Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Hunt for the Perfect Image Gallery Code

Yes that’s right, I am hunting for the holy grail. My previous attempts at web work have revolved around learning one code after another; HTML, CSS, JAVA script, PHP, XML, flash, etc etc etc. Although I am very interested in learning new languages it does not really serve a purpose, which is to make a functioning website in my case. So, keen to have something up and going'ish, I have begun finding templates and apps that I can insert into the site. Of course the languages have helped, I'm no wizard, but it does mean I'm not fighting a battle and can generally find what I want.

So it’s an art website; what should it look like, what is its purpose, who's going to look at it, and who do I want to look at it? These are the standard kind of design questions I find myself asking. It is not purely about indulging myself, although that’s important to. Some of my previous plans have gone in the direction of satisfying my geekier inclinations with a classic "dos" look, (I still think this is a pretty good idea), or maybe it should appeal to my interest in Formalism and Abstraction?

This does bring an interesting point about creating and inspiration. It’s the moment just before you begin to make something and you find yourself thinking, I feel inspired to make something but what? from which pool of interests do I swim?

You can work on many different things, but would it be satisfying? I want to good at what I do. It’s like you've got this decision to make whether you want to be a Jack of all trades or a Master. Well that’s what has always been presented to me. I don’t agree with this but it seems to be how a lot of people think. I could be wrong, but pursuing all of my interests seems to not only be gratifying but the bigger image starts to come into focus. Looking at the connections between my interests and what attracts, me will hopefully enlighten and reveal something about myself. This seems like the thing to master rather than an aspect of me.

What does this all have to do with my search for a pretty image gallery to use in my website? Well this is a discussion about making decisions about what’s important, and the image gallery will be important as it is a website to share what I do, which to a large extent is visual.

1 comment:

Lorraine said...

from which pool of interests do I swim?

I love this metaphor