Mark Goebel

In his book "˜The portrait of an artist as a young man' James Joyce writes "__And to distinguish between the beautiful and the sublime, to distinguish between moral beauty and material beauty. And to inquire what kind of beauty is proper to each of the various arts. These are some interesting points we might take up."

I've always believed the beauty proper to photography is not sublime creation, as in all the other arts, but rather a benevolent gift. When the fortune of a beautiful scene is recorded into my camera, in that inconsequential instant, relative to all of time, I am creating nothing. I am given something... like the best Christmas present ever or the love of a best friend. In that respect, photography is more a moral beauty art, as opposed to a material beauty art.

The first time I became aware of this was in a small art studio in Paris France, where I discovered a black and white photograph of a young woman. What interested me most was the ambiguity of the subject's expression. She appeared pleasant and pleased. But there was a tear about to fall from her right eye. The image gave me goose bumps and soon after I bought my first camera.

40 years later, I was given the "˜gifts of light' I am displaying on Saach...

"Business in the Barrio" (http://bit.ly/9ho9Sb) shown at the Geraint Smith Gallery in Taos New Mexico on August 17th through August 31st, 2013. Twenty-eight 18 x 24 inch black and white prints were shown.

Taos Fall Arts Festival (September 27 - October 6, 2013). Two 32 x 40 inch prints exhibited.