Teaching
Art Institute of Boston / Faculty
Maine Photographic Workshops


An Observation
In August, 2002, photographer John Goodman taught a class entitled 'In Search of the Personal' at the Maine Photographic Workshops. His assistant, Brad Hamilton, took notes, and by week's end, had shaped those notes into a poem. What follows could perhaps more accurately be described as a collage of Goodman's quotes, meant to reflect the kinetic spirit of Goodman's personal stream of consiousness.

In Search of the Personal (A poem) by Brad Hamilton after quotes from John Goodman let's make a mistake in the morning let's make some monster compositions so we can stand here tomorrow and blow our brains out just put some film through the camera take some pictures you wouldn't have taken last week don't just do what you've been doing try to push forward to break some new ground. why don't you work it just the way you need to work it find a place that for some reason resonates for you anything that's gonna make you more like an animal that's gonna make you use your intuition there's a feeling that goes through the body if you open yourself up, you can get there. photograph where you are a lot of people who are lost can't say that, and it's really liberating in some respects you need to stumble I want to be falling into pictures you trip into things and that's where the image is you just gotta go with the process think about something that's gonna make the picture more vital tell me: is this a telephone pole? it's not just an exercise in texture and light it seems to have a presence and a soul it's a photograph! you felt something! I feel it too. this is, like, almost a picture did you almost feel that? I think it's an almost there's a lot of, like, close...close, close, close 'The photograph waits for the photographer it has chosen.' (Minor said this) I'm sure there's a picture here...you're getting something especially when you look at it and smile you've got three places to make pictures from: your head, your heart, and your groin don't think so much, let the picture do the work your real job is staying alive if you stay alive, you're gonna eventually make some pictures that's a cool, cool job you need to kind of find the soul shoot the shadow and the light and the mystery don't tell the whole story, parts of people are great just look at something moving and move the other way you can have an ill composed, out of control picture and it resonates with people ambiguity's really important photography is a sacred form of expression it reaffirms you as a human being we're like electrical conductors there's some energy buzzin around here are these amazing? not necessarily is something starting to go on in them? yeh... there's hope in this picture it's not the right person, it's not the right gesture, it's not the right legs, it's not the right scene, but this can lead to making a really nice photograph you need to be conscious of your clues so you can go forward if you put them away, you bury yourself. now we're gonna get you conscious of something else: yourself go out and be free and see what you come back with you feel cheesy cuz you're not there yet we're gonna get you back on the rocks again what does that mean? I don't know, but you'll figure it out go there, be there, think light is magic costa manos has a three hour window I got, like, ten minutes (half my pictures are f2.9 at a tenth!) but I love that moment when it's almost over this is the man of light all of a sudden! man! follow the light, look what it's doing to ya editing is amazing, sequencing is amazing what do you show? what do you keep in the drawer? this is a precursor to this, this is related to this is related to this is related to this can we mix these around a little bit? these three are nice...this? maybe no. this to me is just elegant it was fine alone, but now it, like, works this is realization...these are pictures! if this is inadequate then I think we need to be inadequate you know what youre doing, we love this, right? this is the dream of the past and it's in black & white I want you to slam this today get up at some ungodly hour, try to do something different I want a commitment on this film that you're working I want you to dive in the water I want you to do the Geronimo thing photograph til you cant breathe! sometime when it's right I want you to do that I want you to photograph your guts I want you to make a horrible picture I'm trying to bring some people around so they become children again so what are you gonna do today? I want you to blow my mind.