2007: And Still No Flying Cars

I've started back at work once again. In case some of you don't know me, I'm a TV Producer. Trust me, it sounds way more interesting than it is. That's because though I love the documentary format, I don't really make documentaries. I make reality TV, which is an entirely different beast. Now you're probably thinking to yourself that I've sold my soul to the devil, and you may be right. Most reality shows are mere launching points for wannabe stars who indulge in narcissism and hubris. But what I like about what I do is that the format fits my short attention span very well. I get to learn things and then move on to something else. So now I'm working at a production company that wants to develop some ideas and they hired me to figure out it these ideas have the potential to become shows. One of their interests is a highschool baseball team. As some of you know, I did a sizzle reel for E! Entertainment on the softball pitcher Jennie Finch and her then-fiance Casey Daigle from the Arizona Diamondbacks - I called it Pitcher Perfect (my favorite title ever). Anyway it didn't get picked up.
Yet even with my past record of NOT successfully selling a baseball show, I now found myself spending most of the afternoon today at a highschool baseball field watching a group of sophmores and seniors practice. I learned some new things about baseball (which isn't hard considering I have, until now, remained blissfully ignorant of the sport). And now I am doing some heavy thinking about what kind of project I can make out of these kids and their lives. The creative process is a strange thing: part of it requires me to sit back and do other things while some portion of my brain is busily solving the artistic details. But of course it's a multi-layered process, so there is much revising. Here's an analogy: it's sort of like I've got a little granny up there and I just give her some material and close the door and when I've opened it up again, there she stands with a completed quilt in her tiny, wrinkled hands. I look at it and pretend I like what she made, and then I take all the material apart and reassemble it again into something I can actually use. Yep, that's the artist's process.

Robert Parke Harrison

For anyone who loves photography or great artwork, let me introduce you to Robert Parke Harrison. His work deals with the plight of the planet and man's relationship to it. He is a master of landscape - one in which the earth is represented by emotive objects that expunge the line between man and his world, yet masterfully suggest the chaos of his effect on it. Robert blends a variety of mediums together in unique ways; photography with sculptural, painted and performance elements all done in collage style. The work is evocative and layered without hitting you over the head with its message. His imagery is other-worldly, yet its nod to early photography is also evident. I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.

Photos courtesy of Robert Parke Harrison and http://www.decordova.org