Titles

The same art show gave me another insight - this one about titles. I've always hated giving my photographs titles. If you don't title your prints, it seems as if you just don't find them important enough to be bothered. And, I'll admit, part of my hatred of titles is nothing but laziness.

But John Greene made a really good point when he talked about why he doesn't title his paintings. He said "I don't like to title my paintings. As soon as someone sees the title, for them the painting becomes just that, and nothing else. Without a title, the painting can be lots of things, different to each viewer, and more than one thing at a time for a single viewer. And I like that." (He was more articulate than that. I'm paraphrasing from memory).

So I feel good. Now I can refuse to title my prints, and when someone asks why I refuse, I'll give them this argument. It's not just a good argument, it's an argument I agree with.