The Emperor Has No Clothes.

I haven't had a good rant in a while, but this ones been building up. It's time to let it out before I cause myself some permanent neurological damage.

One of my favorite stories growing up was "The Emperor's New Suit" by Hans Christian Andersen. For those who may be unfamiliar with it, it's the tale of an Emperor who is taken in by a pack of grifters because he is afraid to say that he doesn't see something that they tell him he is supposed to see. It takes the innocence and honesty of a small child to finally set things right because he can tell just by looking that the Emperor he"has nothing on at all.”

Art is for everyone. It's for all of mankind, not just the perceived intellectual elite. Yes, art is supposed to make you think, but it's supposed to make you think about something. It's not supposed to make you think about what the heck you are supposed to be thinking about. Telling people that you "don't want to dumb down" your work for the public is a total cop out.

If you are a poet, and you have something to say, you need to figure out a way to say it so that people understand. It doesn't matter how smart you think you are. If you get up in a room full of people and pour out your heart to them, hoping to get them to understand how you feel, if you're speaking in Greenlandic Norse, and no one in the room understands Greenlandic Norse (since the last known speaker of it died in the late 15th or early 16th century), you are wasting your time. This elitist attitude of "If they don't understand, that's their problem" is a fallacy. If they don't understand what you are saying, it's your problem. While work that the public may not appreciate can be cathartic to the artist solely by its creation, it's value to an unaccepting world is nil.

Khronikos

"KHRONIKOS", my second book, is now available to the public. With over 50 images and over 100 pages contained in an 8" x 10" paperback book, this book is the culmination of over two years behind the camera.

Scott Bulger’s New Work is an Invitation to Take a Closer Look

CONCORD, NH - A peek at acclaimed New Hampshire artist Scott Bulger’s latest work exemplifies his favorite quote by Henry David Thoreau -- “It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

Using black and white photography as his medium of choice, Bulger sees himself as a chronicler of the often unnoticed and underappreciated. His new body of work, Khronikos, does just that as Bulger turns his eye to examine the detail and texture that surrounds us on a daily basis. “Bulger’s crisp black and white images chronicle unnoticed and forsaken aspects of the ordinary,” said Christopher Volpe in a review in the June/July/August issue of Art New England.

The show on display July 1 – August 27 inside the Carolyn Jenkins Gallery at the Kimball Jenkins Estate in Concord, New Hampshire features 17 crisp black and white 20”x30” digital prints. These are the largest prints Bulger has undertaken in his career.

The theme for this new body of work presented itself as Bulger began to review the images. Khronikos is the Greek word for chronicle. “A chronicle is a historical account of facts and events arranged in chronological order,” Bulger said. “Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the chronicler. Since these events are seen from the perspective of the chronicler, they are open to interpretation.

“I am a chronicler,” he added. “I use a camera as opposed to a pen to chronicle my surroundings.”

This body of work represents two-years of Bulger’s time behind his camera. Only 17 images made it into the show, but Bulger has also published a book, available for sale at the opening event or by contacting him, featuring 52 images.

Bulger began exploring photography when his grandmother offered him the opportunity to use her camera at age 12. He has been viewing the world through the lens of a camera ever since.

Studying the work of the photographers that he admired the most; Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz, Elliot Erwitt, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, a common thread was realized and switching to black and white seemed the obvious course to take. Over his 20 year career, Bulger’s work has been displayed in many exhibits, published in textbooks, received numerous awards and included in many private collections. In 2001, “A Portrait of the Yucatan,” a collection of photographs from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico was published. In 2010, Bulger was recognized by the Hippo Press as one of the best local visual artists.

Bulger has taught many aspects of photography, from composition to the Zone System. He currently teaches "Black and White Darkroom" and "Intro to Digital Photography"at Kimball-Jenkins School of Art in Concord, N.H. where he sits as a board member of the School of Art Supporters advisory team. He also teaches "Photo I"and "Photo II", in the Visual Arts degree program at NHTI, Concord’s Community College. He also sits on the Creative Board at Concord Television where he recently helped develop a new monthly television show promoting local artists and art communities called "Art in Focus".

If you'd like to purchase a copy of his new book "Khronikos", the book is $40.00, plus $5.00 USPS Priority mail shipping.

A Message of Thanks

Nobody exists in a vacuum. There is always an abundance of people that make any success possible. Those people often don't know how much influence they have.

To the 200+ people that came out on Friday night to help celebrate the opening of my latest body of work, thank you. Your enthusiasm and support is nothing short of inspiring.

To all of the artists, both good and bad, that have taken the leap before me, it is upon your backs that I climb to reach the place where I am. Thank you for your efforts.

To all of the students that have passed through my classrooms, I learn something from every single one of you before we are done. Thank you for your questions.

To the world around me, natural or man-made, all of your minutiae provides me with an unending supply of subjects on which to train my lens. Thank you for your wonder.

To Will Michael, without your endless truth, knowledge, and inspiration, I can safely say that this would not have happened. Thank you for your friendship.

To Garin, Alex, and Burke, I am very proud of all of you. Thank you.

To Mary, none of this would have been possible without your tremendous and unwavering support and encouragement. Thank you for believing in me.

To Scott Solsky, the music you provided for the evening really set the tone. Very classy. Thank you.

To Chef David Collise III, the food was phenomenal from beginning to end. Thank you.

To Ally Piper and Brighteyes Creative, you were invaluable in the planning and execution of this event. I couldn't have done it without you, and the results exceeded all of my expectations. Thank you.

To Nana, thank you for letting me use your camera.

The Opening is Upon Us

Please join me on Friday night, July 9th, from 7:00 - 11:00 PM, in the Carolyn Jenkins Gallery, on the grounds of the Kimball-Jenkins Estate in Concord, New Hampshire, to celebrate the opening of my new exhibit, KHRONIKOS. The exhibit runs through August 27th, so if you can't make it down for the opening, come on down anytime that the gallery is open (M-F 9:00-4:00).