Andy Summers and Luminato
Last Saturday, my husband and I went to Toronto for "Shadow Notes" to hang out for an hour with some famous photographers. One of them happened to be Andy Summers.
The photography panel was made up of Andy, Danny Clinch, and Ralph Gibson (gently moderated by Robert Enright). It was held in the Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario, a part of the huge Luminato festival, and it ended up being very intimate and jovial. The theatre was cozy and dark, and there were maybe 100 of us in the audience. The staff had prepared slides of each photographer's work and these were projected above their heads during the entire discussion.
If you aren't into photography (or famous photographers) then you might expect the whole discussion to be completely dry and about boring stuff like f-stops and other slang you have to be a shutterbug to know about. I adore photography and I had no idea what I was in for -- the topics ranged from celebrity photos to zen koans to why digital sucks and everything in between. The three of them were great panel guests and would have been equally entertaining if the topic had been burritos. I was impressed by their willingness to share tips (how to get into concerts to take photos) and what drives them to do what they do (if they don't, they'll go insane).
Andy Summers told his "Every Breath You Take" story, defended digital photography, and explained how he made lists of things to take photos of when on tour with the Police so he wouldn't forget to record everything. One of the audience members (Bruce, who happens to be a friend of mine) asked him about how he views the 'ordinary' now and they all discussed how they see things differently than most people. Andy can take a photo of a bowl on a hotel bed and get art... the rest of us just think "housekeeping!".
Danny Clinch had the most amazing aura, he told some fabulous stories and after the event was over he walked out the front door with a clump of us, to catch his daughter's recital. Ralph Gibson was definitely more traditional in his views and topics and gave a very interesting perspective on digital photography (comparing it, somehow, to using the phone). The moderator participated only to direct questions and he was splendid, letting everyone talk and laughing along with the rest of us.
After the discussion there was, of course, books offered and my husband met all three photographers. He managed to get all of their autographs as well -- neatly stored upside down on a back page of Andy's "One Train Later" book -- and I got an incredible shot of him meeting Andy Summers. Andy's smile was so genuine. And then they rushed Andy out the door, because he is after all Andy Summers, and we collected our coats and books and headed out into the sunshine.
The whole bunch of us (well, almost all of us) met across the street for pub fare. One of the art installations started -- a very loud audio and video decent into hell and fear, apparently -- and was truly a disturbing backdrop to both digestion and discussion. But it was great to hang out with nutter friends again, and dish about book covers and ex-girlfriends and why I embarrassingly can't remember that one guy's name. And then my husband and I walked down to the open-air photo exhibit, giant photos from the panel mounted on freestanding structures among the throngs of people in Yonge and Dundas square, to take photos of the photos (and take photos of me with the photos of photos -- or something).
This weekend is the last of this year's Luminato festival, and if you can make it down to the Harborfront Centre you'll be treated to a free Cirque du Soleil concert. We're going to go if the weather holds... if you're going to be there too, let me know :)
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