Quantity Versus Quality
I have not had a no trouble making art, having patience, and I believe I have been quite persistent in my work. However, my early work very much relied upon my pursuit of perfectionism. I had a inescapable drive to make my art flawless— A drawing without smudges; A painting without drips; A photograph perfectly composed; A print accurately exposed… This has served me well, but I believe it has been holding me back in most cases. It is good to be a perfectionist sometimes. However, 99% of the artistic process is in “the rough” and overcoming mistakes made in trying to tame or harness the plasticity of a given medium. Therefore, I will quote a story I have read a few times, but not until very recently have I finally been able to hear its message.
Here is an excerpt from Art & Fear, by David Bayles, and Ted Orland:
[A] ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the “quantity” group: fifty pound of pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on. Those being graded on “quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot — albeit a perfect one — to get an “A”. Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the “quantity” group was busily churning out piles of work – and learning from their mistakes — the “quality” group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.
I find this parable to be fascinating result of what dedicated work can produce. So in the spirit of doing more, I am setting some new goals. I have exposed about 70-80 sheets of film so far this year. That’s about 2 sheets a week, give or take. That is pretty good, but I can do way better! What is holding me back? I will be shooting much more film in 2023. At least 250 sheets per year. That will be a good start for me.
With the increased amount of film being exposed, I will have to develop film much more efficiently than I do now. I have been using a Stearman Press 8x10 daylight tray and have been very happy with that method, but it has a limited capacity for larger sheet film. I also do not enjoy agitating the tray/tank in my kitchen for 30-40 minutes at a time (minimum). So I did a little research on rotary processors and just purchased a product that Is no longer being produced, but can be found used at a great price!
The Unicolor Base and a Unicolor 11x14 Print Drum. It’s capacity is twice that of the Stearman Press and the base will automatically agitate the tank for me saving me time to work on other things. I have yet to produce a developed negative from this drum and roller because the drum itself leaks a little. The gasket on the lid needs to be replaced, but I am looking forward to shooting much more film and putting this to the test! I advise anyone looking a continuous agitation developer to consider this.
Click here to read on the large format photography forums about how it is applied for sheet film.
Are you a perfectionist like me? If so, you know how hard it is accept your work’s flaws. If not, I am currently envying your ability to be so expressive with your creativity. But that is the great thing about being human in the first place. We can choose to become something better than we currently are. We simply have to envision who we want to become and strive toward that vision. I am seeing myself shooting twice as much sheet film as I have since last year and I will be. I will being much more art and photography related work next year. Maybe you should too! Why not? Like the parable teaches, focusing on the quantity of work provides better results than just quality alone. So, lets get out there and make more art!
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