FALL COLOR IN THE ADOBE HILLS SW COLORADO

2008

When fall arrives in Montrose, CO, I am always ready to head out to the adobe hills. It offers all manner of photographic posibilities, and I am only two or three miles away by road.

This is a digital image of an old cottonwood tree and the clouds moved in and solved the blank sky problem. All the elements fell into place, and I returned home with some real nice color.

As you progress into my blog, you will discover many more images showing the stunning fall color in the San Juan Range to the south of us, and the Cimarron Range to the east.

Don't forget to left click on the image. It will bring up a larger and sharper one.

Jack Jeffers - THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP 1970

The previous entry featured my daughter Hilary. This one will feature my son John.

Backpacking and canoeing used to be my primary activities and this trip to Lake Drummond went into the books as one of our best. Lake Drummond is located right dead center in the Dismal Swamp, and the ideal time to take a canoe trip into such a place is during the late fall when the leaves are changing and the mornings are crisp and comfortable. I have always had a difficult time with high temperatures and humidity, and that is one of the reasons I headed west following my early retirement.

Finding a dry place to camp in the swamp is always a bit of a problem, but we managed to find a spot to pitch our tent. I often slept in my old kayak when taking long trips with the Boy Scouts, but this time we roughed it on dry leaves and soft ground with a light plastic tarp to keep us dry. In those days my camera pack was fairly light and the kayak was the perfect means for maneuvering into places to make exposures.

This image of John just sorta happened. As I recall, fishing was poor to nil in that lake, but we gave it a try. We did catch a few perch along the entry canal and that provided us with at least one nice meal. John was standing out on that log along about dinner time and I could not resist making several exposures on a roll of Kodachrome. This was my choice of the lot, and that transparency is as good today as it was forty years ago.

Adventures such as this stick in your mind, and the image brings back fond memories from the old days.

I can remember another camping trip to Buggs Ialand Lake near Clarksville, VA, shortly after the lake was completed. I was crusing along with a double bladed paddle when I spotted a pretty good size snake out near the middle of the upper lake. At my present pace, we would likely come pretty close to one another. I pushed it a little harder just to see the critter a little better and I got to the crossing point first. That blasted snake darn near jumped into the kayak with me. He literally made a jump to get over the kayak, and I quickly pushed it off with the blade of the paddle. I never could tell exactly what kind of snake it was. It could have been a water snake or quite possibly a cotton mouth. They are both short tempered. I have heard that the cottonmouth might range inland that far, but who knows. It was another memorable moment on a beautiful trip up the lake.

To view a larger image, left click on the photograph

OLD RAG MOUNTAIN 1972

WHAT CONSTITUTES A FAVORITE?

In this case, the young girl sitting on a rock atop Old Rag Mountain turns this image into one of my most memorable.

The Skyline Drive weaves its way through the Shenandoah National Park in the background.

The youngster is my daughter and she must be about seven or eight, I would guess. She joined me on this day trip, and with walking sticks in hand, we hiked to the top of this beautiful mountain in northern Virginia. Hilary even had her small back pack, and I carried my old Yashica Mat two and a quarter camera. This was my first 2 1/4 camera, and it provided me with the art to produce my first book.

This image later appeared on the front cover of National Parks and Conservation Magazine. I believe that was the name at the time. It just seems like a long time ago. The edition of fifty originals sold out rapidly during several of my early art shows. It was an image that people could relate to.

In 1973, I published WINDOWS TO THE BLUE RIDGE, and the Washington Post picked up the story and ran a major feature on my documentary of the mountain people. That article resulted in a sell-out of the first four thousand books in one week. I then followed with a reprint of five thousand copies which lasted for about a year. I did not pay one thin dime for advertising. I had approached several publishers about taking on the project, but they all told me that a regional book like this would never sell. Well....go figure!

I recently noted that some of these early books are showing up on the Internet in used book stores.

To view a larger image of the above, left click on the image.

JACK JEFFERS MAJOR DONATION TO ASU

MOUNTAIN MAN

Mountain Man is one of over six hundred original silver prints that were recently donated to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.

This is the largest donation that I have ever made, and it represents the core of my Appalachian Project which covered a period of nearly forty years.

The objective was to keep the collection intact so that it could be enjoyed by future generations who will appreciate a documentary of bygone days throughout the Appalachians. The collection is noted for both it's historic and artistic merit.

It was a tough decision, but I chose ASU because of its location and their established programs relating to the Appalachian area as a whole.

The image of Mountain Man took one of the most satisfying awards of my career. It was the first fine art photograph to take a best in show in a multi-media art show. It happened in 1972, and I had to take on the art league single handed before they would allow what they considered an "unacceptable medium" to stand beside painters, sculptors and other media.

This win dramatically raised the acceptance level of fine art photography, but for me personally, it became a cause that supported my belief that a photograph was as much a work of fine art as other media.

Over the years, I continued to put my art where my mouth was, and I took many more best in shows before retiring from printmaking in 2005.

I was also one of the first fine art photographs to number my originals. Each image was signed, numbered and documented by me personally.

To view a larger image of Mountain Man, left click on the above image.

JACK JEFFERS, IS IT ART? ©2001

IS IT ART?

An Opinion

I wrote this short essay back in 2001 following a controversy in a well-read art magazine. This was in answer to the controversy that resulted from one of the magazine's covers, disliked by many readers, one of whom described it as "a swirl of green vomit." An established artist wrote that it was "outright garbage." Another, that it was "anything but art." Many readers questioned whether it was "good" art or "bad" art. On balance, opinion was about evenly divided between whether it was or wasn't art at all.

On the heels of this controversy came the Brooklyn Museum exhibition of British art, which included items that caught the attention of national news media when New York Mayor Rudy Giuilliani threatened to cut off the museum's funding. The storm focused on two pieces: A "painting" of the Virgin Mary smeared with elephant dung, and a collage of "private parts." Other "works of art" included dissected animals in formaldehyde and a sympathetic portrait of a murderer of children.

Several months later, the showing of a photograph at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts raised a stink. It was a graphic image of children urinating.

A year earlier, a prestigious New York auction house offered "major collectibles" that included freestanding toilets. Adulatory press reviews resulted in a sell-out.

The showing of Apocalypse at the Royal Academy of Arts in London was described by The Times of London as art that "belongs in a horror show." The exhibits include children's toys made out of excrement and the image of a dead Pope. The offerings are no less disturbing.

On February 16,2001 we had another "shock art" show at the Brooklyn Museum of fine art. People flocked to view this latest hit.

As a working artist, I have followed art trends for thirty years. I long since concluded that sensationalism has triumphed over decency.

In New York's Museum of Modern Art, I viewed the infamous Piss Christ, a crucifix half-submerged in a bowl of urine. At the other end of vacuity, there was a blank canvas. (A portrait, perhaps, of the artist's mind.)

Before that, we were treated to Mapplethorpe's photographs of penises, scrotums, and the acts of sodomy. One wonders, from what lunatic asylum did their buyers escape?

When I approached the director of the gallery displaying Mapplethorpe and showed him my portfolio, his exact words were: "Hey, man! What we want in New York is sex. Your stuff is old-fashioned and out-of-date." I cheerfully concede the point. Where is the line between "freedom of expression" and decency? Do museum directors erase it when they display as art what most of us consider obscene? Women as well as men lace conversation with such words as f_ck and sh_t. Do art museums reflect, or contribute to, indecency?

The National Endowment for the Arts, promoter of obscenity more than opera, clamors for tax dollars. Perhaps a public, which sanctions Piss Christ and a painting of the Virgin Mary smeared with dung, should pay up and shut up.

Asked what I think about such exhibitions, my reply is this:Is it art? The answer depends on your response to it, provided you can ignore the "critics." If you think its garbage, then it's garbage. Never mind the arbitrators of "artistic taste."

Book reviewers extol books (they are usually authors themselves, who expect reciprocal adulation), but the buying public makes a best seller. A critic may like or not like a play. The audience makes it a flop or a hit.

Graphic art is different. The museum or gallery director is the sole arbitrator. Whether "art" or not, it has the imprimatur of the "expert," and viewers must like it, or pretend to, lest they look foolish.

With marble floors and marble walls, with light emanating from above, museums are taken for temples. Whatever hangs on their walls or stands on their pedestals must therefore be art.

Or is it?

Jack Jeffers

JACK JEFFERS: TWO RARE BOOKS

TWO OF JEFFERS' BOOKS HAVE BECOME COLLECTIBLES.
Recently, while browsing through the Internet, I happened to check out Amazon.com and stumbled across a copy of APPALACHIAN IMAGES which was published by the Radford University Art Museum back in 2005. The book contains about a hundred images, including a sampling from my more recent Western Portfolio.

A short introduction about the collection was written by Richard A. Straw, Department of History, Radford University.

Only a couple hundred copies were printed and they went on sale during the opening of an exhibition at the university art gallery in 2006 featuring a collection of Jeffers' silver prints.

After noting a used-book price of $129, and a second copy for $142, it became evident that this book is now fetching rare book prices. I had carefully put a few of the remaining books aside following the exhibition, and at this point, I will offer the few remaining copies for $55 each plus five dollars to cover shipping. They have all been signed by the artist.

While I was making the search, I decided to type in APPALACHIAN BYWAYS by Jack Jeffers. Up came another list of copies of my second book which was published in 1984. They had also found their way into a number of book stores specializing in used and new books. Most of the five thousand copies had quickly sold out, but again, I put several boxes aside for future sales.

Heck, I'm not getting any younger, so I am now offering what is left of this printing for fifty dollars per book, and again, I have autographed them all. Five bucks will cover the postage. Each of these books is in mint condition.
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Order from info@jeffersfineart.com

To view a larger image of the two rare books click the image with left side of the mouse.

TREE LINE

Tree Line 2011

This image was made following a light snow and a touch of fog which eliminated the background distractions.

Note that this is a black and white image which is far superior to the color image from the exact same spot. Ah, the joy of black and white. In this case, color serves no constructive purpose.

I had spotted this image, just a half mile south of Montrose, Colorado, and every time we headed south, I took this site in as a "must do." The concept was overwhelmingly clear, and demanded that a capture would have to be made with specific weather conditions.

In my mind, I pictured a light snow with a washed-out background which would rid the image of the housing development which clearly stood out behind the trees. This concept had been on my hit list for a good two years, and when we started our day, I immediately knew what I had to do, so I headed out to make the capture before the fog and snow dissipated. Well, the snow had let up, but the fog in the background remained, and here is a prime example of pre-visualization at it's best.

To view the image in a larger format, left click on the image.