PJ Sykes lecture

I thought PJ Sykes' visit to our class was pretty sweet. I say that because I was really interested to hear what he had to say versus what some of the people from the more formal VCU visiting artist lectures had to say. I remembered PJ from my very first 1st Fridays art walk that I attended in Richmond. I had gone in a bunch of the galleries on broad street and when I was coming out of one of them, there PJ was just outside with a small table set up with an assortment of his photographs. Its funny to me, knowing his interest in music, to see the way he displayed his work. He had them arranged in these bins like albums in a music shop. Its cool that PJ has his roots here in Richmond and isn't in a rush to move onward. That's not nearly the path for me but his dedication is commendable.

Considering that I was not 110% interested in the focus of PJ's photography, following the narrative of his journey so far was more intriguing than just talking about the work that he does. He never made any of his achievements out to be more that what they were and was really modest about everything I thought. Its cool that he had been published in rva magazine because I usually like the art and photography that they feature. I think its awesome that there are people that are in PJ's position that students like us can follow and keep up with and I look forward to doing so.

Stylistically, PJ's work is a much different product that what I might make in the same environments but he and I have separate orientations with our photography. His seems to be his account of things; entirely the way he wants them to be. Mine would have to be a combination of that and the influences of a school that emphasizes fine art. Unlike everyone else the school hosts for lectures, he isn't so art oriented and its refreshing to hear a different experience and perspective. It's kind of relaxing to be reminded that PHOTOGRAPHY DOES NOT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE FINE ART! I think I tend to forget that more and more now that photography IS my entire academic world.