So the other day, at the end of class, one of my students asked me "so what do you do?" I didnt really know how to respond so i said "well, what do you mean? like for work?" and she said yes. So i said, "well, i teach photography classes here, i have my own gallery-based practice, i photograph for local publications, and i work at a local art store sometimes - so basically i look at, talk about, think about, read about, and make art 7 days a week."

I hadnt even really thought about that too much myself and was kind of hit with the fact that is what i do all the time. Then, last friday i had the pleasure to meet up with Brian Ulrich while he was in town for a show that opened at the Light Factory and he mentioned the profound luck that we have the opportunity to just make and talk about art all the time instead of fight in a war or hide out in a bomb shelter or for that matter, sit in a cubical all day. Its really amazing. Its not like its easy to make art or teach, its probably a lot harder than most other jobs, but we are still just thinking about and dealing with aesthetic and historical concepts of image making and that actually puts food on the table.

So, today i was directed to an audio clip of the art critic Dave Hickey by exposure compensation and while listening to his very interesting (though i dont agree with all of it) and entertaining lecture i was struck with the same thought again as he mentioned what he does for a living. At one point he basically said that there is no place for art critics, there is no heirarchy or art critic specific jobs (i mean of course there are things that art critics do, like write for instance - but there is no art critic job proper) - anyhow, go check out the audio clip, he explains it a lot better than i can out of context and by memory. But the point is - he brings up the fact that all he does is think about, talk about, buy, and write about art. And i know this is about to get redundant but i started reading an interview with Hickey by Believer Magazine where he says “HONESTLY, I NEVER SIT DOWN TO WRITE ANYTHING WITHOUT THINKING, THIS IS A WEIRD THING TO BE DOING! WHY AM I SITTING HERE WRITING?”

ok enough with it all... just wanted to share - go read and listen to those links!