking audience the way Hollywood films generally do.

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By: Frostfrog https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102467 Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:02:23 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102467 On this one, I went back to my old practice of looking at the images before reading the text. I greatly enjoyed the images. They all spoke their own little stories to me. Excellent.

Afterwards, I did read the text. I thought this line particularly true and relevant:

“I get pleasure from every moment of being with people and the possibility of taking pictures.”

Yes, Tomasz, you do, you rose to the possibility, hit it and I can see it.

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By: jbnightingale https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102407 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:18:05 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102407 I admit rushing to judgment here as well. At first I was simply lost as to the connection between image and statement, however, after viewing the original edit on your website, I get it. I think this is not a failure in artist statement, and certainly not intent, but simply editing for Burn Magazine.

This tighter edit is to be commended for a concise and awe-inspiring point of view – but not for the title nor intent. This edit is much more about theater – not mass media. It is a tragedy filled with choreographed climax and soliloquy. It is as if each actor knew their part and took it over-the-top. Congrats on making this feeling so palpable – quite a beautiful edit indeed! That said, other commentators are corrected: This edit and this statement have a disconnect, which threatens not only your statement and intent, but ultimately, your images.

After viewing the full edit – a stunning testament to your abilities – I see the digital/mass media/technology aspect in full, and appreciate the series in a totally different light.

What a fantastic lesson in editing and artist statement! It would be a true pleasure to leave these images to each viewer’s own interpretation (with the title alone – what a title it is!) and leave the words aside. I think so often images need to be left alone – no caption, no statement – simply a personal visual understanding of the world.

Congrats Tomasz, on an amazing series and the debate you have unknowingly triggered!

P.S. Ouch, just finished reading some of the comments, I hope you take them for what they are – everyone here is a critic, few could put together such a beautiful series or statement! Keep shooting!

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102394 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:08:32 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102394 Here we have images and a statement the photographer has chosen to do that and it would be a disservice to ignore either. Maybe it is because the images are so strong that they are at odds with the text makes the whole thing work on a robust level.

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102393 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:58:03 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102393 Explaining intent is a wonderful learning tool for all helps our understanding In the distance Mick punches Ian we hear a sound Mick yells out “Bastard” ………… things are starting to get clearer to the bystanders.

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By: Carlo https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102392 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:49:28 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102392 Imants,

you just reminded me of George Bernard Shaw:

“Animals are my friends…and I don’t eat my friends.”

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By: Akaky https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102390 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:45:12 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102390 THE OFFICIAL BURN MAGAZINE WRITING WORKSHOP FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:

1. Keep it short.

2. Keep it simple.

3. If your artist’s statement sounds like you are patting yourself on the back, you are. Stop stroking your ego and rewrite the statement without the testimonial. People want to know about your work, not how wonderful you are.

4. If your biography sounds like your mother could have written it, stop and rewrite. No one is interested in your mom’s opinion of your life, except when she brings up the really embarrassing crap you don’t want anyone to know. That’s always a hoot.

5. Avoid the passive voice. Politicians invented the passive voice to avoid taking responsibility for their actions; if you use the passive voice, you are on the side of Wall Street and The Man. Deal with it.

6. Lay off the adjectives and the adverbs, which is always something I have a problem with, to be honest. Write with nouns and verbs.

7. Have something to say. That always helps.

Follow the advice above and you will grow rich and be successful with women. Really. And AKAKY IRL will not shoot you.

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By: mw https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102389 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:41:26 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102389 Imants, no, I think long and hard about the intent of my (non-journalistic) work but feel the work itself is the statement. Maybe it has something to do with being more from a literary background than a photographic one, but I can’t help but feel that explaining one’s intent is somewhat tacky. The narrative should be interesting enough that the audience wants to figure it out, as we see with Thomasz’s work.

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102388 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:29:32 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102388 Thanks Carlo it is a work in progress not my usual way of working. I started with 29 blank pages and gradually places text and visuals rearrange reset etc over a period of time. The work is based on the idea of consumption ofmeat and why we eat “named friends” the non human kind. It works as a book but I am not sure whether it will be the case digitally so I am traveling this path

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By: Pete Marovich https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102387 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:25:09 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102387 Oh god… here we go.

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102386 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:17:37 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102386 mw so you would not even ask yourself before you take some photos create a narrative….. This is what intend to do. Working from a complete vacum? are we

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By: Carlo https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102385 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:15:32 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102385 off topic….

Imants, I really like what you have up in your page right now!
the blank pages…the anticipation…the clues….it put me on edge.
The crow.

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By: Mike R https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102384 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:14:34 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102384 Gordon, educational; Imants, illuminating.

Artist / photographer …. photographer / artist?

Room for everyone here, artist statement optional; everyone welcome.

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By: mw https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102383 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:00:39 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102383 I find myself horrified by the idea that it is necessary to make a statement of intent about a work of art, especially a narrative work of art. Novelists rarely, if ever, make a statement of intent about their work and if they do it comes in an interview somewhere, not on the bleeding book jacket. I don’t see why this kind of thing should be any different. The work itself is the statement of intent. And maybe the title or other associated text provides a clue.

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102382 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:30:37 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102382 Sidney maybe you could assist with some images of your own a link perhaps.It would give one an insight and understanding into your aesthetic and conceptual stance. That helps to see where you are coming from

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102381 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:26:07 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102381 Art schools education institutions use artists statements as a learning /teaching tool not a means to an end. Galleries use them to inform the public most of whom are not immersed in the art world and have little contact with art language, sure it is not always successful but assists more than detracts from the work. A lot of the statements can be wrong and disconnected from the work but that is how an artist learns by questioning and trying to understand what/ how/why they are presenting it to the audience. The work here is for an audience not for the sole viewing by the photographer otherwise it would not be here.

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By: Gordon Lafleur https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102380 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:14:52 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102380 Theatrum mundi..from wikipedia

The Theatrum mundi ( large theater in the world in French ) is a Baroque concept which inspired many writers of France , of Italy and of Spain ‘s Golden Age , which began at the end of the XVI th century in the Peninsula Iberian .

Things all play a role, consciously or unwillingly, on the main stage of the world and are puppets whose strings are pulled by the great watchmaker, the demiurge of the work that is reality or fiction such as “the Creator “double figure of God and the author in The Grand Theatre in the world of Pedro Calderon de la Barca , or the mage Alcandre of L’Illusion comique by Pierre Corneille , two characters from which laid the baroque tragedians questions of divine power supernatural or the director, as the Almighty.

It should be seen reading the world through drama and staging. The actor and the character played by the latter reflect the very image of the viewer is already lured a player in the universe. The process of mise en abyme could serve this central idea of the tragi-comedy show that gives no less than three realities embedded into each other. As a result, the actor is seen by a spectator himself stared at by another witness, and so on.

This metaphor is rooted in the ancient Greek thinkers, especially in Epictetus . Thus, in his interviews , Epictetus introduced the concept of role for the man in the world, a role that man should not go beyond that and provides for him as a duty to the gods (There is also the metaphor of theatrical mask).

We find this baroque allegory into the great tragi-comedy of the XVII th century , in The True Saint-Genest of Rotrou Jean particular.

Shakespeare conveys this same idea in his work, as illustrated by these quotes:

“The whole world’s a stage /
And all men and women merely players that /
And our life we ​​play many roles. ”
As You Like It
or:

“I want this world to what it is: a theater where everyone must play its part.”
The Merchant of Venice

I’d was not familiar with this term

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By: Imants https://www.burnmagazine.org/essays/2011/11/tomasz-lazar-theater-of-life/#comment-102379 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:13:56 +0000 http://www.burnmagazine.org/?p=10234#comment-102379 Artists statements are very important on a site like burn and is not about pretentious stuff it is a means by which the artist is able to understand his/her intentions in creating the work, gauge its success as a piece of work via audience response and if needed give the audience direction if they feel a need to clarify their intentions.
In this case Tomasz saw fit to give a statement of intent as it is a work in progress and he states that there is further development to come not a completed piece.
Sidney don’t turn it into a personal attack on me as a person as you have in the above it is about the work presented. This is your statement “I learned from the early days of BURN to not even try to read the artists’ statements.” and that is what I am responding to.

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