Fever Dreams

C

onversation.

It took me a while, but I finally figured something out. I say that photography and music are very similar in approach. And, they are.

But.

There is one huge difference. One that matters most.

Conversation.

When a musician plays with another musician they create a musical conversation. They talk to each other through their instruments. Think about the famous guitar duels between, well, any couple of guitar players and you’ll understand.

Stephen Stills (his birthday yesterday) and Neil Young come to mind. Their duels are stuff of legend.

But, they are not duels. They are a musical conversation that has lasted almost 60 years. It’s probably one reason that they remain friends despite all the ups and downs of their various bands. Today, even though neither of them play live much, they seem very happy to see each other when they share a stage.

That, and age.

The things that seemed so very important in their youth don’t seem to matter much now.

Funny how that happens.

Conversation is important. That’s a large part of what fulfills you. Visual artists of any genre don’t have this. We mostly work in solitude. Sometimes with assistants, but mostly alone. Our fulfillment comes from the inside.

Doing that is hard.