Sustaining an artistic project over time

Dec 01, 2023

Starting from this issue, the newsletter becomes biweekly, and its sections will alternate between editions. Photos and reflections on the creative process take center stage, playlists remain, and everything else takes a back seat. The title format changes, discarding the date to make it more user and robot-friendly. As they are shorter, upcoming deliveries fit entirely into an email without the need to click on links (unlike what might be happening to the one you are currently reading). Suggestions are welcome :).

Process

Ten years ago, I started documenting the concerts of the Brancaleone band through photographs. It was they who first hung a camera around my neck, and today I have around 150 albums on my computer, containing almost 10,000 images. It is, logically, my longest-running documentary and photographic project, and probably the most enduring of all my life projects in general. Below are some reflections that have arisen from this experience.

Just as it's important to step out of the comfort zone in any creative activity, it's equally important to have that comfort zone. A safe place to return to when the fluctuating tide of self-perception isn't favorable – that common experience where one day you wake up, look at your work, and say, "Wow, I'm Picasso's unrecognized child," and the next day, "Why don't I stop bothering and open a convenience store? I'm not cut out for this." It's the ability to pick up something you already know how to do, almost by automatism, where you know you have a couple of good pieces under your belt to pat yourself on the back and say, "Come on, you know how to do this," when fears start to creep in.

These projects are useful for gaining an overview of your technical evolution over time and the imprint that different personal moments have left on your work. Analyzing retrospectively, you can identify tricks and techniques that you stopped using and might want to recover, as well as others that you might consider reducing. There are patterns and habits that form quite unconsciously, and it's up to us to either maintain or abandon them.

In my case, my long-standing artistic project is intertwined with the musicians' enduring artistic project (marked by a level of love and dedication rarely seen). This allows me to document significant moments in their individual and collective lives. Album releases, encounters with family/friends/mentors, first times playing in certain places, people joining or leaving the project, and more. This openness is a gift I appreciate every day, providing both companionship in personal and creative growth. It's in the intersection of these projects where friendships for a lifetime almost unintentionally emerge.

And it's not just the growth of the musicians I accompany. There are beings that I first photographed when they were in their mothers' bellies, and today they come running to give me a hug when they see me. Those same mothers tell me, "The most beautiful pictures I have with them are the ones you took." That is absolutely priceless, just like seeing those kids interested in photography, asking me to take a picture of them or teaching them how to use the camera to take a picture of myself.

Long-standing artistic projects serve as a roadmap, a constant in a world made of variables. They act as an axis around which we know we are progressing when everything else is spinning and changing, akin to a screw in wood. Something that defines us as a common denominator amidst all our mutations.

Perhaps success isn't about being known and inconsequential to thousands, but leaving a tangible and indispensable mark on ten.

The photos in this post are a minimal, somewhat arbitrary selection from all these years. It's almost impossible to choose from such a volume of images. As a bonus, you can check out the photos from the latest show here.

Focus is a free monthly newsletter written by Nacho Dramis. Subscribe.

If you enjoy the content and find it useful, you can make a financial contribution to support the project through Cafecito (Argentina) or PayPal (Worldwide).

Another way to support the project is by purchasing prints and various items with my photos in my international store on RedBubble. I don't have a store for Argentina yet, but I hope to solve that soon.

The links to Notion and Moment are affiliate links, which means that if you buy something from them, you pay the same and I earn a commission.

You can also follow me on Instagram, Behance, and Twitter. Sharing my articles helps a lot and is free :)

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Full album playlist

Starting from the next newsletter delivery, the playlist will be included without my comments to make room for more interesting data. This time, they're included because I've already written them, haha. Today's theme is a bit more... Electronic? I don't know. Let's proceed.

Photek - Modus operandi

Los Angeles, USA, 1997

Artist I discovered through the soundtrack of the series "How to Get Away with Murder," and I looked them up out of curiosity, leading me to this "drum and bass" album—a genre I hadn't heard at all.

John Frusciante - Enclosure

Los Angeles, USA, 2014

Part of the extensive solo career of the legendary guitarist from RHCP, in a fully electronic stage. Intense and mechanical, a very peculiar album, yet still one of the less peculiar works from the artist.

Depeche Mode - Ultra

London, UK, 1997

Guided by the beautiful musical influences one encounters in life, I had my first contact with this historical electronic music band through this album, and it was a good choice: Organic, dark, and devastating guitar riffs to acclimate my ear.

Evlay - 333

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2023

The debut LP of Wos's producer, featuring a modern and incredibly unique sound, blending a variety of genres and top-notch guests. It's the kind of album to listen to many times and keep discovering new elements.

Kraftwerk - Computer work

Dusseldorf, Alemania, 1981

Album from the pioneers of electronic music, celebrating computers while also warning about the risks of digital surveillance – in 1981! Absolutely mind-blowing.

Thank you for reading!

A few extra pictures as prize (?)

Focus is a free monthly newsletter written by Nacho Dramis. Subscribe.

If you enjoy the content and find it useful, you can make a financial contribution to support the project through Cafecito (Argentina) or PayPal (Worldwide).

The links to Notion and Moment are affiliate links, which means that if you buy something from them, you pay the same and I earn a commission.

You can also follow me on Instagram, Behance, and Twitter. Sharing my articles helps a lot and is free :)

Este newsletter también está disponible en español.