James Hampton an American Man

[Skittlebisquit]

The story of J Hampton is tragic and poingant and bitter sweet. He was a lonely man, and poor. He was an artist in found media. He died in obscurity, but a free man, and proud of his humble career, by which he supported himself.

I was trying to learn today about empathy. This story is moving to me. I strongly identify with the inspired misfit, who keeps doing his work, for it's own sake.

I want to reach back through the mists of time and say to him, something to validate his work. Or give him some materials or tools to work with. He was very secretive in life. After he died miracles happened, and his work was preserved, and venerated even.

J Hampton is my hero in many ways. I strive for excellence in my work. I mostly keep it private or it remains misunderstood. I am too much the coward to self promote, i hide my light under a basket.

What if you wrote a great masterpiece, but never tried to publish and it was only ever a dusty box of old notebooks left in an attic? What if you painted portraits on the walls of an old barn?

I find the story deeply moving and oddly compelling, it changes me seeing it. Its a story about a mans faith, in a vision or visions and making the dream into reality by any means necessary.

This first video is the sad story of a great American, narrated by someone who speaks sweetly. It is a kind and compassionate review of a sad and lonely artist,

WHO NEVER GAVE UP NO MATTER WHAT

This one is a short video of the mans life work on display at a museum.

 

[Sherlock77]

I'll take a closer look tomorrow, sounds intriguing...

Perhaps another similar story is the story of Vivian Maier, a master photographer whose work was only discovered just before she died in a nursing home... http://www.vivianmaier.com/about-vivian-maier/

 

[Raggamuffin]

I can relate somewhat. All the hundreds of hours spent making my pictures, and after they're framed they're just stored away in a cupboard to gather dust.

I've tried to self promote, but it's come to nothing, and cost me thousands in materials, adverts and website fees etc. The idea of never making it, and only being recognised after my death sounds like a nightmare to me.

Then again, if you keep trying and failing - it's very easy for outsiders to say "don't give up" but those words don't help, if anything they just add to the burden and self doubt. They also seem to often praise my work and say things like "you should really sell that".

Would it were so simple.

Ed

 

[Sherlock77]

I can relate somewhat. All the hundreds of hours spent making my pictures, and after they're framed they're just stored away in a cupboard to gather dust.

I've tried to self promote, but it's come to nothing, and cost me thousands in materials, adverts and website fees etc. The idea of never making it, and only being recognised after my death sounds like a nightmare to me.

Then again, if you keep trying and failing - it's very easy for outsiders to say "don't give up" but those words don't help, if anything they just add to the burden and self doubt. They also seem to often praise my work and say things like "you should really sell that".

Would it were so simple.

Ed

I feel a bit the same way sometimes, although I haven't tried that hard to promote myself and my photography, I do get lots of compliments from people but ultimately my favourite kind of photography (street photography) isn't very marketable compared to some other genres, but I don't let that bother me because that is what I enjoy the most for my own personal well being...
And I think my struggle with networking and social skills holds me back a little at times...

 

[Raggamuffin]

Yeah, I get told my psychedelic drawings aren't very marketable either. But I do them, and draw from my imagination as I was forever bored stiff by portraits and still life pictures that was the set menu in every art class in school.

Networking - I get you. I love the idea of having a network of friends who are creatives and such like. In truth, I often feel intimidated around other artists, rather than feeling like I'm "one of them". But as with many things in life - it's often down to who you know. The right person at the right time etc - I still hold onto that salvation fantasy.

Especially in this day and age, where people doing inane things online are millionaires, and vapid airheads have millions of social media followers - I think to myself, surely now is a better time than ever to make it. What is it to "make it" though? You see these impressionist paintings selling for multi-millions, but these, and many artists throughout history often never enjoyed the "good life" and yet, they lived for their art and they were true to that. Perhaps it's a modern phenomena to wish to not just make a living from your passion - but to have it bestow a very comfortable life upon you.

Ed

 

[watersprite]

Then again, if you keep trying and failing - it's very easy for outsiders to say "don't give up" but those words don't help, if anything they just add to the burden and self doubt. They also seem to often praise my work and say things like "you should really sell that".

....heard this so many times.

it’s the same tired old and fundamentally destructive nonsense that runs through human societies.

Instead of seeing and understanding the work and who we are really, all they can respond with is cookie cutter typical socially approved ****.
Unless you’re selling & making $ then you are a failure.
Unless you agree with and work on producing a likeable product then you are a loser.
Finally they think they can tell you “why don’t you use your talent properly.”

 

[Sherlock77]

I just watched the video this morning... By the definition of James Hampton, I'm not an "outsider" artist by a long stretch, but history is full of at least a few other people like him as they mention at the end of the first video... And I do see they did mention Vivian Maier

But many creative people, most creative people do "their thing" in relative obscurity

Vivian Maier? Her photography was done in the classic age of street photography (1950's, 1960's), and that was a popular genre then, except that she never shared any of it... There is more to the story, including that she likely had a fairly major mental illness governing how she acted... It was just simple chance that John Maloof found her photos at a storage locker auction because she stopped paying the rent, as she was now in a nursing home at that point...

 

[Skittlebisquit]

I hear you, i grew up around the same indoctrination paradigm. To be an artist i was told one had to sell thier work. I grew up thinking that and it's a crippling concept.

I have an alternate definition of artist that I like better. An artist is someone compelled to do art, we just cant stop. I will draw on anything around me, with whatever I have to use. An artist needs to do art, they cant help it.

 

[Sherlock77]

I hear you, i grew up around the same indoctrination paradigm. To be an artist i was told one had to sell thier work. I grew up thinking that and it's a crippling concept.

I have an alternate definition of artist that I like better. An artist is someone compelled to do art, we just cant stop. I will draw on anything around me, with whatever I have to use. An artist needs to do art, they cant help it.

I agree

If I did nature or wildlife photography I would be far more popular... If I went to the mountains every weekend to take pretty (soothing) landscape photos I would be far more popular (and I do live very close to Banff National Park)

Instead I do street photography, which is far less popular around here... And I love moody photography, on occasion a walk through an old school industrial on a cold winter day, which won't soothe people as much as a mountain landscape... But I just have to be me, no matter what...

And to clarify, I do go to natural settings sometimes, just rarely take photos when I'm in them, I will just enjoy the view with my eyes alone...

 

[Judge]

I agree

If I did nature or wildlife photography I would be far more popular... If I went to the mountains every weekend to take pretty (soothing) landscape photos I would be far more popular (and I do live very close to Banff National Park)

That's a stunning place! Banff, Lake Louise....and in any season. Yeah, that's gotta be frustrating at times in focusing on other unrelated subjects.

Forgot about the distance from Calgary....what maybe an hour and a half away? Just about the same for me from Lake Tahoe. Funny to think the few decent pictures I took while on those trips were never of Lake Tahoe.

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

 

[Sherlock77]

That's a stunning place! Banff, Lake Louise....and in any season. Yeah, that's gotta be frustrating at times in focusing on other unrelated subjects.

Forgot about the distance from Calgary....what maybe an hour and a half away? Just about the same for me from Lake Tahoe. Funny to think the few decent pictures I took while on those trips were never of Lake Tahoe.

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise | Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

99.9% of Calgary photographers do mostly mountain related photography, I'm the .01% that goes against the grain, and I am generally okay with that most of the time...

 

[Sherlock77]

....heard this so many times.

it’s the same tired old and fundamentally destructive nonsense that runs through human societies.

Instead of seeing and understanding the work and who we are really, all they can respond with is cookie cutter typical socially approved ****.
Unless you’re selling & making $ then you are a failure.
Unless you agree with and work on producing a likeable product then you are a loser.
Finally they think they can tell you “why don’t you use your talent properly.”

That's because most of the world is driven by formulas, and the idea of conforming to certain norms, even in the artistic world... To break out and do something different is being very brave and is very challenging...