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BY WAY OF THE DODO: Scott Muskgrove�s Menagerie:

Walter King for absolutearts.com — 2008-05-15T07:35:00

Every generation defines itself, to some extent, in rebellion to their elders�. The fine art world is so caught up in its high minded, illusory and often times silly ideals about what art should be that it often forgets that art is a petri dish for our culture. What eventually happens is that a new generation who feels the weight of history decides to throw it all off. The Impressionists sidestepped the Salon, in the 60�s artists formed unions to overthrow the museums and protest the war in the 60�s (the museums are still with us thankfully), and sometime in the 80�s younger artists, partly because of the weight of history and partly because some simply knew nothing of history they simply ignored high art and embraced the art they grew up with. I suppose you can call it low or popular art. I use these terms somewhat facetiously here as my philosophy at least tries to ignore those labels in search of a more holistic understanding of art. More recently I�ve been known to rail against the democritization of art. But just so you understand the complexity of my views I am not against the next generation sidestepping the system.

I�ve been sidestepping it most of my career. I just want to see quality. I had a chance while in New York a couple years ago to see the PS 1 show highlighting emerging New York artists. It was an eye opener. I�ve never seen more fake fur and glitter anywhere in one building. While there were certainly lots of younger artists tracking established styles and post modernist ideas and forms there were many who seemed to play with whatever is out there in the popular culture in total disregard of what is considered to be proper art. Their work includes stuffed animals, jungle gyms, dolls, toys, computers, na�ve and primitive techniques and lots of fun. And most of it, because it was carefully juried, was really quite good.

I teach in a college illustration program and have to stay tuned in to what is going on in that field. And there is a lot going on. It is a field in flux. Once the world of illustration was just so many little Norman Rockwell�s trying to define the American dream via editorial magazine work. But while the fine art world poo pooed old Norman from the 60�s until recently he has now become the modern Vermeer. (And even though the conservative right has claimed him we must remember he married a card carrying socialist the second time around.) And Pop culture has replaced even Norm. Magazine illustration has been relegated to use of Stock Illustration work but there are more jobs out there for kids who can design and sculpt toys, sci-fi and fantasy model figures, characters for animated interactive computer games and fantasy-- lots and lots of fantasy. While I have my old timers biases and a grandfather�s fears, I also have to help make sure my students can get out there and figure out how to make a living at their art. I constantly remind myself that while my parents were probably right about how they raised me morally they didn�t get my culture. �Talkin bout my generation. Why don�t they all fff-fade away?� I will eventually fade away but until then I must also stay tuned to who has begun to do something cutting edge in any of those fields and who is making news.

Scott Musgrove was a student of mine back in the 80�s. As I recall he took my sophomore design class and a class called expressive illustration which was later renamed Illustration Workshop. I won�t take any credit for his talent and very little for his skill. He was always a little ahead of the curve, always seemed to have a feel for who he was and what he wanted to do. I also worked with him on our schools art and literary review. He did a couple small experimental pieces for the Botticelli that year. You can catch a glimpse of where he was heading at the time.

Sometime later I heard he�d moved to Seattle around the time Seattle Grunge was in bloom and was doing underground comics published by Dark Horse Comics. At the time I thought how 60�s of him-- how retro. Underground comics seemed like the kind of thing the children of hippies might find exciting but not something serious illustrators might pursue. But as an instructor I had a policy of using whatever interests a student brought to the table to help bring out their personal voice rather than forcing them into the mold I might think was more valuable and dignified. I figured they would eventually grow past their immaturity into something more valid in the adult world. So I assumed that eventually Scott would mature past his idyllic child like days and evolve into something more suited to the adult world.

And he did evolve. But to my surprise and pleasure he did it without ditching what drove him as a kid. I picked up a book from the cut out bin at Half Price Bookstore called Pop-Surrealism by Robert Williams (Contributor), Carlo McCormick (Contributor), Larry Reid (Contributor), Kirsten Anderson (Editor).
I find it interesting that Half Price is now part of beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti�s legacy. He was co-founder of City Lights Book store in San Francisco in the 50�s which became the fertile soil for so much beat poetry. He also includes Shakespeare and Co. in Paris within his grip. I actually met him there once. Wish I could find that photo. The book also Features the work of: Anthony Ausgang, Glenn Barr, Tim Biskup, Kalynn Campbell, The Clayton Brothers, Joe Coleman, Camille Rose Garcia, Alex Gross, Don Ed Hardy, Charles Krafft, Liz McGrath, Scott Musgrove, Niagara, Marion Peck, Lisa Petrucci, The Pizz, Mark Ryden, Isabel Samaras, Todd Schorr, Shag, Eric White, Robert Williams, and XNO. I don�t find them all to be as good as Scott but it is an interesting group all the same. Those of quality work outweigh the rest.

Anyway I was thrilled when I saw Scott�s name in the table of contents as one of the pop-surrealists. And he had moved his work forward with a twist. He still has that underground, alternative mind. But his gonzo comic approach had become much more sophisticated. He was now painting like a Belgian realist. But the concept behind the work is what makes it interesting and very appealing to his generation.

He has invented an alternate universe where the remains of certain extinct animals have been exhumed, studied and cataloged. These lost animal souls, somewhat inspired by the demise of the fabled Doe Doe bird, have a story to tell about environmentalism, animal rights and animal antics. They are sometimes cute and cuddly, some sarcastically biting (which leaves no visible marks) and all are facetiously farcical. They take on a life of their own dominating their surreal surroundings. And there are all sorts of suggestive morals. Scott has published his own book with all the details. Calling himself an Evolutionary Biologist and an Accidental Taxidermist (the title of his book and a show at Tin Man Alley in Philly) he defines these evolutionary drop outs concisely including dates of extinction. With one exception-- the Elmer Fudd like Homus Destructus. Richard Metz�s review of �the Accidental Taxidermist� show in Philly explains Scotts furry fascitiousness thusly:

�the serious part of this work is the strong environmental message. It is we, as humans, who have caused these strange creatures to become extinct. In one work entitled Homus Destructus: common name: The Pioneer, he is a short brutish fellow carrying a gun and knife in a treeless landscape of browns. While each of the other creatures has an extinction date on the metal tag on the frame of the painting, Homus Destructus is labeled as "not extinct yet." Like the writing of Kurt Vonnegut, when you get the humor, you get the message.� Written for InLiquid Art / Design Network. inliquid.com

In 2005 Scott had a show at Jonathan Le Vine Gallery in NYC called Natural Alchemy: a pictorial inventory. He doesn�t restrict himself to painting and drawing but to sculpture and he even has an animated TV series, Fat Dog Mendoza, which is distributed through Cartoon Network Europe. He does customized paint jobs on his 3-d vinyl rotocast animals which extends their market dramatically. Rotocast toys are very hip right now. Scott�s animals are a natural for this market.

His landscapes for this alternate universe are magical. Again, think of the Hudson River School or Grant Wood. Every detail is worked meticulously in an almost Renaissance technique. Trees are often conical and stretched tall. Hills are rounded and smooth. The landscape seems young but late afternoon atmospheres add to the moral of the concept, i.e. the end of an age. The ornate black Dutch and Mediteranean style frames complete the tongue-in-cheek museum quality picture. One is able to picture these images in Juxtapose Magazine but the museum quality framing puts them in a totally incongruent context, yet one that the images manage to live up to.

Scott must be in his 40�s by now. Most of my students are a few years out of high school when I meet them. He�s matured dramatically. His work has taken on a measured sense of humor that I don�t remember him having back then. Everything seemed so desperately important and of the moment. He�s stepped back a bit from the immerging emotional holocaust many students seemed to anticipate back in the 80�s. The more violent expressiveness has softened. His work is still apocalyptic in nature though. That he hasn�t lost. But while he hints at the end he now seems more involved with the story telling�it is a story that tells the beginning, assumes the middle (the now) and the potential end.

He is the Creator, Writer and Artist of Fat Dog Mendoza Comic Book, published by Dark Horse Comics

Scott is also the Creator and Producer of the animated TV Series �Fat Dog Mendoza� (based on hiscomic book ); 26 half-hour episodes were produced in partnership with Cartoon Network UK, Sony Wonder and Sunbow Entertainment. The show has aired in roughly 50 countries around the world. Scott wrote 17 of the Fat Dog episodes with Story Editor Michael Ryan, is credited as the character designer and also composed the main title theme with Kurt Liebert. Add renaissance man to his title.

He is also Writer and Designer on various other animated features. He is also the Writer and Artist on �Loose Teeth� comic, published by Fantagraphics Books. He�s been a Contributing Cartoonist to various other comic anthologies and worked for some time as a Freelance Illustrator in Seattle.

Eventually I hope to bring Scott back to speak to students. I want him to talk about his career, how he has gotten to this current place, some of the other artists he runs with and the entrepreneurial instincts that got him to this form of painting and sculpture on which all of this depends. It is a very serious kind of art in terms of technique and the effort it takes to achieve the quality he establishes as well as the ideas he evokes. And it is a whole form, not blurring borders as some do to avoid criticism. He, instead, includes painting, printmaking, storytelling, sculpture, toy making and book publishing among the venues for his work with no blurring whatsoever.
Bighorn.jpg
Scott is one of those illustrators who have crossed back over into the realm of fine art exhibiting and selling as a painter and sculptor and printmaker. Some might say he is a dinosaur in that he takes his painting and sculpture techniques seriously like a realist. Others might call it cartoonish with a twist. But however you see it Scott has, in his own way, revived the Dodo.

For those of you in California you can see his work �

May 10 - June 4, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 10th, 7-10 pm

Billy Shire Fine Arts
5790 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
phone: 323-297-0600

Exhibitions:
Jonathan Levine Gallery - �Natural Alchemy� - New York City 2005
La Luz de Jesus - �Specious Beasts� - Los Angeles 2004
Tin Man Alley Gallery � �Accidental Taxidermist� - Philadelphia PA 2003
La Luz de Jesus - �The Late Fauna of Early North America� - 2002
Roq la Rue Gallery � Seattle 1998

Group Shows:
111 Minna Gallery - �Eight Painters� - San Francisco 1998
Roq la Rue Gallery � Seattle 2002
La Luz de Jesus � Invitational � Los Angeles 2001, 2003 Alexander Gallery �
New York City � Sometime in the 90�s

Created by Walter King On 05/15/08 At 07:35 AM

Robert Rauschenberg

Michael Corbin for absolutearts.com — 2008-05-14T10:14:00

(May 13, 2008) - I was online earlier today and read that artist Robert Rauschenberg died yesterday of heart failure. He was 82. The New York Times called him a "Titan of American Art."

First off, isn't it funny how the legendary-sized compliments flow after you die? We need to get into the habit of complimenting people while they're ALIVE. Praising me while I'm dead does me no good, but a nice comment while I'm alive might actually get me through another day.

Anyway, I feel the need to just sit here for a moment and talk about someone I did not know. I'm not an expert on Mr. Rauschenberg or his work, but I DO remember the times when I saw his work for myself in places like the Fisher Landau Center which has a great Rauschenberg collection or the Museum of Modern Art or even the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.

(May 13, 2008) - I was online earlier today and read that artist Robert Rauschenberg died yesterday of heart failure. He was 82. The New York Times called him a "Titan of American Art."

First off, isn't it funny how the legendary-sized compliments flow after you die? We need to get into the habit of complimenting people while they're ALIVE. Praising me while I'm dead does me no good, but a nice comment while I'm alive might actually get me through another day.

Anyway, I feel the need to just sit here for a moment and talk about someone I did not know. I'm not an expert on Mr. Rauschenberg or his work, but I DO remember the times when I saw his work for myself in places like the Fisher Landau Center which has a great Rauschenberg collection or the Museum of Modern Art or even the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.

I'm smiling right now because when I think of Mr. Rauschenberg, I think about his GIANT, framed, pop, mixed-media pieces that always give me a sense of historical references, urban hipness and this feeling of rustic modernity. I have NOT read what anyone else has said about him. I'm just taking a moment to be
in the moment of my own memory of the man's work which I've seen with my own eyes.

My somewhat cloudy memory is giving me images of soldiers, black birds, city streets and spliced-together, sepia-toned photographs of things ... exactly what I cannot recall ... however I'm continuing to smile because I'm feeling myself standing in the presence of his work inside these museums and the word that comes to mind is ... communion. I feel that as an uneducated observer of art, I actually GOT what he was doing. For me, his splicing and dicing was about slicing life ... making connections of wayward things and times, perhaps with the hope of making sense of it all ... or maybe not.

Even though I never met Mr. Rauschenberg and will never own any of his work, I feel connected to him through my observations of what he leaves behind and the fact that he was a famous artist who was actually alive during my own lifetime. I wish that I could say something profound about him that would set the world ablaze, but all I can say is that I'm still smiling as I'm typing these words. He's gone, but his spirit is in my smile. I can just feel it. Communion. A moment of silence.

From now on, whenever I happen upon a Rauschenberg during my art museum visits, I'll say, "Hey Robert!" Then, I'll stand there and bask in the presence of a titan ... and as always, smile.

MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE NEW BOOK, "THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE: A COLLECTOR'S JOURNAL." CHECK IT OUT AT
WWW.ARTMAESTROGALLERY.COM

Created by Michael Corbin On 05/14/08 At 10:14 AM

More than Just a Fake

Nicholas Forrest for absolutearts.com — 2008-05-12T07:27:00

A year or so ago I was made aware of a non-Aboriginal Australian artist who was passing himself off as an Aboriginal Australian artist and making quite a bit of money in the process. The artist in question was born in Sydney but spent time during his teenags years at a school in a particular area of Australia's Northern Territory that has produced many of the most well known and highly valued Aboriginal Australian artists. According to this artist's profile on the website of the gallery that represents him, during his time in the Northern Territory he was exposed to the artistic practise of the indigenous people and was later taught to paint in the traditional Aboriginal x-ray style by an Aboriginal Elder. The art gallery that was selling the work of this fraud did nothing to alert potential customers to the fact they might be purchasing works of art that looked the same as that produced by geniune Indigenous artists but were by an artist who was not an Aboriginal Australian. Because a style of painting is not protected under Copyright Law it is not illegal as such for this artist to paint in the style of Aboriginal artists, but it is illegal for the artist to promote himself and present himself as an indigenous artist when clearly he isn't.

After many years of misleading the public and misrepresenting himself, this artist was reported to the the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission who agreed with the complaints that had been made, and consequently put measures in place to stop this artist continuing the misleading and deceptive practices that led to the complaints. The artist and the gallery that represented the artist were not particularly pleased about the ruling but when an artist is clearly exploiting the culture and artistic practice of the Australian Aboriginal people for their own financial gain there is no other option but to put a stop to it. Instead of being unhappy about the ruling the gallery should instead be glad that they have the chance to regain their credibility after their reputation was tarnished because of their association with a fake Aboriginal artist.

There have been many different cases such as the one I have described above. On of these was the case against Australian Aboriginal Art Pty Ltd who were accused of selling souvenir items which were promoted as being made by Aboriginal artists and were "certified authentic" when in fact they were not. It was found that a majority of the artists who produced the souvenirs were not Aboriginal, or of Aboriginal descent, and that there was no authentication process that could justify the label "certified authentic" which resulted in a ruling that the practices of the company selling the items were in contravention of the Trade Practices Act.

It is extremely unfortunate that there are people out there who are willing to exploit the artistic talents of other artists for financial gain, especially when they are taking money away from a people who are in desperate need of the money. One can only hope that with more education and information people will become aware of this problem and report people who are selling fake Aboriginal art and souvenirs.

image: "Yirrkala-Sacred Story" by Mawalan Marika

Created by Nicholas Forrest On 05/12/08 At 07:27 AM

BENONE OLARU

Andrew Wielawski for absolutearts.com — 2008-05-08T09:18:00

In the world of artists, there are some who excel to an extent that it isn�t fair to allow them to work without mention. Benone Olaru is one of them.
Born in the heart of Transylvania, in a small city called Hunedoara, he has made the unusually high quality of his work known throughout Italy, making statues honoring among others, the bicyclist Marco Pantani after his tragic downfall and death. There is more to the work than just an incredibly high level of technique, as all of his sculptures speak from the spirit of Eastern Europe in an almost Byzantine way.
Rumania, where this artist comes from, is one of the most economically impoverished countries in Eastern Europe. Yet their government employs huge groups of Rumanian artists to realize public projects throughout their country. Our own country is at this moment in our history, one of the most culturally impoverished in the world relative to its per capita income.

The National Endowment for the Arts has no database of living American artists working in the United States, nor do they have any plans to establish one, according to Sarah Cook, executive assistant to the Chairman. Many countries with far fewer resources do, and in fact, it�s such an easy thing to put together. The NEA�s website might add a page where artists could enter their own information, or where museums or other organizations involved with living artists could. In a matter of months, with no involvement from staff other than set-up, a list could be close to completeness; with just the smallest amount of advance publicity to create awareness that this was being done. It would certainly better this organization�s abysmal standing with American artists, whether or not it actually had any effect on their careers.

Benone Olaru felt the need for other influences, so he went far and wide to other parts of the world to refine his already prodigious skills. He went to Korea to work in granite, and after a few years there, settled in Italy where he works today. His studio is full of every manner of hand made tool you can imagine, because apart from being a sculptor, he is skilled at working with a forge and at tempering steel. He works in wood as well as stone, and large figures dominate his studio. The style is almost archaic, with many religious references, and reveals a continuation of a tradition while still being influenced by the events and feelings of contemporary society.
Ever in motion, and as detached as he is from his origins, he has become a gatherer, collecting inspiration from the new things he sees while keeping and using everything he�s picked up in other places along the way. Many of his pieces portray motion, which in his own life is a constant because of his extensive travels, and in this way his message is completely sincere. He speaks of what he knows.
In our own efforts as artists, there is something we all can learn from this. We might find ourselves questioning what to devote our energies to, how to find a subject and a way of expression that others around us, our viewers, our patrons, and prospective new clients, will find persuasive and profound. Many artists try to create the image of themselves as a seer, a mystic, someone above the level of those viewing their work.

Expressiveness in art is mostly beyond the control of artists themselves. When an artist�s intent is to have a certain effect on their viewers, to amaze them and awe them, the formula works only until those viewers are able to understand what they are looking at, and what the intent was that produced it. At that point, it is diminished, like when you first see a magic trick, and then come to understand how it was done.
It is much better, therefore, to keep your secrets, and the best way to do this, is not to have any. A natural and sincere expression is already so complex that even the artists themselves don�t really understand how they came to have produced what they have made, or the millions of nuances that find their way into the work without them having made a conscious effort to place them there. These are the works you can look at time and time again, yet each different day, and mood, will produce new sensations.
In every work, and certainly included are those works that use tricks to grab the attention of viewers, there exist these millions of unintentional nuances. When a trick is used, however, for example the slashed canvasses of Fontana, those nuances are eclipsed by that one-dimensional, overpowering element that the artist has intentionally put there, and become impossible to see, as it is impossible to see the details of the cloud surfaces a few degrees to the left or right when you�re staring at the sun. This is the risk the artist takes when creating signature works that can be recognized simply because they�ve put a patent on one silly trick in order to get attention. One dimensional, simple, and incredibly easy to look at only once. The school of facile art.

Technique can�t produce a never ending flow of emotions either, for in effect it is just another trick. But if a balance is achieved between sincerity, spirituality, and beautiful workmanship, then the feeling it can produce is that of a concert, a harmonious gathering of a number of elements working together in synchronicity.

John the Baptist is the most developed of Benone�s work that I have ever seen. There is extraordinary detail in the curls descending from the head, and it is beyond my comprehension as a stone sculptor how these elements were made in granite! This is not a forgiving stone, it is one that destroys tools, blunts chisels, and tears the diamonds off stone saw blades. I have rarely seen this kind of three dimensionality given to marble works, let alone to granite. But as a professional, I see these tour de forces; I am sure someone who doesn�t carve stone would not. And that is something that makes this work strong. It looks as if it had been done effortlessly as much as I know it was not.
But it is the spirituality of the piece that paralyzes me in front of it. It is not an anatomical reproduction, rather it has the kind of exaggeration common to Michelangelo pieces like the Moses that tell a story and become theatre. The elements of design allow the viewer to associate freely with the biblical story, and make sense of the total picture. At this point Benone�s job is to tell the story and choose colors and shades to make it his own.
The result shows he is a master of his chosen media.

Created by Andrew Wielawski On 05/08/08 At 09:18 AM

FINALLY, Validation via Art Historian

Pygoya for absolutearts.com — 2008-05-05T09:45:00

A satisfying feeling of validation has been bestowed to me. Ingrid Kamerbeek, art colleague on the other side of the planet, sent good news to me today by email. If not for her diligent monitoring of the infinite art cyberspace of the Internet, I would probably never have known what had occurred in February of this year. What could be so wonderful to make me feel like Clint Eastward, with someone who did �make my day?� In Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, at the 96th annual conference of the national College Art Association, was a formal presentation of my creative process! By association and examples to illustrate the speaker�s description of my art making methodology, my art had to have been displayed through electronic projection. This would also validate the artist�s works, as no creative process would get profiled at such a prestigious event without the art being judged to be great (or at least successful and original) as product. The audience was distinguished college art instructors and professors of American universities and colleges.

As one of five presentations on innovation in contemporary printmaking, Monica Kjellmann-Chapin, professor of art history, presented Reproduction on Reverse: The Paradoxical Production of Pygoya. I have not read the lecture notes, as it is not available on the Internet. But from the title, I gather that it is about my process of �digital painting design.� It entails a shocking, for most traditionalists, reversal of values in regards to art medium and the intent of the artist. I work digitally to design and produce an original oil-on-canvas painting. But the painting is only an intermediary step to get to the final product, which is an edition of archival quality digital giclee prints-on-canvas. After the creation of the edition, the painting can be disposed or dumped as a collectible. Bottom line, the painting is a reproduction of the original digital image! Although the hand-crafted work is true to the original digital picture, now the print edition is a direct descendent of a medium accepted as "fine art." Mind games yes; strange if not weird but logical - for an art market still stuck in the past century.

It is marvelous to know I have made a dent in the ivory tower of art academia. After toiling, financially sacrificing, and being ignored for over two decades (including the local University of Hawaii art department and island art museums), it�s nice � especially as a Rodney (as in Dangerfield)- to get some "respect." I feel like the load (of self doubt and art medium prejudice) to prove myself has been lifted from my shoulders this fine day in Paradise. To have a professor of art history proclaim one�s creative process and thoughts as significant to the culture-at-large, in front of a distinguished audience of college art professors, is so much more satisfying than selling the stuff. I always, however, did believe that if one rises to fame as explorer of the aesthetic process (Ph.D., Art Psychology), one�s output � even the inferior works, would be coveted as collectibles. In other words, then even the inferior/failures/crap sells along with the masterpieces. What a wonderful � and profitable- day that would be. The studio rent would always get paid!

From the perspective of economics, my art process is an aesthetic manifestation of the new global economy. It's cost effective for my digital creations to be outsourced for skilled human labor. Then the high quality oil imports are scanned, number crunched back into a data pool of 1's and 0's, as preparation to be rematerialized to complete their final destination - as digital prints. In essence, in this high tech-Internet cultural climate, the painting in my art process is sandwiched between digital means of personal expression.

Academic discovery and notice of my life's work in art is a win for all digital artists. It is an incremental contribution to the integration of digital art-making tools with the other more traditional means of visual human expression.

Reproductions or originals? Photo courtesy of Richard Gessler., collector

The lecture was one of five for the symposium session entitled �

The Vernacular Print in Contemporary Art, chaired by Beauvais Lyons of the University of Tennessee

Thursday, February 21, 2008 2:30 PM�5:00 PM
Lone Star Ballroom A4, 2nd Floor, Adam's Mark Hotel

Archived sources from the Internet

COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION
275 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10001
T: 212-691-1051 | F: 212-627-2381

The College Art Association supports all practitioners and interpreters of visual art and culture, including artists and scholars, who join together to cultivate the ongoing understanding of art as a fundamental form of human expression. Representing its members� professional needs, CAA is committed to the highest professional and ethical standards of scholarship, creativity, connoisseurship, criticism, and teaching.

Austin Texas Website Design

An artist-friend�s response-

Rod,
Congratulations. I think I went to one of those but not to the lectures,
just the job hunting section where anybody could go. It happened to be
close to where I was at the time. It might still take a bit of time for
your recognition factor to filter down to art speculators buying your worst
works but who knows, you could have stepped onto that road.

Aloha,
Harvey, MFA, San Diego, CA

Created by Pygoya On 05/05/08 At 09:45 AM

3 Men in a Boat

Jose Freitas Cruz for absolutearts.com — 2008-05-01T08:00:00

There, I�ve done it again. I said I wouldn�t but I�ve fallen for it one more time: wrapped two paintings up last week and drove them south of the river for the Montijo International biennial that is scheduled for August. You�re thinking that I�m not a man of my word and you are right � in one of my last videos [and a blog] you do hear me and fellow studio-buddy Fernando Vidal saying �Never Again�. He�s to blame; not so much for the �never again� but for luring me into the trap when he walked in to the studio with a devious grin on his face and the application forms in his hand. The prize is too good to ignore: 15000 euros for first prize in painting � and, as Fernando keeps reminding me, the worst that can happen is for the jury to say no and we�ve both accumulated sufficient anti-bodies to rejection to come out of it with any significant bruises.

In a last-minute outburst of bravado I concocted a short video out of old bits and pieces I found in scattered DV tapes and entered for video as well � 3000 euros first prize. I figured that if the worst that can happen is a �No� I might as well attack on as many fronts as they let me.

No doubt this is attributable to a sudden bout of latent survival instinct kicking-in as I reach the final lap. It�s hard to believe I�ve actually been here three years and that one year from now I�ll be packing my stuff to move on once again. I�ve concentrated almost exclusively on the studio work in the past three years here in Portugal - painting and, most recently, toying increasingly with video - and I haven�t worried too much about showing. But as departure date gets closer I guess there are a few things I would like to leave in place, and getting into a major show at national level wouldn�t be a bad way to start the ball rolling. In a way it is already rolling because Fernando, Rui and I have a project approved for December at the Cascais Cultural Centre just outside Lisbon, but finding ourselves in a biennial in August could attract some �more serious� interest in what we are doing. Seems like good strategy at any rate.

We�ve been given the uppermost room of the Arts Centre for the greater part of December and all of January, just right for the three of us, and our show will run concurrently with [yet another] Picasso exhibition which starts a week before ours. Instead of aiming for a simple group show of individual works we have decided to intervene in the space and create a project that will include painting/installation/video. I suggested we pick up on the theme I launched in Brunei in 2005 � [3] Artists/One Boat - and so we�ve been getting together for regular brainstorming sessions which I sometimes capture on video to include in a projection on the 4th wall of the main exhibition room. Although our individual paintings will form the basis of the exhibition the idea is to transform the actual space into a vessel that will carry the viewer into whatever world we come up with by then. We are currently toying with the idea of using black light to enhance whites, and inscriptions and drawings in chalk on the ground � perhaps blueprints and technical data of boats and things that carry things. We�ll be transforming the space into the vessel itself, a nave or a uterus � the threshold of a new world. Eventually, to my mind, the show itself will yield yet another video.

Apart from this specific and recent project, and looking back at the days at the studio, this is the first time that I have worked without an individual show in mind [not necessarily in the sense of there not being a fixed date, but even more profoundly of not holding the thought in the back of my mind whilst painting that each individual work must necessarily become a part of something]. I�m just painting and working for the sheer joy of it. I don�t recall ever having gone about things this way. Of course this presents certain other obstacles such as when is enough, enough? At times I feel I�m moving in circles or overworking the themes I undertake. When I had a date or a place in mind to show the work I was doing the numbers and the ideas organized themselves and the odd painting could be left out in the end, and I never felt I overdid it. Once the show was over, that was the end of it and I�d move on to something else. But now I sometimes feel I�m overdoing it. I can barely move around at the studio and the presence of all that stuff isn�t helping me move away from the world I�m surrounding myself with. I�ve thought about bringing a few home but visitors to the studio and the students at [OD] come in to take a peek sometimes and like things the way they are, so I keep delaying � how the ego so loves the little pats on the back. I�m eager to leave the �trees� and the �longboats� behind and start researching old Portuguese tiles for my next project [the blues, the yellows, the umbers, abstract on an off-white background, yet still retaining their portugueseness]� but I still haven�t felt that click.

On a final note in these scattered considerations that sprang to mind while thinking about how time flies and things change, one of the things I never thought I would truly adapt to was working with others. You may remember that I resisted leaving my old studio and moving in to [OD] at the end of 2006, and that one of the main reasons I mentioned was loosing my aloneness � my space to think and feel whatever it was I wanted to think and feel without interference and without having to constantly explain or justify myself � why the sudden red there? Why another tree when the painting looked great ten minutes ago� without it? I kept a safety buffer between the studio and the World� Now, the buffer has somehow dissolved and outside questioning and explaining helps to detect the pitfalls and the new paths that open up, it�s become a good thing.

Fernando and Rui are old friends, open and passionate about their differing views, and as such they are entitled to have their squabbles on and off, but I get along with both of them just fine � there is such a great deal to learn just from being around these guys. And whenever the students are in they are very respectful of my need for space and quiet and don�t pose a problem: if I have time I wave them in and we chat for a while, if I don�t, I just make a gesture with my hand in the air to acknowledge their being there and they know to watch from a distance before going back to their own tasks. At other times I�ll walk past to get water or wash my brushes and I stop here and there to comment on the progress they are making in their own work and whatever difficulties they may be experiencing. It all works out much better than I had anticipated and I know that this is one of the things I will surely miss when the time comes to step off this boat.

Created by Jose Freitas Cruz On 05/01/08 At 08:00 AM

Drawing and Painting

Alberto Sughi for absolutearts.com — 2008-04-28T10:18:00

In my last blog I was talking about my very early drawings, some of them dating back as far as the 1940s (and please forgive me for not having been able to replay to all the comments!). Today in this prolonged, enjoyable, common effort of ours to make this blog also a place where we share our thoughts and impressions on our work so to understand it better, I will try to say something about another group of drawings, this time a very recent one. It is a group of three drawings I made in 2007, a group that, if I am right, I have already had a chance to bring to the pages of our Absolutearts blog when they were not finished yet. Though this is the very first time I am talking about them here.

They are large format drawings on inverted canvas, prepared on the reverse side, so they are made on the rough, unprepared, side of the canvas, because it is then easier to draw with charcoal and tempera colours. Using this technique the colour doesn't run, as on the prepared side, so there is a different way of erasing, drawing, and working on them. This method gives results that, in my opinion, are more suited to my technique. I also find it hard to call them drawings, even though I have found no other way of defining them. However, they are, in fact, large images that are the equivalent of painted images, both in their expressive strength and inner tension. I have always found that there is a strong connection between drawings and painting. They are not two separate techniques in my work, so much so that in many of my paintings you can find charcoal and pencilled lines, both under and above the colour. I have always mixed the two. I believe that a painter is interested in the expression, and is less concerned about the technique he uses to obtain it.

But let us go back to the drawings, starting from Drawing no. 3, the first one I made. During the war in Iraq there was a bloodbath of civilians in Mossul. I had this tragedy in mind, as perhaps many people did, but I didn�t want to paint or to draw that particular butchery, even if, as an emotional basis for these paintings, the sense of tragedy that we are seeing in that war is certainly present. So I portray a pile of bodies, massacred, and a woman with a child gripping onto her, who is perhaps covering her eyes so that the child cannot see. The painting has become rich in references, because the woman is drawn in an almost classical style, as a distant memory of the sketches used by Italian 16th century artists. The tangle of bodies is perhaps more reminiscent, although I could be mistaken, of something going from Goya up to certain drawings or paintings of the concentration camps by Music.

Drawing no. 2 is more sketchy, but no less powerful in expressiveness. There is a woman, defending herself from a man, who is trying to rape her at home, and there are, on the left of the canvas, two children watching, gripping onto each other and covering their faces. This is very indicative of my way of starting a work, and since I think that a painting has to be beautiful from the initial stages until the moment it is finished, I have actually left this drawing in its first stage because, to me, it seemed very powerful, and also to leave a trace of my way of setting up a painting.

Drawing no. 1, which is the largest and is made not on inverted canvas but on white canvas, even though it is still a drawing, also has the feel of a finished work. it is not, in fact, a drawing that can be painted over. There is a man on a crucifix, a woman with a child going away, a man asking for charity, and a strong and powerful chiaroscuro. It is a very moving image, which also touches on the idea of where we are, and perhaps also points to how we could get out of this tragic situation. There is the idea of truth, of Christ, of a mother protecting her child. There are all the elements that, even when appearing at the height of tragedy, can point to a way of escape.

Only recently my friend and art critic Arturo Carlo Quintavalle, commenting on this group of drawings, wrote that there is a deep and constant dialogue between me and the tradition of painting. I have to admit that this is possibly true, because I believe that painting is like conversing with past or present art.

Alberto Sughi, Rome 2008
(translated by Joelle Crowle)
For more info on Alberto Sughi see. www.albertosughi.com

Created by Alberto Sughi On 04/28/08 At 10:18 AM

LET�S DO AWAY WITH �ART� -- Or I�ve got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts.

Walter King for absolutearts.com — 2008-04-24T07:44:00

ART:
1: skill acquired by experience, study, or observation 2 a: a branch of learning: (1): one of the humanities (2)plural : liberal arts b archaic : learning, scholarship3: an occupation requiring knowledge or skill 4 a: the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced b (1): fine arts (2): one of the fine arts (3): a graphic art 5 a archaic : a skillful plan b: the quality or state of being artful 6: decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter
synonyms art, skill, cunning, artifice, craft mean the faculty of executing well what one has devised. Art implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power . skill stresses technical knowledge and proficiency . cunning suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing . Artifice suggests technical skill especially in imitating things in nature . Craft may imply expertness in workmanship .

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

Art is the product of aesthetic human creativity as we artists use the term most generally. But I�m sure someone will argue with that statement. There is a group of anti-aestheticists out there who disagree with the term beauty. I have a favorite button I sometimes wear to openings that says �Art? Why not Bob or George?�

So why don�t we just quit using the word art altogether? I mean why have categories for anything for that matter? Don�t they just get in the way of progress, of beauty, of art? I mean why even have a category for certain kinds of human endeavor at all? To put something in this category or that category�well doesn�t it hinder us from seeing that perhaps the same item could also fit into another category just as easily? Why pigeon hole such an important idea as art?

I mean, suppose we put an ice cream cone in the category of deserts. That would seem appropriate wouldn�t it? But someone might come along and say �but it is also generally a food and should fit into that category.� Yes. This is true. And someone else might come along and suggest that an ice cream cone might also fit into that category of tools with handles since the cone is really a delivery device to get ice cream from the counter to ones mouth. Also true I respond. While someone else comes along and suggests that it fits also in the category of something cold. Someone else might complain that we must define cones as those with and without ice cream in them. I suppose so. And then those categories in which the cone carries one, two or even three scoops of Ice cream. And those categories that are commercially packaged against those that are hand scooped from behind the counter or from the container straight out of the ice box at home. In fact someone else might categorize an ice cream cone as one of those foods that are not healthy due to the amount of fat and sugar and excess calories. While another might categorize it by it�s favorable adjectives, tasty, yummy, creamy�or those of higher income might say that only the best ice cream is really the only ice cream. Those other, cheap, tasteless brands are not really ice cream at all. Certainly sherbert falls into another category wouldn�t you say? Only the best ice cream is ice cream.

Ultimately it is all of the above. And we can simplify our discussion of categories by simply stating that ice cream is a food defined by the category desert. From there it has many aspects that fall into other categories with differing qualities and we can agree with all of these while still calling ice cream a desert food. After that and depending on the context of discussion we can use any of the more specific or collateral definitions and categorizations that fit. They all hold true given their context.

Now the human brain naturally and intuitively recognizes and uses categories. It is simply part of the pattern recognition ability that in part drives how we know what we know and the words we use for categories help us communicate our ideas. For instance we know that some things are poisonous to eat and other things are good for us to eat. These are two categories no one wants to blur for the sake of their health and safety (although I�ll say more about this later). Our pattern recognition ability is naturally pre-wired into our DNA but can be enhanced and made more sophisticated, more articulated, using logical assumptions and some training. We do this in elementary school when we show students a fork, a hammer, a shovel, a cup and a coconut. The teacher asks which of these does not belong with this group? Of course the answer is the coconut because even though all of the above are manipulated by hands only the coconut does not have a handle and is not man made. It also is the only one in the list that belongs to another category called food.

However I could invent a category in which a food might belong to the category mentioned above. Let�s say the group is made of a fork, a shovel, a ball and an ice cream cone (single dip). Now the food item does in fact belong to the group of tools with handles since the cone itself is a kind of handle ( and is also made by humans by the way.) While the ball, although made by humans and manipulated by hands does not have a handle itself nor is it a tool for moving or containing and in fact falls into quite another category altogether�toys. Therefore the ball does not fit into the category. On the other hand the ball and the coco nut might belong together in a category called Spherical things without handles including balls of twine or yarn, certain fruits and vegetables, sporting balls of various sorts and any other kind of ball that is spherical in design. You see a thing can be in many categories at once. And it is not really very hard for the human mind to make the fine distinctions between several categories selecting those items that belong in this one or that one or both without much trouble. Funny�we are not confused by this sort of complex interchange of categories and are capable of holding more than one idea in our heads at the same time in doing so.

So it seems to me that we have tried very hard to undo the meaning of the word art. Or perhaps it is that we have tried very hard to enlarge its meaning to include almost anything if not everything�to the point that the word seems to have no meaning at all. Kind of the opposite of the 400 mythical Inuit words for snow.
( www.mendosa.com/snow )

Now remember that meaning is something we humans ascribe to a thing or an idea via words. When I use the word ice cream everyone who knows what that word means in English understands what I am talking about at least to a general degree. But apparently when someone uses the word art it becomes highly debatable what the word actually or even generally means. And if I say this or that is art someone will undoubtedly say no it isn�t and give reason why. Or if I say this or that is not art someone will say of course it is and give their reasons. Now the reasons may or may not have much to do with either the general or specific use or meaning of the word art. But that doesn�t stop them.

For instance : It would not be logical to say �just because you say a ball does not fit into the category of tools with handles doesn�t mean balls do not have the right to call themselves tools with handles. You know a ball is a tool in various games in which hands are used. Everyone has the democratic right to freedom of speech so a ball could call itself a tool with a handle if it wanted to.� Or �Your definition of the distinction of those items as tools with a handle does not include items that are also manipulated by hand and at least in spirit could be said to be handled. So you are wrong.� Or � Some of the best tools never got handles, some baskets don�t have handles for instance, or sunglasses which have nothing specifically designed to be held by the hands but rather by the ears� so what do you call those long things on either side: eardles? And what about ear phones for that matter?�

A composer, a playwrite, a novelist, a musician, an actor� none of these artists are expected to do anything but what they do. If in fact they do some other art form it is celebrated. But visual artists�painters for instance are challenged when they are in college, especially most grad programs to push into some other area�installation, word art, conceptual art or possibly video. I�ve heard all sorts of statements from faculty from other colleges about how painting is passe, out of fashion, dead. My experience is nothing ever dies. On the other hand there is a large sense of confusion about what painting is, in part because there was a season when photographers wanted the same status as painters and actively lobbied gallerists and museum curators to see the semblance. The blurring of borders between one category and another had begun. And while there is still some good that comes from this kind of experiment it is reactionary and needs a catalyst or establishment against which to react or to focus its attention. The blurred border movement needs clear borders to blurr. Anti-aesthetes need a philosophy of aesthetics to be contrary. And Post-Modernists need tradition, history and formalism to deconstruct. Without their doppelgangers these movements have no momentum�they have no positive core concept of their own. They are simple criticisms, sarcasms and cynicisms.

Avant Guarde once meant to advance. We really no longer speak of advancing, or stretching the envelope, or the cutting edge�today being cutting edge means your work �looks� contemporary, or whatever term is the most up to date�I thought it was honest for a little while when I heard the word �dodgy� being passed around in New York circles to describe young artists who were trying to thread their way through the ideas of the day. Between not looking like some other artist doing something similar, changing the words to the manifesto so that another version seems more original, pretending not to be original on the one hand while trying desperately to do something no one else is doing, this dance of the origins is more like a game of dodge ball.

We seem to be circling around something rather than moving that something forward.
But remember that the ball and the coconut belong together in a category called spherical things without handles.

Created by Walter King On 04/24/08 At 07:44 AM

THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE

Michael Corbin for absolutearts.com — 2008-04-21T07:10:00

The title really gets to the heart of the matter. I am an "Everyday Joe," I write for the "Everyday Joe" and art is FOR the "Everyday Joe."

That's why my new book is called, "The Art of Everyday Joe: A Collector's Journal." Before you think I'm some huckster JUST trying to hawk a book,
please hear me out.

Unfortunately, some people in the art world make things more complicated than they need to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT talking about "dumbing
down" art. Art is expressive, multidimensional and often quite profound, but shouldn't people be free to see and feel whatever moves them? Shouldn't we
be able to break down the most complex work to its most basic, essential concepts?

Not too long ago, an art dealer told me that many people in the art world like to keep art shrouded in mystery ... held high on a mountaintop. Art is lofty and high-minded, but there's a big difference between profundity and pretense. We've done the snobbery thing for so long. Aren't we bored stiff with that?

Let's make art TRULY accessible for people. If we do this, we'll spark excitement and set off a renaissance. Let's talk about it, let's open our doors, let's be nice to people who nothing about art. Every single person is an opportunity to expand the reach of contemporary art. If you really think about it, this is more than just "pie in the sky." This is down to earth practicality. If the "Everyday Joe" thinks that art is actually available and affordable, they'll buy it ... and YOU get to eat tonight. Plain and simple. We don't need to complicate this.

I wrote "The Art of Everyday Joe: A Collector's Journal" because I own SO MANY illustrated art books, none of which really speak to the everyday person. They're all academic, clinical examinations of art that seem to be written for a small circle of art historians and curators. I love these books because I love art, but I've come to realize that even art can be too, "Inside Baseball." Pardon the sports metaphor.

People want art, they need art, they crave art, but I think many don't even realize it. Art hasn't been made available to them because some artists, curators, dealers, writers, professors and administrators believe that art should be kept on high. Therefore, people are intimidated by it. However, the reality is that art is EVERYWHERE. It's all around us. We're living here on earth, the greatest masterpiece of all (which we're destroying unfortunately). As art people, it's our privilege and responsibility to introduce people to the long lost love they never met. Art. Yes, art for the people.

While we talk politics, appeasing people and presidential campaigns, let's get art on the agenda. Never has the art community had such an opportunity to put art
in the spotlight, but where are you people? Art is not a frill.

I wrote "The Art of Everyday Joe: A Collector's Journal" because I'm an avid art collector who MUST write and talk about art. I MUST share my experiences. I want to bridge the gap between a person's first experience with art and their first art purchase. Art is almost as broad as life itself. Because art is so far-reaching, I LOVE writing about art and applying it to the things of everyday life. Art is a slice of life ... or is life a slice of art? I don't know. What I do know is that if you give people art, you give them a shot at royalty. Suddenly, a hum-drum existence becomes enlightened and illuminated ... black and white becomes technicolor and high-brow joins low-brow and creates dialogue rather than farts in your face. We can raise the dialogue but we can keep it real too.

Art is MUCH MORE than just a painting on a wall or a sculpture on a table. It's an experience, a daily reality. It's the real deal. That's why I visit art museums and fairs and galleries. That's why I love talking with and meeting artists and dealers and people throughout the art world ... all over the world. Art is powerful. Art people are powerful. Unfortunately, I don't think their true power has been realized. Let's take art to the people ... the masses. Let's not be snobbish about this. We've done that to death.

Art is for the "Everyday Joe." Yes, I do want to sell books. I don't apologize for that, but more importantly, I want to help our struggling artists. I want people to know about the transforming power of art and the role that it plays in their lives and the world. I want people to catch this benevolent disease for the benefit of us all. It's a win-win proposition. No, I'm not running for office, but if I were, you can bet your ass that the concerns of everyday people and art would be front and center.

MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE NEW BOOK, "THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE: A COLLECTOR'S JOURNAL." CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE AT www.artmaestrogallery.com

Created by Michael Corbin On 04/21/08 At 07:10 AM

Drawing the Line on Reproductions

Barney Davey for absolutearts.com — 2008-04-03T08:00:00

For as long as the ability to reproduce art has been available, there have been those who have sought to use it for legitimate purposes and some for ill-gotten gain. There were numerous reports last month about a ring of crooks busted for selling $7 million in fake Picasso, Miro, Dali and Chagall prints. These reports come nearly on the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the conviction of Kristine Eubanks and her husband, Gerald Sullivan. That pair had been charged with selling $20 million in bogus art prints, many of which were made in their own professional gicl�e printmaker studio.

Personally, I enjoy the fact visual artists can reproduce their work and thus create a secondary cash flow from it. It gives them another price point and allows them to introduce their work to many more collectors as well. Seeing cases of fraud as mentioned above concerns me that visual artists creating legitimate reproductions will find themselves under unwanted scrutiny. As if it weren�t difficult enough to make a go of it already for most artists.

Part of the romantic allure of the art business � yes folks, it is a business � is it is kind of Wild West when it comes to what one wants to do and what one wants to call it. By golly, the debate over �What is art?� has never really been satisfied. Surely, the folks at the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) can attest from regularly coming under siege for funding controversial works can tell you there is a wide range of sentiment regarding the question of �What is art?�

So, if we can�t decide on what is art, is there any chance we can decide on what is a print? The short and correct answer is no. Part of what makes buying art intriguing is one can also hope it may well appreciate in years to come. Ask any of those folks taking part in the $200 million dollar class action suit against the Park West Galleries for its cruise ship tactics. You can bet all bought with the idea of getting a great deal. Unfortunately for them it was only after being shorn did they realize they overpaid for art. It is the same mentality and likely the same herd, only on terra firma, that were taken in by the aforementioned couple of Eubanks and Sullivan who foisted their fraudulent works on their �Fine Art Treasures� cable TV show. In fairness, savvy buyers through the centuries have capitalized on buying undervalued art.
I have for several years championed the idea of abandoning limited editions for gicl�es. In fact, I blogged nearly three years ago here on Absolute Arts with a post titled �Limiting Success� about it as well as on my own Art Print Issues blog. It just doesn�t make sense to me for a variety of reasons; including it begs the question of why limit that which can endlessly be reproduced perfectly or as improvements come along better.

Limited editions also nicely lend themselves to some of the schemes mentioned here. I contend if the art is good enough, people will pay a fair price for it knowing it is in unlimited supply. Do I care if a recording artist sells millions of copies? Why should I care how many a visual artist will sell? If I want truly intrinsic value from a limited supply, I will pony up for an original, which is why many galleries have left the print/gicl�e market. They are tired of romancing the artist to a prospective collector only to lose the sale via the Internet when the buyer shops it. Selling originals avoids this problem.

Regardless of what I have had to say, the limited edition business remains strong. There are still many artists raking in big bucks selling limited editions in all manner of configurations. And, their galleries and they are not about to abandon a successful situation. Who can blame them? I merely argue they are leaving money on the table in the long haul by limiting editions.

A great image might sell well for years just as the back catalog of recording artists do. These steady streams of income could make a huge difference for artists and their families. Some, like the popular watercolor artist, Steve Hanks, have retired huge editions on paper and are now releasing the images on canvas. I think Hanks would have never had to quit selling his work if the editions were they open because the work is enormously popular, timeless, compelling, representational and surreal at once. Instead, he�s had to resort to putting his watercolor work on canvas, which hardly reproduces as faithfully as his editions on paper.

Someone commented on my blog recently that gicl�es cannot be considered limited editions unless they are all produced at one time. The contention is they are a limited series instead. Once again, an interesting arguable take that further muddies the waters and heightens the desire for a ruling body to take hold.

To further stir the pot, there are many dead artists whose estates continue to print reproductions of their work. This, of course has been going on for years with the big names like Dali, Picasso, Miro and Chagall. While long gone, these artists remain in the news for the sale of both legitimate and fake reproductions of their work. Now comes along Gary Arseneau, he is a self-styled independent scholar, an artist and printmaker of original lithographs. He is also the self-published author of books such as The Monument to the Victor Hugo Deception.

We ought to be asking, �Who is Gary Arseneau?� Is he a gadfly, or a crusader tilting in the wind trying to stem the tide of fake reproductions? You can only decide by spending time on his blog where he outlines in great detail his argument that the works of Rodin, Degas, Matisse, Duchamp and even Dr. Seuss that are being reproduced by their estates and heirs are fakes. He makes a heck of an interesting argument. Certainly, if you care about reproductions, buy them, produce or market them, you owe it to yourself to study his findings and read his arguments.

Regardless of your personal opinion, the can of worms opened by Mr. Arseneau hastens the idea that establishing and enforcing true standards in the art world would be helpful. It is a crazy notion, I agree, but until a line is drawn on reproductions, the visual arts community will carry the burden of proving itself beyond reproach each time art of any value goes to market. As the world shrinks due to instant information and communication, being authentic and transparent becomes imperative.

Barney Davey
www.artprintissues.com

Created by Barney Davey On 04/03/08 At 08:00 AM

Murray Miller: Portrait Painter and Teacher

Ellen Fisch for absolutearts.com — 2008-03-31T07:57:00

I have always been drawn to the figurative paintings. As a child, I remember being fascinated by the paintings of "Pinky," (as we called the portrait) by Sir Henry Raeburn, and "Blue Boy," by Whistler that flanked the stage in the auditorium of my elementary school. I tried to imagine the lives of the children in the portraits and of the creative impulse by which the paintings were executed. This fascination stayed with me and evolved to include numerous artists who did portraiture and their subjects. In high school, I began to realize how difficult capturing and painting a portrait is when I was assigned to do a self-portrait in one of my art classes. Since that time, I have flirted with portraiture, and in some cases, created a successful work.
In my early 30's I chanced to get an introduction to a portrait painter who, then, was in his 70's. I called him, and was invited to his home/studio in Queens, NY. As soon as I entered the house, I saw magnificent paintings-mostly portraits---lining the walls. I thought I had stumbled into a museum or, for that matter, paradise. And there was Mr. Miller (as I called him): a short, well-built man, who said nothing as I tried to take it all in. Finally, we talked for a while and I showed him some pencil work I had been doing. My detailed drawings were from photographs: mostly heads. He remarked that I had "something" and told me to do still-life to get a feeling of composition and space. I rushed home to paint two still-lifes in oils. Six months later I called Mr. Miller, who was mildly surprised that I was still around. On the other hand, I had thought of little else while painting away my days and nights.

After critiquing my still-life efforts, Mr. Miller suggested that we go to a life drawing class at the Salmagundi Club on 5th Avenue and 10th Street in Greenwich Village so that he could instruct me in the art of figure drawing. Every Saturday night for five years, I drove Mr. Miller to the Salmagundi that offered a three hour single nude pose. On any given evening eight to ten artists showed up, mostly the same people. The monitor, Bob Robinson was an expert in pencil and conte drawing. Mr. Miller and I usually did studies in oils. Later, a good friend, Dan Slapo a superb pastel artist joined us and I drove both Dan and Mr. Miller into the city from Queens. These were magical nights. The models were usually good; one, Rebecca, with long auburn hair, very white complexion and a graceful body was marvelous. There was little talking, even during the breaks: just drawing/painting the human form. JUST!
Mr. Miller was a harsh teacher. He criticized my work unmercifully, rarely complimenting it. That was fine with me because while he criticized, he taught me: VAST amounts of representational painting information, of which I, a student during the age of abstract art, was unaware. I learned and learned and learned. After driving Mr. Miller back to Queens, Dan and I would have coffee in Mr. Miller's home were he would continue to instruct me on the finer points of representational art. We looked at slides of primarily portraiture from museums all over the world that Mr. Miller had taken (his daughter worked for the airlines). This education was priceless for me.
During the weekly car rides into the city, I learned about Murray Miller's journey as an artist. He was born in Russia in the early 1900's. The family was very poor, but when the Communists came in, the Miller family did not welcome them as many impoverished people did. Murray drew from an early age, using any scraps of paper he found in the streets. When the Communists dispersed propaganda flyers proclaiming the value of the regime, Murray was delighted to have the paper, which he used for drawing and which he hid under his mattress because he would have been killed (he told me) for defacing political materials. Eventually, the family escaped to the US and settled in New York. Murray joined the US Army during WW II. While stationed in Europe, he had an opportunity to see a great deal of art in museums in France and Italy and he decided to spend his life as an artist. This was a tremendous step because he had a wife and parents to look after: art is rarely lucrative. However, while in the army, Murray drew portraits of his fellow soldiers, charging $7 per portrait. In 1943 this was a considerable sum!

After being honorably discharged with medals for bravery, Murray attended the National Academy of Art on 5th Avenue and 89th Street, where he garnered numerous medals for excellence in drawing and painting. He painted portraits for many wealthy and high profile patrons in the New York area, during his career as a portrait artist. His media were pastel and oils. Murray continued to learn about art and study the masters all his life. Throughout the years, he also ran workshops; however, when I met him, he had stopped teaching to devote his energies exclusively to painting. Luckily, we met and he saw in me an apt student and a friend. No teacher could have given me more. He introduced me to painters , such as Raeburn, Ogden Pleisner, Emil Carlson, Frank Duveneck and many others of whom I had never heard. He dissected Sargent's (his idol) work for me to better understand. He taught me about color, form, light, planes, composition: everything. He taught me to paint backgrounds, heads, figures, and a gold ring (This last is not easy!). We also went to museums together on two occasions and there he taught me a little bit about SEEING. He gave me the education of a lifetime.
One day I got a call from Mr. Miller's wife: he was in a coma. After a week, he died, taking all his priceless knowledge with him. For his wife and three children, Murray death was a terrible loss. For me, a friend, a teacher and a keeper of a bottomless vault of information had left me. I realized later that Mr. Miller must have wanted to pass along his insights on art that he had carefully gathered all his life. So fortunately, I was there. He is, of course still with me, judging my work mercilessly. I would not have it any other way. He gave me one of the greatest gifts one human can receive from another: himself as a teacher.

Created by Ellen Fisch On 03/31/08 At 07:57 AM

THE ARMORY SHOW 2008

Michael Corbin for absolutearts.com — 2008-03-31T07:33:00

It was 11:53 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2008 and there I was grazing outside Pier 94 with the rest of the art cattle. It was yet another round-�em-up moment as we waited in line for the opening of The Armory Show 2008. It would be my very first Armory Show on what was a chilly spring day, but fortunately the sun was shining, reminding me that the tropics would soon get their way in Manhattan.

People in line! Please step aside so that these folks can get through!" yelled the security guard behind me.

"Those are the important people, I guess!" said the guy ahead of me in line. It turns out that guy is New Zealand born artist James Robinson. Robinson now lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which is the new hot spot for art in New York City. While we waited in line, we chatted briefly about the art world and why events like the Armory Show have become so commercial. Good guy, nice chat. If he�s willing, I may write something about him in the future.

Anyway, the wait wasn�t that long and upon entering Pier 94, I got out my pad and pen, checked my vision and hearing and got right to it.

Before I get to meat of the matter, would you like some "dish" on your art show menu? Hmm, I thought you might. Get off your high horse.

Early on, I spotted artist Chuck Close wandering the fair in his motorized wheelchair. I�d seen him at another fair in the past but left him to his privacy. Not this time. He looked friendly enough and I certainly wasn�t going to pass up this chance to meet him so I went for it.

"Mr. Close, I�m glad to see you here! My name is Mike," I said, shaking his somewhat feeble hand. "Hello," he said. I asked him if he had any works in the show to which he replied, "No, I hate to be in art fairs!" "Why?" I asked. "Does it feel like you�re in Wal-Mart or something?" For the record, an art dealer once told me that she thinks art fairs have become like Wal-Marts. Here, I thought, was a chance to test this theory on Close. "I just think they�re disrespectful of art!" he replied. With that, he politely took leave. Chuck Close seems to be a very nice man, but I must say that I disagree with him. More on that later, but first, a little more dish.

I also saw Calvin Klein and Bianca Jagger at the show. I was looking at a big painting then turned around and there they were about twelve feet away peering in my direction. She looks just as lovely in person. Both were wearing dark sunglasses and scarves around their necks (like me ... hmm). I don�t know how they actually saw the art with those shades on. Perhaps they were really there to add some glitz. Surely they could�ve gotten a private preview. Anyway, she was wearing a white pantsuit with her long orange scarf. Mr. Klein was wearing grayish-blue jeans and a dark blazer topped off with the scarf. These are fashionable people so surely you knew I�d mention their appearance. After all, this WAS an art fair! Art fairs are visual affairs. Anyway, I must say that Calvin Klein is the thinnest guy I�ve ever seen in my life. I�m talking tall, stick figure. Not that there�s anything wrong with that � I�m just saying. Funny, because right after I caught a glimpse of them, I turned and the woman next to me was also staring at them. Our eyes met and she had this puzzled look on her face. I said, "Yup, that�s them!" She replied by saying, "Oh my God! He�s so thin! And he looks SO old!" In Mr. Klein�s defense, he looks great for his age � whatever that may be. In short, Jagger and Klein were definitely turning heads and they knew it.

Now � let me give you a few quick observations about the Armory Show 2008 and then I�ll mention some of the art that grabbed me. First, the crowd wasn�t as culturally diverse as I thought it would be � not as diverse as Art Basel Miami Beach, anyway. Perhaps the United Nations arrived after my departure. All I got was a three-hour snapshot. Also, it wasn�t as crowded as I thought it would be either, although the crowd did build during my time there. Another thing � as I strolled through gallery after gallery, I kept wondering if I had seen some of these works before. Of course I did. That�s fine � I�m just saying. In addition � it really seemed like female artists were well represented. I saw so many great works by female artists. Rock on, ladies. Oh and another thing � what�s the deal with skulls? It seems that SO many artists are using depictions of human skulls in their work these days. Perhaps Damien Hirst�s $100 million diamond-encrusted skull has something to do with it? I don�t know, but enough already.

Now, onto the cool art. In my book, there were two stars of the show � the first was Thomas Hirschhorn�s "Tool Table 2007." It was such an inventive sculptural piece � two, long wooden plank-like tables that had dozens of mannequin arms standing on them with the hands holding tools like screwdrivers, wrenches and mallets. Many of the mannequin hands also held books, some open, some closed written by authors like Henry David Thoreau and Friedrich Nietzsche. Clever. Oh, the dealer told me the piece was priced at $180,000. I kicked myself for not bringing my checkbook. Would a $200.00 down payment suffice?

The other pieces that I loved were done by Jenny Holzer. They included "Bar 2008," "Stave 2008" and "Thorax 2008." These are long, flashing, ticker-tape like LED signs mounted onto the corners of walls. Each installation carries different messages in various colors. I didn�t bother to ask the price. Your power bill alone to keep those things running would have to be fairly hefty.

There were so many great pieces to see. Mickalene Thomas� ghetto-fabulous, rhinestone-encrusted ladies are getting more and more play at these art fairs. Also, Norbert Bisky�s "glamour shot" boy paintings got plenty of exposure. I saw several Julian Opie pieces that I love. His traffic sign installations of chicks with swaying hips are so cool ... and hot. By the way, Opie had several of those installations in my home city. A lady actually complained about them. She called them "suggestive." My guess is her hips are as tight as lockjaw.

Describing the works that I see at art fairs is difficult because there�s just no way to do the art justice in writing. You just have to go and see for yourself. I always just save my pennies and GO.

Which brings me back to Mr. Close and his lukewarm feelings for art fairs. You know, I totally understand the disdain that so many artists have for them. We needn�t rehash all of the reasons, but let me just say that art fairs are really the only way that everyday people can see available art (if you�ve got $180,000 to burn). Needless to say, I don�t go to art fairs thinking that I�m going to buy something. That�s not the point. The point is that by going to art fairs you simply get to see what�s out there. Knowledge is power. Culture is enlightening. Even Mr. Close acknowledged that much to me. He�s not on such a high horse. Commercialization and artistic integrity don�t always co-exist, but they certainly can.

Yes, art fairs (large or small) are about commercialization and one-stop shopping, but isn�t everything these days?

MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE NEW BOOK, "THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE: A COLLECTOR�S JOURNAL." CHECK IT OUT ON HIS NEW WEBSITE AT WWW.ARTMAESTROGALLERY.COM

Created by Michael Corbin On 03/31/08 At 07:33 AM

TRIBUTE TO YONA FRIEDMAN - �You do your city�

Alice Cavender for absolutearts.com — 2008-03-24T03:20:00

For the next four months, the whole city of Bordeaux pays tribute to the Hungarian architect Yona Friedman. The Mus�e des Beaux Arts is displaying an exhibition around the fantastic creator, now eighty-five years old. The CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art and the Architectural Centre Arc en R�ve have also organised a number of rooms showing the genius of Yona Friedman, the architect and the artist.

In six of the monumental rooms of the CAPC, the beautiful stone walls are covered with the mostly phantasmagorical projects of the artist. Walls covered not only with the many photographs drawn over with white marker pen, but also prints of his more educational side, dispensing ideas and thoughts about different subjects, trying to communicate his view of a healthy way of life.

Yona Friedman collaborated with the United Nations and many Third World countries for many years, and it was through this experience that he found the need to share his knowledge and have a go at teaching, in his own way. An entire room in the CAPC is devoted to this educational process, coloured A4 pages pinned up on metal partitions, each displaying three of four pictures drawn in a very simple style and with a short sentence next to each image. Ideas as varied as �What is a Region?� and �How to look after the environment� are explained in a very simple process, made available to everyone. This educational method is a very specific side of Yona Friedman�s work, his will to transmit in some way or another his knowledge, to communicate with people with less traditional methods.

The rest of the space is wallpapered with the numerous projects that Yona Friedman has elaborated over the years, most of them based on his ideal of the �spatial city�, that is to say a city elevated above the actual buildings, to solve the problem of space and to make the most of areas that are less exploited. For example, Friedman came to the conclusion that railway tracks take up a huge amount of space (in the city of Paris, they represent over three quarters of the historic city centre surface). In order to create affordable spaces without striving to find the space, Friedman teamed up with German engineer Konrad Wachsmann to create �spatial cities� above the tracks.

Of course, many of these projects remain simple projects. They are more ideals, utopian thoughts set on paper, like the project for the Paris 2008 Olympics, or the Museum of the 21st century, in the French capital as well. But that is what makes Friedman�s designs so likeable. He strives to think beyond the structural necessities and solve social needs through his architecture. He tries to incorporate the notion of everyday life and costs into functional yet aesthetic buildings.
Many of his projects are centred around France and its capital. This is mainly because Paris has been Yona Friedman�s home since 1959. In a way, he wants to give back to the city what the city gave him, by welcoming him with open arms almost half a century ago. This idea sticks in the exhibition in Bordeaux, as the last two rooms are devoted to the city, and the architect, as well as presenting his own projects for the town, also invites each spectator to �design� his building and add it to Bordeaux, by the means of a huge map of the Gare Saint Jean area and plastic, paper, scissors, sticky tape and corks (reference to the wine that irrigates the land) that people are invited to cut out, build and place where they want.

Yona Friedman invites people into his world, to witness his way of thought and to participate in the creative process. Often snubbed by the architectural world for his lack of realism, the museums of Bordeaux pay tribute to this great master, who has influenced many others and shown us another way of looking at buildings and conceiving space.

�True utopias are those we can put into practice. Believing in a utopia is not incompatible with being a realist. A utopia is in its very essence practicable.�

Photo Credits:
Goldman in Cornfield - by Jennifer Argenta
Collector visit - by Marlene Picard
Getty Museum - by MarlenePicard

Created by Alice Cavender On 03/24/08 At 03:20 PM

THE FINE ART OF ART COLLECTING: AN INTERVIEW WITH EDWARD GOLDMAN

Laurie Lamson for absolutearts.com — 2008-03-20T08:23:00

Every few months, Edward Goldman takes 20 students on a series of Saturday morning art adventures to explore �backstage� of the contemporary Los Angeles art scene. His students have the unique opportunity to visit and interact with gallery owners and museum curators; private collectors in their homes and artists in their studios.

Mr. Goldman is himself a popular figure on the L.A. art scene, with a reputation as the �Raconteur of Los Angeles� and his Fine Art of Art Collecting classes are a natural outgrowth of his interests and expertise. Since 1988, he�s been the art consultant for prominent corporate collections and his distinctive Russian accent has been heard every week on the Los Angeles NPR-Affiliate, KCRW, with his �Art Talk� program.

LL
How should we begin to talk about art collecting?

EG
So very often people ask me, where we can start, in terms of collecting. There are many starts, and there is no finish. I believe that people can start to collect... or collectors sometimes become passionate even at the gentle age of 9 or 10 or 11. I know people who collect stamps, or some other wonderful small things that boys and girls collect on the beach. Some people have [the] temperment of [a] collector. But some people become collectors very slowly. Sometimes it hits them over the head, or their wife or their husband just force them to pay attention to something that naturally they don�t have the inclination for.

Good example is, let�s say, Norton Simon, whose museum in Pasadena [is] one of the best museums of classical art. But Mr. Simon was not very interested in art; his wife was interested in art. And he allowed her to drag him to a couple of exhibitions, and being [a] very bright, very smart man, he got excited to be involved with interesting people, interesting things, negotiating, and the whole story...

So one can start in a very unusual way. But people sometimes ask me personally, �Edward, how would I start here in Los Angeles?� I would tell them that, first of all, they need just to look at art. Buying art - it�s only a side product of being interested in art... Collecting art, first of all, and most of all - being able to see art, a lot, all the time, in museums, in galleries, in the private houses, and to develop an idea, what appeals to you. Not only what you are comfortable with, because what we are comfortable with - with warm water, with a warm bath, to sit in a comfortable chair like I am sitting in right now, but probably wearing a nice warm winter coat, not winter coat, what would be the word...?

LL
A hot toddy? A blankie?

EG
Yes, to wrap yourself in a blanket and just to watch TV. We cannot do anything without challenging ourselves. And when I say challenging, for [a] good collector, it�s to acquire, to buy only what [the] person loves. But it doesn�t mean [the] person should see only what [the] person likes and prefers to see. You have to see everything.

It�s like, you want to marry, you probably want to know, on a personal level, as friends and acquaintances, hundreds of people before you make a choice. You meet good people, you meet not very good people, you meet wonderful people, you meet nasty people. So you learn something about people. You learn about whom you want to spend the rest of your life with.

The same about art. You have to understand not only what you like, [but] what�s there around for you. You might be surprised. I believe that if someone likes to drink tea and coffee, and never drank vodka � we are talking about good Russian vodka from the freezer � you might be shocked. It�s [an] acquired taste. The same probably for the whiskey. The same for the very spicy food. You�re acquiring [a] taste. So you want to look at a lot of art under different circumstances and slowly decide, what kind of new friends you want to make among the art and artists.

LL
Who takes your class?

EG
When I announce my classes, �The Fine Art of Art Collecting with Edward Goldman,� I never know who is going to sign up. There are thousands of people who receive my weekly radio �Art Talk� in their computer system, people who listen to my program; so it�s my listeners, or people who heard about me through their friends � collectors ... and I am surprised to see that doctors, and lawyers, and housewives, and already collectors with established reputations, which is slightly intimidating � why they would like to spend time with me and what can I teach them about?

I remember one particular class where I realized that several people came � one lives a half-year in Paris, half-year here, another in London and a half-year here, another person came from Switzerland � not for my class, but her background is Swiss and she�s very much still European..., another person came from South Africa. So it�s a perfect - not description of the people who are coming to my class - but maybe the diversity of people living in Los Angeles. For me it�s uniquely cosmopolitan city, not [just] with people who are visiting... but people who came here and live here and just embrace the city with its energy and diversity.

LL
How do you plan your classes?

EG
The way I�m preparing for these classes - like a cook in a good Los Angeles restaurant dealing with the natural foods. So you go to the market in the morning, you�re buying the freshest ingredients and you�re cooking in the evening, based on what�s the best you found in the market.

I�m looking for interesting exhibitions, for interesting things to show my class. To the very end, literally 24 hours before class starts I am still thinking, �What I am going to do, what I am going to show them, where I am going to take them?�

We are meeting in one place, I am giving them itinerary for the next several hours and everyone follows me in their cars � to the studio of the artist, to private collector�s house to talk about how and what they collect, to museum exhibitions, to galleries. And people trust me enough to get together in one place, let�s say at Bergamot Station � concentration of the best art galleries on the Westside. We will meet, we�ll introduce [ourselves to] each other, we�ll say hello, and... they follow me, but they don�t know where we are going, and they trust me enough to come to these classes, like kids, waiting for surprise and not objecting to anything that might happen.

And the funny thing is that, when they come to these four, five meetings in a row, they say, �Oh Edward, please tell me what�s going to be next week, because I have to decide, I have to go to the East Coast, to New York, and I want to decide � do I want to miss this class or not? � based on what you�re preparing.�

And I say, �I swear, I don�t know myself.� So when I come in front of my students on one of these Saturday mornings I feel, as an actor who has a certain kind of plan and text prepared, but I am improvising, and I am trying to create a sense of excitement and novelty. And it�s not only for them a surprise, it�s for me a surprise, because how the conversation between me and them, all of us and the owner of the gallery, all of us and the owner of the house and his collection, how it�s going to happen � I hope for the best, and most of the time, let�s knock on the wood, very good things happen.

LL
Are you teaching your students any particular philosophy about art? About collecting?

EG
When New York Times last year honored me with a profile with a headline, the article had a title, �(Art) World According to Edward Goldman� or as I like to say, Edward, with his Eleventh Commandment about art and the importance of art in our lives. For me, and I think for all of us, art shouldn�t be a luxury. Art is expression of our human collective experience, of our collective soul.

When I think about collecting, definitely I think about how to make our life more interesting. It�s like a cultural artistic blanket that surrounds us as a second skin, which explains [to] us who we are, what the world is all about... It�s not just the warm glow of the fire in the fireplace on a cold night. It�s there for you all the time, even when you close your eyes.

I think about art collecting, if you do it smartly, not to invest money, I�m not interested about that, and I�m not able even to advise people on that. I�m interested in investing yourself, your soul in collecting art, the way you invest yourself in building friendship, which lasts, you hope, for the lifetime.

So, imagine, imagine yourself being a good friend, and celebrating your fortieth, fiftieth birthday, and your friends come to your house. And when you look at them, you know that you have life experience with these people. And you have ten, twelve people sitting at your table. That�s friendship � you cannot buy it for your money, you have to put your time, you have to invest yourself to have [the] luxury of friends around you.

I think that the most sophisticated, the most dedicated collectors � not necessarily with a lot of money � [but] with a kind of sense of passion for collecting, they end up with a collection which becomes almost parallel to having your friends around. [A] collection can not be bought for money, it can be done only if you invest your passion, energy and time... the process, that�s what�s the most interesting, but what is the most challenging about collecting art. And you�ll end up with a party � with art on your walls �going 24/7.

Edward Goldman�s ART TALK audio and text archives available on KCRW.com: http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/at

Laurie Lamson is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She produces and directs mini-documentaries for neighborhoods, causes and organizations, and is currently raising funds to make a documentary about the Fine Art of Art Collecting classes. You can send a comment to laurie@jazzymae.com.

Created by Laurie Lamson On 03/20/08 At 08:23 AM