WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.220 --> 00:00:06.230 line:15% I met Jiawei Shen after my book was published 2 00:00:06.230 --> 00:00:08.100 line:15% otherwise he would certainly be in it 3 00:00:08.100 --> 00:00:10.540 line:15% and unfortunately I met him too late. 4 00:00:10.540 --> 00:00:14.600 But when we met we got on extremely well 5 00:00:14.600 --> 00:00:18.830 and he asked whether he could paint me 6 00:00:18.830 --> 00:00:21.010 for the Archibald Prize 7 00:00:21.010 --> 00:00:23.010 and I was happy to concede to that. 8 00:00:23.010 --> 00:00:25.150 I mean getting asked by one of the greatest 9 00:00:25.150 --> 00:00:27.773 portrait painters in the world in my opinion. 10 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:34.160 line:15% So he wanted to do this portrait of me and he positioned me 11 00:00:34.160 --> 00:00:37.700 line:15% with the old camera but put a photograph of mine, 12 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:41.043 he did as a painting in the background. 13 00:00:42.350 --> 00:00:45.910 Basically, looks like me in the yellow house 14 00:00:45.910 --> 00:00:49.260 taking a portrait with my old camera. 15 00:00:49.260 --> 00:00:54.180 So there's this combined effect in the original portrait. 16 00:00:54.180 --> 00:00:55.313 And then, 17 00:00:56.210 --> 00:01:01.100 when I went down to visit him to see the portrait 18 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:03.650 for the first time in his studio, 19 00:01:03.650 --> 00:01:05.930 I was blown away by it 20 00:01:05.930 --> 00:01:08.480 and asked him whether I could do a portrait of him 21 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:10.210 sitting in front of that portrait 22 00:01:10.210 --> 00:01:13.450 and he was more than willing to sit 23 00:01:13.450 --> 00:01:14.873 and he's a great subject. 24 00:01:16.250 --> 00:01:19.960 So, he got out a sketch that he'd done of me 25 00:01:19.960 --> 00:01:22.060 while doing that portrait 26 00:01:22.060 --> 00:01:23.630 in the first place 27 00:01:23.630 --> 00:01:27.780 and he sat down in front of the portrait he'd done of me. 28 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:30.950 This is like portrait upon portrait, upon portrait. 29 00:01:30.950 --> 00:01:34.530 And then he had this kind of really whimsical idea 30 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:36.790 because he understands that in the view camera 31 00:01:36.790 --> 00:01:39.290 the image comes through upside down. 32 00:01:39.290 --> 00:01:44.030 So he inverted the drawing of me that he was holding. 33 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:46.380 So he's playing this little game 34 00:01:46.380 --> 00:01:49.710 where he's holding the drawing of me upside down, 35 00:01:49.710 --> 00:01:52.960 which is the view that I get of the subject in the camera 36 00:01:52.960 --> 00:01:55.280 and then everything else took off 37 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:58.323 and we did this incredible portrait. 38 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:05.963 I worked in advertising, then worked for Martin Sharp. 39 00:02:06.870 --> 00:02:08.970 At that time I had also started teaching 40 00:02:08.970 --> 00:02:13.970 at the National Art School and in TAFE colleges. 41 00:02:14.450 --> 00:02:17.530 And I remember one occasion when a copy, 42 00:02:17.530 --> 00:02:22.530 young artist in one of my classes who was a painter. 43 00:02:23.760 --> 00:02:25.423 This guy said to me, 44 00:02:27.257 --> 00:02:30.220 "Hasn't there been photograph already been taken? 45 00:02:30.220 --> 00:02:32.933 What's the point in doing a photograph, you know? 46 00:02:34.010 --> 00:02:35.980 It's already all been done." 47 00:02:35.980 --> 00:02:39.623 And I thought, this is a really challenging question. 48 00:02:39.623 --> 00:02:42.060 All the others were sort of giggling 49 00:02:42.060 --> 00:02:44.060 and thinking this is gonna be fun 50 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:44.893 and I said, 51 00:02:47.587 --> 00:02:51.710 "Yeah that's true, every photograph has already been taken 52 00:02:51.710 --> 00:02:56.410 but it hasn't been taken by you and the difference is 53 00:02:56.410 --> 00:02:59.860 that since those photographs were taken, 54 00:02:59.860 --> 00:03:04.800 the world has changed and nobody is gonna see that world 55 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:07.350 from the same point of view as you. 56 00:03:07.350 --> 00:03:11.560 It can never be another person in your position, 57 00:03:11.560 --> 00:03:14.200 you're occupying that space. 58 00:03:14.200 --> 00:03:16.050 You're seeing that thing, 59 00:03:16.050 --> 00:03:18.310 you're standing in front of that leather box 60 00:03:18.310 --> 00:03:21.510 taking a photograph at it or that dog down the road 61 00:03:21.510 --> 00:03:26.240 and nobody else has seen that world the way you see it. 62 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:30.210 So yes, every idea has already been photographed 63 00:03:30.210 --> 00:03:31.330 but not by you." 64 00:03:31.330 --> 00:03:32.163 and then I said, 65 00:03:32.163 --> 00:03:33.480 "So why don't you get off your arse 66 00:03:33.480 --> 00:03:35.450 and go out there and take a few photographs 67 00:03:35.450 --> 00:03:37.740 and stop criticising the medium!" 68 00:03:37.740 --> 00:03:39.247 And the class cheering and going, 69 00:03:39.247 --> 00:03:41.047 "Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's do that!" 70 00:03:42.270 --> 00:03:44.580 So I thought that the best advice 71 00:03:44.580 --> 00:03:47.703 for a young photographer would be, 72 00:03:49.010 --> 00:03:51.190 to trust their own vision, 73 00:03:51.190 --> 00:03:54.509 to trust the world that's in front of them 74 00:03:54.509 --> 00:03:57.047 and one great quote, 75 00:03:57.047 --> 00:03:59.780 "If you've ever been in love, 76 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:02.350 you will know how to be a photographer." 77 00:04:02.350 --> 00:04:05.710 And I thought that was a lovely thing to think, you know. 78 00:04:07.730 --> 00:04:09.360 I think it's also effective 79 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:11.140 if you find a personal interest in it, 80 00:04:11.140 --> 00:04:12.830 you just follow that impulse 81 00:04:12.830 --> 00:04:16.487 and don't doubt what's in front of you. 82 00:04:18.380 --> 00:04:22.923 And you'll found out that often, as David Moore said, 83 00:04:24.017 --> 00:04:28.530 "A lot of what you see is being recognised subconsciously 84 00:04:28.530 --> 00:04:30.870 and you don't know until you look at it afterwards 85 00:04:30.870 --> 00:04:32.850 that there is value in it 86 00:04:32.850 --> 00:04:34.390 that you didn't notice at the time." 87 00:04:34.390 --> 00:04:36.283 So you know, just do it.