So, I’ve been puzzling over why I stopped delivering on the 52 photography project – the last post being back in February – four months ago! I have been busy, but possibly there is something else going on.
I set up lightsgoingon three years ago, and as part of creating a strategy to deliver via social networking, I thought up 365 – an image a day sent out via four platforms – my website, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter. Primarily it was designed to get me to use these every day; to reach new people, gain followers, and create an archive of information about contemporary art. After a while, I stopped posting onto Flickr – it was one site too many – but managed to sustain and push what the project could look like on the other platforms.
When it finished, it hit home that fundamentally, you have to keep delivering, else traffic to your website, and other sites stops. You become invisible. The pressure is on to continue a sustained and committed relationship to those that want to keep reading about contemporary art.
I decide to create another project, this time around photography, and to deliver an image and text weekly. I got to do this 34 times – and then stopped. Was I worn out, did I myself lose interest in what I was saying and researching? And then, did it really matter if I didn’t do it? No one asked for it; it felt a bit like being an artist again, when you had spent numerous hours in the studio, making work that no one wants. It takes a lot of drive to continue.
But I have started again for a number of reasons. Primarily it feels like a cop out – to not have delivered your side of the bargain. I made a promise, and have not kept it. This is the contract you have with followers. So, here’s the promise – another 17 photographers to go, over the same amount of weeks – the project should finish the end of October. Onwards! And thanks for your patience!
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