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spring, “Summer of Letters,” which fea-
tured images of golf courses?
DF: I’m represented by the Imogen
Gallery in Astoria. I have an exhibition
there every two years, which is a common
artist schedule. It takes time to develop
all that. And so I was like, “OK, well,
what am I going to do in 2020?” This was
in 2018 and unbeknownst that there was
going to be a pandemic and global crisis.
I started focusing on golf because I’m a
golfer. I have several golfing-type clients
from golf courses. And I had this whole
philosophy about what it means to golf —
and (what it means) to walk a golf course.
So I just had this whole plethora of imag-
ery and photography of golf courses from
all around the world.
CW: What was it like to have your
show opening during the pandemic?
As artists, we spend two years or how-
ever long in our lifetime working on that
stuff. And so there’s supposed to be this
art walk coming through the gallery. That
did not happen. The show was there —
but there were no people. So that was a lit-
tle challenging to deal with. But I’ve said
before — those are first world problems.
I mean, there are much bigger issues than
an empty art gallery ... I just want people
to be able to see it for whatever it is. I just
think artists need to be truly celebrated as
they are trying to figure out the work that
is going to come out of this year.
CW: Was this a venture from the work
you typically pursued?
DF: I used photographs, but this time I
wound up scratching sayings (into them)
from movies, famous golfers ... I tried to
fit those in with the images to try and per-
sonalize them instead of just being pho-
tos. But in this process, I discovered this
sculptural element using what I call the
detritus of the game, which are things that
people use one time and then throw away
like a pencil and other elements like that.
And so I started collecting these items for
like two years until I had enough actu-
ally to work with. This was a great oppor-
tunity to push my creative elements. As
an artist, that is important to me — to do
different things. A lot of the artists in this
area that I really respect and know person-
ally — that’s how I think they approach it.
I’m just trying to keep up with those peo-
ple. And that’s how the show became the
“Summer of Letters.”
CW: What personally drew you to
take photos related to golf? What would
you like people to take away from your
exhibition?
DF: My personal relationship with golf
is about exercise but it’s also kind of a phi-
losophy. It’s a challenge of how to over-
10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
come emotions and to celebrate the small
victories — not get dismayed by the small
failures. I think that I find many similar-
ities between the philosophy of golf and
the philosophy of life. It may not be for
everybody ... I mean, if you do something
you love, then you never work a day in
your life.
CW: How has the geography and envi-
ronmental features of the Oregon coast
inspired your photos in the exhibition?
DF: The golf course that I golf at in
Gearhart is the oldest golf course on this
side of the Mississippi River, which is
pretty cool. The way it’s laid out is very
natural. But another thing that’s really
important to me is environmentalism. It
is something I’ve been an advocate for
a long time. And so as far as the Oregon
Coast goes, I mean, I think it’s one of the
most beautiful places. The access that peo-
ple have to the beaches ... And I think
Oregon itself just has this kind of great
ethos about it that it’s pretty mellow. Peo-
ple appreciate the smaller things. It’s not
fancy out here but it’s got some real soul
to it. When I moved out here almost 20
years ago, it was a little challenging to
meet people and stay busy. But I quickly
found my people and things to do to keep
me busy in the environment and in nature.
I love it. I just love it. I don’t know where
else to go.
CW: Do you have any current projects
in the works, outside of your commercial
photography and exhibitions?
DF: Lately, I have been trying to figure
out how to document the pandemic. I just
recently started documenting these restau-
rants that keep closing ... (I am) trying to
document what these specific type of busi-
nesses are dealing with ... I’ve been pok-
ing my nose into restaurants like, “Hi, I’m
Don Frank.”
CW: What feedback did you get from
these community members?
DF: I’ve been getting a lot of really
great feedback exactly along those lines
like “Thank you for doing this” but I’ve
also gotten an earful all up and down the
gamut ... I don’t have a position on it. As a
photographer, I’m there to just document
it. But it has actually been really eye open-
ing for me to get their point of view cause
these are their livelihoods, you know, and
I really feel for them. It’s like you’re like
documenting history. We’re living in his-
tory right now.
CW: What is your advice for artists?
DF: Well, I think the first thing for any
artist is just to keep working. That’s the
most important thing and develop their
ideas. I developed my ideas because the
skills come with time. I mean, some peo-
A photo taken by Don Frank of a baby with a sandy foot.
ple are better than others, or whatever, but
everybody’s trying to rise up and become
the best artist they can be.
And that takes time. It takes effort and
dedication, for sure. I know a lot of art-
ists are nervous about showing their stuff
because art is an expression of ourselves.
And I understand that. I think that, at some
point, you have to get over that and put
yourself out there.