“…A fact…my developing identity was ensnarled with the camera, its natural power to encode and communicate that which was in front of me and that which was in me.”—Larry Fink
If you don’t know who Larry Fink is, you should: he’s one of our great, American photographers. Primarily known for his celebrity and High-Society, black & white images documenting the rich at play, Fink’s work–and more importantly his intention—has always been deep, philosophical and imbued with his progressive political leanings. As an artist, he’s a man of the moment, in the moment. For as he says, “The photograph is an attempt to give the perception of the moment some relationship to immortality.” As a professor, Fink has gone on to teach generations of young photographers.
Long before he was “Larry Fink,” however, he was just a kid from Brooklyn with a camera. At the age of 17 in 1958, he happened upon a group of local Beatniks in Greenwich Village who allowed him and his camera to be part of their scene, and perhaps, to give immortality to their beat existence. This series which has been crafted into a lovely book, “The Beats,” reveals Fink’s precociousness as a photographer. To be a kid, with no formal photographic training, who can take images this good, tells us many things. One of which is that talent is often innate.
The other thing it demonstrates is that getting an MFA, especially in Photography, is a waste of money. It breaks my heart to meet young photographers who are tens of thousands of dollars in debt, who come out of brand-name MFA programs and suddenly find themselves back at square one. Better to get $50-100K in debt (or not!), traveling the world taking photographs, or spending the money on a meaningful documentary project.
It is the photographers like Larry Fink, who, ironically, never finished college, who go on to be the Professors and the recognized Masters. It is the photographers willing to create their own rules and map their own destinies, who go on to greatness–to be the ones whom we revere and study. The world doesn’t care about an MFA. We want the best you’ve got.–Lane Nevares
November 26, 2023.