absolutearts.com Art Blogs

Packing Up & Starting Over

Jose Freitas Cruz for absolutearts.com — 2009-07-03T11:11:00

Four years have gone by and it�s getting harder to keep time from slipping by. Is it age-related or just the fact that I�ve been keeping busy? I really don�t give it much thought, it�s just a fact I�m confronted with now that I�ve packed up my studio and shipped my things off to a new destination where I�ll start all over again.

In the past year, though, keeping busy had something to do with it. One of the reasons I decided to stop posting on aa was because there was too much I needed to tend to, and the lure of the ethereal world was sneakily keeping me away from the real one. But I also felt that a break from blogging and commenting might actually be a good healthy thing. Too many things kept popping up on my screen asking me to join and I needed to distance myself from my computer �routine� to be able to focus on the concrete things I wanted to achieve at the studio. What�s the point of being on 8 different sites if you can�t get anything worthwhile completed in the real world to talk about?

So let me tell you about some of the few things I was able to help out with apart from my own production and input at OD?

In this past year OD � oficina do desenho � came a long way. From being a small independent art school where Rui A�o gathered his students and I helped out as tutor and developed my own projects as artist in residence we have become an association and have since started to engage our community in a more pro-active way.

The snowball had been picking up momentum but it was really only after we presented our collective project at the Cascais Cultural Centre [Dec 08 to Feb 09] that we started to realise the impact OD seemed to be having and that we became fully aware of the opportunities and responsibilities we could expect in the coming years.

The project 3 Men on a Boat in which Rui and I teamed up with Fernando Vidal - before he distanced himself for professional reasons - was not a commercial exhibition but nevertheless it was one of the most successful projects I ever took part in. The reward was not monetary; it was much more valuable than that. I think I can safely say that it enhanced our presence as artists and as trustworthy partners within our community. It opened doors for future exhibition possibilities and collaborations with the local authorities both as consultants and as active creative participants in cultural activities. And, because it went on for over two months it exposed us to a greater audience, as a matter of fact it was one of the least publicized yet most visited exhibitions at the cultural centre ever.

The staff at the Centre were tremendous, they fell in love with the project and went beyond the call of duty to spread the contagion to visitors coming in to see the galleries hosting more publicized artists. Maybe this had to do with the fact that Rui and I were present on location most of the time. Indeed, to me it felt like home for those twelve weeks. Personally I didn�t so much see this as an occasion to dump my work, no matter how beautifully presented, but as a privileged opportunity to deepen the much needed connections with curators and the people in charge.

I also invited a few selected people over to lunch at the centre�s restaurant and gave tours, maybe not so much spoken but just to be there with the public lest they wanted to ask questions, and though we invariably spoke about other things it was always somehow linked to the philosophy behind the work and what we aim to achieve with the school.

Local schools, from kindergarten to 12th graders, organized field-trips to see the show and ask us questions� and, sometimes, play with the dangling steel treads of my boat, which, I�ll admit, must have been a temptation for any child [and I caught a glimpse of the odd grown-up having a go!], but it was so inspiring to be caught up in their enthusiasm that it made it impossible to ask them not to touch. I can�t even begin to tell you how rewarding it was to see my installation and video through the eyes of those children. No amount of money can equal that.

Once that was over I slowly entered into a new mode � different tempo, different focus. In January my wife was told that she would be reassigned to a new posting and so when we took down the show my boat came straight back home. I continued to paint and oversee the work of the students at OD up until the end of May but the students couldn�t help but notice how the paintings, art materials and unfinished canvases kept disappearing until there was nothing left but the original concrete space I had added a little colour to over the three years I was there.

I�ll miss those exchanges with the students, I�ll miss Rui�s insight and companionship, our painting styles may seem diametrically opposed but we share much in common and I learnt a great deal from him while I was there. It was good while it lasted, and I�ll always be connected to the school in some capacity or other, I am, after all, one of the founders, but I�ve become more and more absorbed with the move and have instinctively crept into that buffer-zone I know inside of me where I am able to cope with the loss and prepare for the new stuff.

In May, with me half-here-half-there and not being much help, OD organised an event that brought together commerce and art in an attempt to boost people�s morale and get them back on the streets looking at the shops and at the art. The original idea was for 30 shops to allow 30 artists to redo their shop windows with art for two weeks and hand out a prize for the best collaboration [artists and shop owners were supposed to work together on this], but things soon got out of our hands when word spread and we ended up with sixty shops... and minus 30 artists. Ana Gr�cio and Rita Cardim solved things smoothly, amazingly and in record time, rounding up the remaining artists and getting some of the school�s own students, as well as other art schools to join in the ride. Also, the work they had as coordinators, getting artists and shop owners to get along peacefully while at the same time getting all the visuals ready and out on the streets [banners, leaflets with maps, red carpets for the important guests at the cocktail, etc.] was an important part of the event�s success, contributing greatly to putting OD on the local map.

I won�t go into the details here but it was a tremendous success, with a formal opening by the Mayor and the cultural and legal advisors from the Town Hall and the Cascais Cultural Centre taking their time to see each and every shop, talking to the artists and shop owners [when initially it had been said that there would only be time for a brief overview of the main square area]. From here on I think many things are possible, many doors have opened, both for OD and for each individual helping out to make it what we all wish it to become. And even if in the years to come I won�t be participating as an active participant I still look forward to telling you more about its progress as Rui keeps me informed, because I now think of it as one of my babies as well.

As for me, soon, I hope, I�ll be getting back to the business of setting up a new studio and looking for new projects � starting from scratch... in Japan.

Created by Jose Freitas Cruz On 07/03/09 At 11:11 AM

To Walk Where Rembrandt Walked

Ellen Fisch for absolutearts.com — 2009-06-29T04:43:00

As photographer of details of architecture, I am conditioned to observe my surroundings carefully. I notice buildings, but I hone in on the line of a corner; the angle of a gable; a fashioned decorative vine on a wrought iron gate and the stone carvings on a façade. Fine tuning a bit more, I visually thrive on the textures used for building: grainy granite, polished marble, satiny wood, rough brick, smooth cold iron. These elements create an environment that promotes creativity for me. And above all the light that permeates the scene sets the tone of my photography. Rembrandt 's art and the light of his world are the reasons that I recently went to Amsterdam. To know and to understand an artist 's work on an intimate level, it is essential to see the light with which the artist worked. I believe that the light of Amsterdam defined Rembrandt 's paintings, drawings, etchings. The way that the master saw his subjects, gave him the framework for the art he created.

Amazingly, in a world that is evolving with split second timing, Amsterdam welcomes the future to blend smoothly with the past. It is quite possible to imagine that you are walking along the canals with Rembrandt in the 1600 's. The city is criss-crossed with canals that reflect the soft misty light back into the sky. In late May, when I visited the city, the huge puffy clouds of Rembrandt 's landscapes were just as low to earth as in his paintings. It seemed as if I could pull off a piece of cloud like cotton candy if I stretched out my arm. The marvelous billows of grays, whites, ochres, yellows, blues and many other colors were dotted with openings, big and small, to the soft sky beyond. Through these portals light drifted in soft shafts. Rays that lit fragments of a building, a tree or a face. The delicate way that the light illuminates in Amsterdam creates a mood of fluidity: seamless values.

When the sky turned darker in the late afternoon, I could see the glow that glorified so many of Rembrandt 's subjects. The setting sun through the mist that was usually present allowed beams of radiant light to highlight with a luminosity for which the master is famous. The golden shafts of light were slightly blurred by the watery atmosphere to create a soft, ethereal radiance that was both brilliant and subtle. The night sky also presented a much more diffused dark than I have experienced. The celestial bodies, when visible, seemed to have a filmy edge with a sparkling central area that gave the sky a surreal enchantment. Perhaps the same magic that suffuses the nightscapes Rembrandt prolifically painted.

On one extraordinary day, my son Joe, who had generously gifted me with the wonderful trip, and I took an excursion to Ghent and Bruges in the Flemish region of Belgium. Throughout the drive (furthest four hours outside of Amsterdam) there are farmlands and grazing cows, and other farm animals. Occasionally we spotted a windmill. The scenery was so much like being in a Rembrandt work that the experience may have surpassed seeing the master 's paintings and drawings in the Rijksmuseum. The day was sunny, but the light was, again, as in Amsterdam, filtered, soft, delicate. The pastoral landscape was filled with water trenches that collect the abundant rainfall and irrigate the farms. Enormous clouds hung low and echoed the blues, greens and pale yellows of the countryside. Remarkable light.

Our journey was filled with marvelous sights and delightful chance encounters with people we met along the way. Always, I felt the presence of Rembrandt: walking by the canals, sitting in a charming courtyard or square, traversing the countryside and seeing the light that he saw. Although four hundred years have passed since Rembrandt lived and created art in Amsterdam, he is very much alive there today.

Created by Ellen Fisch On 06/29/09 At 04:43 PM

(LOUISVILLE) - It�s really a no brainer.

Michael Corbin for absolutearts.com — 2009-06-22T11:16:00

Combine air, space, track lighting, concrete, glass, metal, a cool king-size bed to rest your sleepy head and you�re totally there.

You�ve got what may or may not be your typical hip hotel. However, as I write these oh so urbane words, I�m not in your run of the mill sleek abode. I�m taking up pricy space in this totally hip place.
21C.
My trip here actually began a couple of years ago when I first heard about it. �When I finally decide to visit Louisville for another art trip, I going to stay there,� I thought to myself.

But of course, time and expenses or lack thereof intervened and my arrival was much delayed � but here I am slumping over the keyboard in a thick groove as Marvin Gaye croons, �What�s Goin� On� through the speakers piped in overhead.

I�m sitting in what can only be described as an art gallery because that�s exactly what it is � an art gallery. I�m on the basement floor below and adjacent to the main lobby of the 21C Museum Hotel. Within my line of sight are lookers and gawkers who are pointing and chatting and oohing and aahing. Like me, they�re here for the night or perhaps for a just glimpse of what all the talk is about.

Well, I can�t exactly say it�s the talk of the town because I�m no townie, but it seems that nearly everyone in the art world has heard of this hot spot. Finally, someone dreamed of putting a true, literally down-to-earth art gallery in a hotel � or did they build a hotel around an art gallery? Pick your passion, but both are working like a charm on this art lover. Why wouldn�t it? This is the first of my art trips in which art and lodging didn�t just run parallel or perpendicular, they�re literally hand in hand. The hotel IS the art and the art IS the hotel.

About thirty feet away from me on the opposite wall, I�m drooling over three, long horizontal Mikhael Subotzky (South African) archival pigment photo prints depicting prison situations. They�re �Cell 25,� �Reception� and �Cell 508b,� all studies from inside Voorberg and Pollsmoor Prisons (2004).

In the adjacent room are fourteen of Kara Walker�s refreshingly politically-incorrect framed lithographs. Up until now, I had only seen her work in museums and at the big art fairs, but gazing at them here in a real life setting makes them more accessible.

There are four nice-sized galleries off the main gallery where I�m now sitting. It�s a soaring, brick, steel beamed, white-walled, art loft. Just what the art doctor ordered for inquisitive travelers.

In my time here, visitors have come up and down and criss-crossed the space, marching on the sanctity of my art lodging dream. Their chit-chat is inconsequential, but precisely the point. This is what art SHOULD do. It should force dialogue, however shallow or profound and that chat should happen within the confines of a unique hotel. They just don�t make �em quite like this.

PAUSE

As I pause, I�m looking upward at a gigantic, full-bodied, digital print of a mainly nude woman who looks like Bjork from afar, but I don�t think it is. All I know is while the piped-in music plays Stevie Wonder�s, �Boogie On A Reggae Woman,� I�m smiling at this raven-haired, alabaster beauty with her arms outstretched and her taut breasts in full view with a hint of linen loincloth hugging her lovely hips. She�s standing on a white background, perhaps somewhat Christ-like � or is she mocking Christ? That wouldn�t be very nice. Either way, artist Sukran Moral (Turkish) has made what he calls �Artista� (1994) perfection. Is it Bjork? The way I�m feeling now, it doesn�t matter. She�s gorgeous nonetheless.
The long and short of it is you don�t get this everyday in your run of the mill hip hotel. This is art as art should be seen. I want to take each and every one of these works up to my uber-hip room and then out the door as I depart.

But alas, no such deed will I do. I�ll just remember this place and this space and think that finally someone has done contemporary art the justice it�s due. They�ve made 7th & Main the intersection of lodging and art. There�s art on every floor and in almost every nook and cranny � installation pieces too.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that moments before I checked in, I saw a couple of guys decked out in cream colored suits. I didn�t think much about it until I headed up to my room on the fourth floor (401) and the elevator doors opened. Waiting for the other elevator across the hall was a blonde bride looking as lovely and as modern as could be. With that, a light-bulb went on over my head like the artful lights installed in the elevator ceiling.

�Oh! You must be the bride!� I said. �Yes, Hi!� she replied. �You look lovely. Congratulations,� I said. �Thanks!� she replied, beaming as only young brides can beam. Hmm. Maybe she was merely a model at a photo shoot.

In any event, here�s the real point. Should you hold a wedding or any other special bash in a hip, art hotel? You bet your ass you should. Each one gives the other greater purpose.

Assuming it was a true wedding event, the bride and groom probably paid a pretty penny for 21C. I wonder if they got to ride away in that red, bejeweled 21C limousine I saw out front. Even the limo is art!

It�s like I always say. When you bring art into the picture, it�s a kick ass scene ... or perhaps I should be a bit more urbane and just say � it�s a no brainer.

MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING BOOK, �THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE: A COLLECTOR�S JOURNAL.� CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE AT WWW.ARTBOOKGUY.COM

Created by Michael Corbin On 06/22/09 At 11:16 AM

Last post from the UAE �

Valerie Grove for absolutearts.com — 2009-06-19T11:27:00

This will be my last post from the UAE. In fact by the time you read this I will already be on my way back to gorgeous grey clouds of the average UK summertime. The last two years of living first in Dubai and then in Sharjah, have been a decidedly mixed experience but I have learned a lot and really enjoyed the exposure to the diverse international art I have seen here. What is perhaps most bizarre is that it took me several months to find an actual Emirati artist but now they seem to be everywhere. It has been very interesting to see how phenomenally the cultural sector has grown just in the last two years and how arts development can become a kind of nationalism in the absence of any other type of overt political statement! I actually arrived in Dubai in May 2007 in the final week of the 8th Sharjah Biennale so I didn�t get to see very much of it. However, 2007 seems to have been the key year. Dubai held its first international Art Fair and fringe in March and not to be outdone, Abu Dhabi followed suit with Art Paris-Abu Dhabi in November. Galleries started to proliferate and three very distinct art areas emerged in Dubai which now has plans for a Museum of Modern Middle Eastern Art, an opera house and various other museums and arts dedicated areas. Meanwhile Abu Dhabi is getting a �starchitect� designed Guggenheim, Louvre, Maritime museum and performing arts centre.

The culmination of all this activity seems to have been the launch of the first ever UAE pavilion at this year�s Venice Biennale. Actually the UAE had not one, but two pavilions at Venice�. the competitive squabbling between Dubai and Abu Dhabi even spilled over into the most prestigious art platform in the world resulting in one national UAE pavilion organised out of Dubai and a Platform for Venice set up by Abu Dhabi.

However, despite this frenzy of arts and cultural development which has really raised the UAE�s international profile it is still not a good environment for artists on the ground unless they have substantial independent economic means. It is a very expensive place to live (although rents are coming down since the credit crunch), there is almost no studio space and the constant pressure to earn money is just not conducive to artistic output. In two years I have reworked some old paintings, produced four average prints, a digital montage of the Dubai skyline and four towers of trash! However, the towers were a great success and gave me two of the highlights of my time here. They were exhibited first in the Creek Art fair in Dubai and then travelled to the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi where they were part of an exhibition and panel discussion on Art and the Environment. It�s a shame I never got to exhibit anything in Sharjah but another real highlight was working on the Sharjah Biennale catalogue and I am very happy I was able to do that. It gave me a lot to think about on many different levels and I have assimilated (i.e. stolen) ideas about processes, materials, concepts and ways of communicating that I will take back to the UK with me. I don�t know yet how this and all my experiences over the past two years will come out in my work. However, the best thing is that I go back to the UK knowing I have a rare period ahead of me where I simultaneously have the two key commodities of time AND money! This means that I can sift through it all at leisure in my own space and then just focus on externalisation and production. I have (mostly) enjoyed being a facilitator, promoter and reviewer of other peoples art over the past two years BUT I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to just being an artist for while again.

Created by Valerie Grove On 06/19/09 At 11:27 AM

Is art?

findigart for absolutearts.com — 2009-06-15T11:10:00

Is art exactly this or something else?

Is it revealed or created?
Is it contained or merely channeled?

Is art natural like the sweat dripping down my back on a hot day?
Is art artificial like a phoney smile from a hypocrit person?
Is art deliberately superficial like arching an arrow to a distant target?

Is it casual yet intentful as the autumn fall?
Is it innocent yet provoking like a nude baby?
Is it bright yet temporary like falling inlove?
Is it straight-forward emotional yet deceiving as a Heroin addict?

Art is an occupation rather than a vocation;
It is a means rather than an aim;
Is is the scenery rather than the path;
It is a tool rather than a Force�

Spontaneous yet controlled;
Truthful yet compassionate;
Deep yet immediate;

Aware art is the face of man;
Spiritually aware Art is the face of God.

Art is nothing without us.

Created by findigart On 06/15/09 At 11:10 AM

Great view, great energy savings Sliding glass windows a plus for environmentally conscious modular home

Brian Miller for absolutearts.com — 2009-06-11T03:35:00

It began with a story in Sunset Magazine on a new style of modular home that is compact, energy efficient and eco-friendly.
The story on homes built by Michelle Kaufmann Designs caught the eye of woman I know who lives with her husband in a suburban community in the San Francisco Bay area. For years they have enjoyed spending weekends on the coast of west Sonoma County, an area of sprawling ranches, picturesque towns, and gorgeous beaches on the Pacific coast.
The couple had thought about building a small home there as a retreat from their more urban home in the East Bay. My friend saw it both as an investment and a way to take advantage of the great view.
Early this spring, my wife and I spent a day visiting my friend, who asked not to be named to protect her family's privacy. Early on our only morning there, we awoke to see the fog curling through the valley below us, filling the gaps in the green hills.

Personal values and the ability to get approval from local planning officials both played a part in my friend choosing a Michelle Kaufmann Designs home. She hoped that its small scale and highly energy efficiency would make the home appealing to coastal planning boards trying to limit development in scenic open areas. And the simple design would enable her to present the plans herself, rather than relying on a developer. "You do better as a homeowner going through the process," she said. And their hopes were borne out, her husband told me.

Kaufmann brought the modular home into the 21st century by making energy efficiency and environmental friendliness core principles of the design of these speedily-built homes. (Even with the public's embrace of environmental design, the company couldn't overcome the housing bust and financial meltdown and just days ago announced it is folding. It had built about 40 homes.)
Compared with their conventional counterparts, modular homes have always been cheaper because they are built in factories and simpler to build, avoiding the uncertainties of outdoor construction.

Kaufmann's contribution was adapting them to the needs of a nation concerned about energy costs and climate change. Among the standard features of her homes are floor- to-ceiling sliding doors which, when placed opposite clerestory windows, result in balanced lighting and warmth in the winter. And as an architect concerned about preservation of scare resources, many of her homes use flooring made from fast growing bamboo, rather than wood from slower growing forests.
My friend chose a model with clean simple lines called Glidehouse. The 1,600-square-foot home they ordered from MKD is about half the size of their other home. Many of the environmentally friendly features my friend wanted were standard in that model. They ordered a few additional options to suit their tastes and needs.
Three units, each 14 x 48 feet, were built on the factory floor, delivered to the site and set on the foundation. One unit makes up the kitchen, living room and dining room; another the master bedroom and bath and a smaller bedroom, bath and laundry; and the third, another bedroom and half bath, along with a mudroom and exterior patio.
Her model came with sliding glass doors running the entire length of one side and clerestory windows on the opposite side. As an additional energy efficiency step, my friend installed roof-mounted solar panels, which are connected to the grid. "We pay whatever the minimum is to have an account with Pacific Gas & Electric," my friend said. "There are no bills."

Her flooring, while not bamboo, is a layered hardwood by Echo that is engineered to take a smaller bite out of the forest, she said.
A feature of an MKD home my friend especially appreciates is the ample storage hidden behind sliding wood doors all along the north side of the house. "They are very well designed," she said.
Other than the front entry, the patios were of her design. Lining the entire south side of the home, they celebrate the nearly 180-degree view of the hills and coastline.

On an early spring day, my wife and I joined my friend and her daughter for a lunch of chicken sausage, rolls and salad on the patio. Because of unusual early spring rains, the hills were a lush green. We watched as a hawk rode the thermals above the estuary. Beyond, we could see a hint of the foam churned up by the Pacific surf as it pounded the coastal rocks. A tongue of land known as Point Reyes, the most prominent feature of the area, faded into the horizon.

"When it is not windy, I love it," my friend told me recently. Asked to name a special view, it was the same as mine- fog filling the estuarial valley. "When there is a low creeping fog, you can see above it, so you feel like you are on an island," she said.

Created by Brian Miller On 06/11/09 At 03:35 PM

Brad Everett Kirkman: The Messenger

Michael Corbin for absolutearts.com — 2009-06-08T12:00:00

Kentucky born and bred artist Brad Everett Kirkman is what some people might call an "outsider artist." He isn't trained, but some might say he's anointed. Looking at his work, you can clearly see that he's not only driven by art, but also a message. He works full-time for a precision manufacturing company, but art is his true calling and message. Incidentally, we had this chat long ago and begin by talking about his old website which has since changed to www.brevki.com and www.BradEverettKirkman.blogspot.com However, his message remains the same.

MICHAEL: Hey Brad. First of all, your website is called, mainrinse.com. Why do you have a website and where did the name come from?

BRAD: I felt I needed a space of my own that I could have complete control. No ads to distract and no restrictions etc. Main Rinse is an anagram of "I'm a sinner." I named it this so I would always be reminded that I am no better than anybody else on this planet. I will always be in need of a Savior that can fill the hole in me that nothing or no one else can fill.

MICHAEL: Do you draw (no pun intended, sorry) any connection between your art and "Main Rinse"?

BRAD: I really can't separate the two. I think of the website as an extension of the art. I can say and do more there to expand on the message I'm trying to relay with my art.

MICHAEL: I have several different representations of your work and I think it's more driven by your vision rather than even the material itself. How would you describe your art? I'm tempted to say "outsider," but I don't love that term.

BRAD: My work is a direct reflection of my life at the moment it's created. It's not necessarily "pretty" in a department store sort of way. And it's not something that a lot of people will want to hang in their living room. My wife would never let me display most of my art in our house. I want to encourage people with my work. If it's not considered decorator art, no problem. If you want to hang it in your closet and have a private laugh or a secret bit of encouragement that's absolutely great with me.

MICHAEL: I seem to recall you telling me that you sometimes paint things and just leave them out in public for people to freely take? What's up with that?

BRAD: I create little sculptures under the name "Prayzine" (like Praising God) and have left them all over the country for people to pick up and keep. I do this as a gift to others. It's kind of like a friendly street art project. Just another way to try to help people smile and point them to Christ in the process. I leave just enough information for people to Google the name and see what the project is about.

MICHAEL: So, you're like a wandering, troubadour artist with a message. Where have you left these sculptures? Have you heard from anybody who has gotten one?

BRAD: Mainly east of the Mississippi from Michigan to Florida. I also have friends who leave them for me in places they vacation and travel for business. I have gotten email just saying thanks for the art and encouraging me to continue. Not a whole lot of communication comes back. Maybe people think that there is more to it than it seems. I suppose they think, "Nobody would leave art lying around for free. There must be a catch."

MICHAEL: Does your full-time job influence your art in any way or do you keep the two things separate?

BRAD: You can say my art is influenced by my full-time job in that there are a lot of people that I work with who need encouragement or just a kind word. I see them as a good cross-section of people, and even though these people have jobs, they still have needs, be it emotional, physical, or financial. Everybody needs to know they are needed and appreciated. This universal need for encouragement is something that pushes me to continue to make positive, uplifting art.

MICHAEL: Many art people might ask you why you live in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. It's not exactly a booming art center.

BRAD: Hopkinsville is where I grew up. I've been a lot of places and I can't find a place I like better that I can afford. It's central, not too hot, not too cold, not too northern, not too southern. And it's easy for me to jet to NY or LA for my one man shows. Ha!

MICHAEL: Oh, okay. Why do I get the feeling that you've answered that question before? But I digress. You mentioned something early on about having "complete control" over your work. This is a huge issue with so many artists (not to mention writers). What's the deal? Is it the galleries? Who is trying to control artists?

BRAD: The pressure to make something that you know will sell is always lurking. You feel if you paint what you want, nobody will get it and thus not buy. I have control over very little in my life. My time is demanded, my attention is demanded, my finances are demanded. My art is really the only thing that nobody can tell me what to do.

MICHAEL: Yes, that's tough. On top of that, most of the time, you don't even know whether buyers are misinterpreting the message of your art. I also experience that myself as a writer. That must be a real issue with you because your work is so message driven. Still, you must create things hoping that there's an audience out there for it ... otherwise supporting yourself can be extremely difficult.

BRAD: I just try to make enough to pay for my supplies, anything above that is a bonus. I don't see me supporting myself/family on my art. It would be great if I could pull it off, but right now I can't see that being even close to feasible.

MICHAEL: So why are you even doing this? Aren't there other ways to spread the message? Living artists have such a tough time. What good is art to anybody?

BRAD: Creating art for me is cheap therapy. It relaxes me. I have a fairly stressful day job and I need a wind down activity. I tried other things, like golf. AHHH! That just added more stress that I didn't need. As far as the message, I have reached people around the world with my crazy little creations. I love that people anywhere can view my art just by happening upon it. If they look and don't buy that's OK. Maybe they get a little encouragement from just seeing it. Actually making a sale is just icing on the cake.

MICHAEL: Thanks Brad. You're much more than just an optimist. You're clearly a messenger.
Endnote: You can visit Brad at his websites at www.brevki.com and www.bradeverettkirkman.blogspot.com
MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE MULTI-AWARD WINNING BOOK, "THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE: A COLLECTOR'S JOURNAL." CHECK OUT HIS BRAND NEW WEBSITE AT WWW.ARTBOOKGUY.COM

Created by Michael Corbin On 06/08/09 At 12:00 PM

The Opera Rock of Jean-Luc Blanc

Alice Cavender for absolutearts.com — 2009-06-04T03:20:00

Over the last three months, the CAPC contemporary art museum in Bordeaux has played host to the French artist Jean-Luc Blanc, organising a vast retrospective of his work.

Born in 1965 in Nice, Jean-Luc Blanc started his artistic career by drawing, gradually venturing towards painting. This picture-lover takes constant inspiration from the numerous media that our society puts forward, gleaning images from magazines, newspapers, postcards, and films. After a frenzied period of collecting and accumulation, several pictures �impose� themselves to Jean-Luc Blanc, and he selects these to paint. Transferring a small picture to a larger-sized painting allows the artist to give a second life to the image � he says himself that photography is an execution, painting a resuscitation. Giving pictures selected from our everyday life a new purpose, cancelling their first meaning, bringing anonymity to stars, conferring new-found glory on John Does � this is Jean-Luc Blanc�s game. With this somewhat simple and repetitive technique, the artist masterfully allows the spectator to come across a new image, free of its past, and open to interpretation. Discovering Jean-Luc Blanc�s work allows us to come to terms with our own personal way of looking at art.

Along with over two hundred of his paintings and drawings, forty-five other artists have been brought together by Jean-Luc Blanc and the Parisian curator Alexis Vaillant to be part of this retrospective.
Indeed, when invited to create a retrospective of his work, Jean-Luc Blanc couldn�t conceive his canvasses without the production of other artists, contemporary or historical, that have influenced him throughout his career. Add to that antiques and anonymous objects, artworks from the municipal museums of Bordeaux, and you have a fully blown �Opera Rock�, an eclectic collection of the desires and inspirations of Jean-Luc Blanc, set out in thirteen rooms of the second floor gallery of the CAPC.
Along with sound effects orchestrated by Mr. Learn, and the phantom of the French writer Marguerite Duras hanging over the exhibition, the CAPC has successfully managed to give you the feeling of entering into Jean-Luc Blanc�s mind and understanding his approach as an artist, his world of imagination and creation. This 3D version of his brain is characterised by a diversity of techniques, a medley of generations and nationalities, and a multiplicity of truths.

Works by Michel Blazy, paintings by Dan Attoe, bestial sculptures by Laurent Le Deunff, and photographs by Diane Arbus dialogue with installations by Vidya Gastaldon, hand-crafted objects by Shannon Bool, shotgun paintings by William Burroughs, videos by Brice Dellsperger and lithography by Odilon Redon. All of these accompany the enigmatic paintings of Jean-Luc Blanc, communicating as if old friends.
Portraits face abstract oil paintings, delicate porcelain ornaments sit side by side with ancient mummy hands, wooden silhouettes talk to metal-wire spiders� Almost three hundred artworks share the space of this exhibition, an original and quasi extensive portrayal of the thoughts of Jean-Luc Blanc, a way to understand his art differently and to combine backstage (the inspiration of the artist) with the stage itself (his own production), symbolised here by the tall black screens (as if in a theatre) that accompany the visitor the further he ventures into the exhibition.

Let yourself be drawn into this artist�s space � you won�t be disappointed.

Jean-Luc Blanc, Opera Rock
From the 25th of March to the 14th of June 2009
CAPC mus�e d�art contemporain de Bordeaux, France

Created by Alice Cavender On 06/04/09 At 03:20 PM

Scraps - Art from a Dubai tragedy

Valerie Grove for absolutearts.com — 2009-05-22T10:08:00

One of the main areas for art galleries and activity in Dubai is the Al Quoz Industrial Zone. As the name suggests the area is grimy, dusty and mechanical, inhabited by warehouses, factories, storage depots and wholesale outlets. When rents were skyrocketing elsewhere in Dubai this area was still relatively cheap and the large and empty premises were ideal for conversion to gallery spaces so over the past five years or so a lot of galleries have set up here.

There are risks to living in an industrial zone and reports of warehouse fires are frequent. However a massive explosion and fire last year resulted in several casualties, 3 destroyed warehouses and a thick cloud of toxic smoke which hung over the whole city. Luckily none of the galleries were close enough to the site of the fire to be seriously affected and since then it seems that fire safety precautions have been improved.

This is the background to the current exhibition at Total Arts gallery that has to rate among the most memorable I have seen in Dubai during my two years here. Total Arts was founded by architect Darius Zandi and artist Shaqayeq Arabi and was the first gallery to set up in Al Quoz way back in 1996. After the fire Zandi and Arabi visited the burnt out warehouse and were so affected by what they saw they began a long process of transporting things from the site back to the gallery.

The result is Scraps, an installation composed entirely of materials, artefacts and incidental objects found at the site with site photos projected against two of the gallery walls. The scale of the installed pieces varies from huge warped sheets of corrugated metal suspended from ceilings and used to create artificial walls, to small and fragile fragments of paper or cloth.

Some pieces stand on plinths like highly original sculptures, most amazingly a collection of hundreds of pairs of metal scissors all melded together by the heat of the fire. A partially collapsed bicycle stands precariously upright surrounded by different piles of objects fused in plastic, metal and wood. There are melted tins, jars, knives, safety pins, toothbrushes, bicycle pumps, a cash register and many other everyday objects rendered almost unrecognisable by the furnace they emerged from.

Many of the smaller finds have been transformed by the artists into installations in their own right. One wall is covered with blackened food trays set with piles of melted forks and spoons and a metal sheet is covered with knife blades. A series of boxes contain a curious mix of objects, scraps of documents, textiles and electrical wires.

The exhibition is a unique and moving memorial to those who died. It is a wondrous and disturbing sensory experience crystallised by a soundtrack of muffled explosions and the all pervading odour of burnt metal, wood and plastic. It manages to address several different levels and aspects of its own particular local context as well as referencing wider points of aesthetics and art history - a dual achievement still very rare in exhibitions here.

Created by Valerie Grove On 05/22/09 At 10:08 AM

CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

Michael Corbin for absolutearts.com — 2009-05-18T09:23:00

So, I�m sitting here inside my hotel room after having visited Art Chicago 2009. I managed to make it on this very last day of the fair. Who would ever think someone would actually look forward to Monday?

As you undoubtedly know by now, art fairs are great excursions for me. There�s something about them that allows me to feel that I�m putting reality on hold. As I wander the clinical, pristine aisles of art, I feel almost as if I�m floating amid the clouds. There�s something about being in the presence of art that elevates you. After only a few short moments alone with art, you enter this state of meditation, followed by communion and then, your senses are heightened, your spirits lifted and it�s almost as if you�re in some virtual reality place. It�s a treasured space and a good gig � if you can get it.

I sort of have that feeling right now here in my modern, hotel room at the Aloft Hotel where outside this very window, planes are busily landing at and departing O�Hare Airport as you might expect on the first business day of the week.

As I look back on my art-filled day, images of things charming, edgy and profound come to mind. This is where I could describe contemporary art galore. Yet what hangs above my head like a bright, white light bulb is something an art dealer said to me. The dealer told me that things just weren�t selling. This individual also said this was indeed the case with many of the other dealers as well. For folks in sales, acknowledging reality can sometimes be like admitting defeat.

Anyway, the dealer joked and told me this story about how many well-heeled people in New York are now shopping at a very high end retailer (hint: it begins with an �H�) and they�re refusing to walk out with their purchases inside the store�s logo-splashed shopping bags. Many of them are supposedly using plain, unmarked bags instead.

Clearly, the long-extended, �shop �til you drop� days of �Dallas� and �Dynasty� have come to a screeching halt. In this troubling economy, flash and conspicuous consumption are a BIG NO-NO. Designer labels, or at least the appearance of them has been given the heave-ho. Few people want to be spotted doing something so seemingly frivolous. Isn�t this what folks used to live for? Conspicuous consumption used to be the name of the game. It was the sport of choice. If you had a Prada suit or whatever and no one knew it � then what was the point? It seemed as if our collective self-esteem depended on labels and shopping sprees.

What happened? I�ll tell you what happened. We got a �Saturday Night Smackdown.� That�s what happened. We were flying high and living on Cloud Nine, but it was all on credit. Our grip on status was about as secure as the self-esteem we thought came with it.
The more we consumed, the more we needed to grab to keep the whole charade going. That pressure has fallen by the wayside, hasn�t it?

As I sit here and stare out the window at a gigantic KLM jet taking off, I can only think about art and something else the dealer said to me.

�I feel really bad for the contemporary artists,� the dealer said, pointing at one of the spectacular paintings the gallery had displayed (Here�s where I would normally describe the painting and name the artist, but that might give away the gallery now wouldn�t it?).

�He�s only 27!� the dealer said. �All he wants to do is create art!�

�But that�s unrealistic right now,� I said, completing the dealer�s sentence. �Yes,� said the dealer. �It�s so sad.�

You know, emerging artists always have and probably always will have it tough. Why? I think it�s because of conspicuous consumption. Art is always seen as a frill � an unnecessary expense. If you buy art, many people still think you�re being fancy or vain or you�re trying to be something you�re not. But what if you just LOVE art and must have it? What if you see it as an expression of your soul? Is THAT conspicuous consumption? In this tough economic time, should art lovers scurry into galleries wearing dark sunglasses and hoods over their heads and run back out with their beloved purchases hidden in brown, paper bags like cans of illicit liquor (or apparently high-end, designer merchandise)?

My short answer is a resounding NO! When you buy art, you�re creating a ripple effect that impacts so many other people. Unfortunately, artists tend to come at the bottom of that chain, but they benefit nonetheless. Whenever I buy art from an artist I know, I always feel so good about it. Yes, in this current economic climate, I haven�t been buying as much, but when I do, I always feel GREAT about it. For me, it�s NOT ABOUT conspicuous consumption or trying to be fancy. IT�S ABOUT THE ARTIST AND THE ART.

I can�t believe I�m about to say this, but buying things isn�t just about the money, it�s also about the psychological impact on both sides of the deal. If you like something and can afford it, it feels great to buy it and if you create something, it feels fantastic to get paid for your work. Looking at art is great, but buying art puts me on a natural high. It�s not about shopping, but rather finding a way to make your soul feel nurtured so that you can soar.

As I�m typing these words, I�m thinking about that 27-year-old artist who just wants to paint full time. Nothing like rough reality to bring you back down to earth. The dealer told me that he�s working as an art handler. With that, we exchanged business cards and began to part ways. Our chat about the artist and his day job left me deflated yet elated. �Well, you gotta eat,� I said to the dealer. �Yes, you gotta eat!� the dealer replied philosophically.

Speaking of which, it�s time for me to go out and grab a bite myself. It�ll be conspicuous consumption for sure. At least the meal I buy will put money in someone else�s pocket � maybe even food on THEIR table. Spending money with social awareness can put you on a high. I�m good with that. If you�re not, shoot me from the sky.

MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING BOOK, �THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE: A COLLECTOR�S JOURNAL.� HE�S CURRENTLY WORKING ON A BRAND NEW WEBSITE TO BE UNVEILED SOON.

Created by Michael Corbin On 05/18/09 At 09:23 AM

ART AND THE ECONOMY-HIT OR MISS!!!

John Powell for absolutearts.com — 2009-04-25T07:52:00

There are many elements involved in an economy but I choose to look at art. Art appreciation is a gateway to the intellectual capacity of the mind, which opens the door for learning because in art you find cultural diversity, where learning first starts. To appreciate diverse art forms, one has to be first culturally diverse/aware because it is through art all forms of cultures are seen.

It is said that credit, is the life blood of any economy, art is one credit that helps to detect "signs" of an economy? It is in the art collection of any country that can help one to see the wealth of a country. So, you can see the important place art plays in an economy. It helps us to see what one could term the early "signs" of a good or bad economy in a country, hence art is about visual signs but most people mainly who I would call the connoisseurs of the economy, may have not been looking at art as an element for signs for an economical depression. A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's but it may never reach the viewer. With the advent of the Internet, artists can set up their own websites and be seen.

The past years have been a taxing ride for the online art market. The Internet art economy, which drew entrepreneurs online and inspired venture capitalists and investors to infuse dot-com companies with cash, in 2001. Nancy Valentino, senior vice president of Christies.com said, "if someone had told me on January 1 what would have happened to art on the Internet by Nov 1, i would not have believed them, it's been a frantic year 'passion'. " . Those who are skeptical of the Internet's potential as a marketplace for high end art note the financial instability of the past years, optimists point to an increasing number of new collectors who have emerged online. In contrast , the Jamaican art scene has its share of ups and downs, where companies are not buying but quietly, serious art collectors have being buying, in 2008 a billionaire and a major art collector, purchased up to $60million worth of art work, from a major Jamaican fine art collector and one of Jamaicas top artist/painter. A lesser known artist who is one of Jamaican most important emerging painter, who's entire solo exhibition sold out with paintings value $150.000-$1,000,000 million dollars. More so, in a time of an economical melt down, art collectors look for artists who are serious to collect. "Good Art", even though you might say its a relative term, has the capacity to flow through any depression and will always break the monotonous flow of any period and withstand the test of time, beyond boundaries. Whenever there is a time of "significance", people tend to look at art more for answers or healing, it has always been there but was never been given attention. Art speaks through "time" irrespective of any special period, art is time and vice-versa, its a way of life. It's real and if you are not being real, it tells you. Art speaks economics, if the shapers and makers of the economy were looking at art more, they would have seen it coming. We take it for granted when we are looking at art and so, we are bewildered by saying but that's what I have being seeing in the expressions of the people. We tend to look at Wall Street for the answers, but Wall Street should look at art more because it is in the arts most times that the signs exist first, because it tells us the reality of the time. So, when next someone asked you, what is the state of the economy, tell them, just look at art. Art is a visual sign/language, also the "economy" and the language used to discuss both art and the economy, are "similar"...? What are the elements used in discussing the economy and what are the elements used in discussing art, are they similar or dissimilar?Do they have or move in the same pattern or form?What is economy? Is the economy life? Art depicts life. Does the economy relate with art? Who or what dictates the economy? The economy is a way of life, art is also a way of life.

By John Powell (Artist)

www.absolutearts.com/johnpowellpaintings

Created by John Powell On 04/25/09 At 07:52 AM

ROSEMARY LUCY COSENTINO

Michael Corbin for absolutearts.com — 2009-04-20T01:36:00

Rosemary Lucy Cosentino is an artist who lives in Montreal, Quebec. I actually met her online after she responded to one of my blogs. I checked out her website, www.rosemary-cosentino.com and I loved her art which I think has a brooding, solitary quality. Consequently, I asked her to chat here. She's actually breaking the rules by sticking with the old school ... Read on and you'll see what I mean.

MICHAEL: Thanks for chatting Rosemary. First of all, you call yourself a "Contemporary Figurative Realist Artist" who employs "Old Master" techniques. Is it really possible to breathe new life into old techniques?

ROSEMARY: Definitely! Hopefully, I won't go too much off topic, but everything I say is relevant to why I strongly believe this to be true. Growing up, my true inspiration in becoming an artist came from impressive realist oil paintings I saw in books, television and museums. I wanted to be able to paint that way as well and in doing so, I would be perhaps one day as well able to inspire some child in becoming an artist in the same way the Old Masters did for me. I have used the old techniques and took the most important part of that (knowing how to make your paints and how to apply them properly on hand prepared grounds) and created my own style and personalized technique. I can ensure my paintings will last through the test of time and still be classified as a contemporary artist who paints figuratively and realistically. Up close, my works are very painterly and the layering of brushstrokes is not the same, but similar to what Rembrandt did in his works. I can paint photo-realistic if I choose with a brushstroke free flawless look or expressionist or even abstract. I will always employ the Old Master technique no matter the subject. It does not matter really what you are painting, but how you are painting it. Rembrandt's scratchy, layered, painterly strokes were genius. He captured so much with so little. There are no restrictions on subject matter like in those days, and so I do not fear being thrown in jail for trying to depict something other than representational and what is real. But, it is my choice to paint the way I do.

MICHAEL: You mentioned past restrictions on painters and how you have much more freedom today. Have you ever had restrictions?
ROSEMARY: Some teachers in University showed disrespect for my choice in painting this way. Though they did not question my techniques, they felt I was not contemporary enough. They actually could not care less as to what techniques were being used or materials, as long as it was, "minimalist" and "temporary" or "edgy." Very few teachers supported me. After the third year, I had a following for the "out-of-date" art I was doing and without being egoistic, I contributed to changing the direction of the Fine Arts program at Concordia University for sticking to the style of painting I loved most. I always hated following rules and doing what everyone else did because it was "cool" or "in." Teachers came to me for techniques and often asked what I used after that. The University was known for contemporary art since so many big artists like Guido Molinari taught there or came from the University � artists who as part of art history, were part of the Modern Art movement- not figurative painting. Speaking of whom, Molinari was one of my last teachers and he told me I was his biggest challenge ever. I refused to impress him with the type of work he loved- minimalist, modern abstract as so many others were doing just to get his attention and perhaps get a recommendation or two from him. Though he was so famous even while he was alive, he was not arrogant with me like other teachers were nor disrespectful. He accepted that I was going to paint figuratively and using techniques he was not familiar with himself or known for. He said he surprised himself. I did not learn anything from him, but I think he learned a lot from me. His appreciation grew for more representational work.
MICHAEL: That's great. I think that the best teachers are always learning new things. So, given your respect for the old masters, what do you think are the differences between their work and more modern applications?
ROSEMARY: I think there is a strong difference between historical figurative realist work and today's figurative realist artists. Subject matter, talent, ready-made cheap materials and many other factors of course make the difference. A lot of artists try painting this way without knowing the techniques or materials they should be using. Many get away with it aesthetically and some just do not because of lack of training, experience or laziness. I came across an artist with no artistic training whatsoever who is great at reproduction of photos. His technique is extremely poor, though an art collector would never know unless they understood all there was to know about painting. All his paintings I saw in the flesh were cracking! Didn't anyone else notice this? Apparently not. Yet he is highly sought after and has been showered with prizes and glory. You cannot cut corners when you decide to paint this way. You cannot be lazy. It is about discipline and perseverance. The Old Masters had so much time on their hands I am sure, but very little distractions as we do today. And they also did not have visual aids as we do to make an artist's painting process that much easier, such as digital photography. So to sum it up, I believe that Old Master techniques in today's times can be reinvented. That is certainly a big part of what I try to achieve in my series of artworks � the feel of the "old" but the look of the "new."
MICHAEL: There's a true paradox here. You're breaking the rules by sticking with tradition. Who knew? But seriously, is it really okay to mimic the old techniques?
ROSEMARY: It's perfectly acceptable, though not everyone feels this way. Large, modern, figurative oil paintings are still the type of art that fetch the most money at auctions. Odd Nerdrum, Gerard Richter and Lucian Freud are great living examples of how far these techniques can be taken in today's times, still loved, in demand and collected internationally.
MICHAEL: I absolutely LOVE Lucian Freud and Odd Nerdrum. Speaking of the fact that modern, figurative work sells so well, how much pressure do you feel to create work that you know will sell well or at least appeal to the masses? Is appealing to the masses a bad thing?

ROSEMARY: From the very beginning, the question never crossed my mind � making art that appealed to the masses or that would sell well. I thought no matter what I would create, that it would be accepted and become like many artists -what they would be known for- my own signature so to speak. Accepted, respected, and acknowledged. In the last couple of years, I realized not everyone appreciates what I do, not everyone wants narrative figurative paintings. I understand this because everyone would then be one big massive clone and individuality would not exist. So I decided to do work I still loved, but more enjoyable in subject matter and creation part of it. The pressure was not destroying me emotionally, but yes it was there, because I need to make a living from my art and I had to compromise at some point or another to make ends meet. I accepted the compromise graciously, and the results were unexpected.
MICHAEL: An artist who is actually admitting to compromising? Hmm. What did you do?
ROSEMARY: I began to make pop realist resin cake or dessert paintings and people responded very well to this series. Not to mention I enjoy making these works because the results are not calculated as are my larger oil paintings. I actually did not see it as work, but making art for fun. It was totally a different direction for me. However, I am still doing my more serious, ambitious work and working on these resin dessert paintings as well. Not too much of a terrible compromise. I also started a new project last year called, "Painting a Day." This appeals to many collectors who themselves are collector addicts of daily painters that is a movement with artists that is growing each passing day. I am addicted to doing at least one small work a day of a modern still life like a Chinese mirror ball, vintage marble, or fresh Montreal landscape. These other works that I was forced to experiment with, actually helped me in ways I cannot even explain. I was able to sell more on international basis and so my work was disseminated as a result all over the world. My techniques diversified, I explored different subject matters and I was forced to be original in more than just one series of works. Appealing to the masses is not a bad thing necessarily for me anyway.
MICHAEL: It sort of sounds like you stretched yourself as an artist by trying to please others. It's so rare to hear ANYONE say this, let alone artists. There's so much arrogance out there right now.
ROSEMARY: I learned so much more about myself, trying to create something someone else was going to enjoy and not necessarily me the creator. Because of this, I have now as well equipped myself to create small, figurative sculptures that can attract a whole other audience and will continue to create fun artwork. I also considered making paintings for children. That is a whole other audience as well. This can be looked upon negatively by art dealers. But is it really? Why can't an artist have different projects, techniques and audiences?
MICHAEL: Preach sister preach. As a collector, I can't believe I'm hearing this. Why do some folks in the art world even consider this an issue?
ROSEMARY: Consistency perhaps, confusion with collectors or the fact that dealers normally want exclusivity on series of works and "they" are the ones limiting artists to what they can sell to their audiences. I think the latter is the answer. Andy Warhol is known for his Pop art, but he branched into so many techniques and styles, prints, silkscreen, collage, sculpture, ready-made ... unless he signed it or it was attributed to him, not everyone would recognize all his works as Andy Warhol's. I think that adds to his diversity, interests and says a lot more to me than "formula artists" who find something the masses want and that's all they pump out for the rest of their lives not because they love it or want to do it, but because it's the demand and this allows them to survive and live off their art. But in the end, what ultimately would satisfy any artist would be that they can please and sell their works to "the masses" without compromising one thing. There would be a lot more original artwork out there actually and perhaps a lot more creative and bizarre never before seen artwork for sure. A handful of artists have experienced this ultimate satisfaction, but I wonder how many other successful artists would admit they were painting to sell and not for themselves.
MICHAEL: Perhaps this is my bias as a collector, but I've never felt that artistic integrity and pleasing people always have to be mutually exclusive. You seem to have found a happy medium.
ROSEMARY: I agree with you on that point. Artistic integrity is something all artists have. There are exceptions, but, in most cases, artists will be forced to suppress it in order to get themselves out there and compromise to please viewers, buyers, and dealers. I heard of this happening late in one's artistic career as well. I just hope that after a certain time and that after the artist has made a name for themselves, this would no longer be an option. This is something no artist would admit in public or in an interview perhaps. I will never fully demise my artistic integrity. I have limits and if I don't put my foot down, I won't be taken seriously either. In the end, I am respected more for turning something down that would diminish my artistic integrity. No matter what, even in a private commission, I am never miserable painting it. How could I be? I am making art and I take it that this will please one or many individuals. This is where the thought of not creating what I normally would to please someone or many people is not losing integrity, nor compromising. I think sometimes it's artist's egos that get in the way more than their integrity. They often confuse the two! When a dealer makes the call, (saying) paint the same painting over and over for me because this is what is selling, then this is a choice the artist has to make. No one is pointing a gun to your head. But, I have heard horror stories of artists compromising beyond their means and losing artistic integrity to the point of depression and spoiling their career altogether. Again, the artist has the choice. You never put yourself in a situation where you would lose your career to please an art dealer for example. There are many art dealers out there and buyers all over the world.
MICHAEL: Do you have any idea where your art will take you in the future or should mystery be part of the journey?
ROSEMARY: I believe I was born a painter, but my curiosity to understand and learn as many mediums as possible is impossible to hold back. Forcing myself to explore and try different mediums allows me to be more knowledgeable in my artistic field. It's only normal. As an artist, I must understand as many mediums as I can as if I were to be able to teach them to students. My happy medium is oil painting. I newly discovered polymer clay for sculpting and this will be something I will be pursuing as well. I am uncertain of where my art will take me in my future, hopefully somewhere between established painter and art teacher. The mystery is part of the journey almost 100% of the time I feel with my art. It's been like this since day one. You never know where you will have a show, which gallery will pick up your artwork, who you are going to meet, who will buy and who wants to learn from you. I want with certainty to know in which direction I am heading, I aspire to many things and expect specific outcomes by a certain point in my career. Teaching art from my own gallery one day is one of them. Focus is very important. There is nothing wrong with experimenting and trying new mediums as long as I focus on a handful or less and stick to them.

MICHAEL: Thanks Rosemary. This was such a breath of fresh air. Rock on with integrity!
Check out Rosemary's website at www.rosemary-cosentino.com
MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE AWARD-WINNING BOOK, "THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE: A COLLECTOR'S JOURNAL." CHECK HIM OUT AT WWW.ARTMAESTROGALLERY.COM

Created by Michael Corbin On 04/20/09 At 01:36 PM

A mad junky in the name of art (Part 2 of 2)

findigart for absolutearts.com — 2009-04-16T08:09:00

A mad junky in the name of art (Part 1 of 2)

Should being an "artist" automatically excuse for immorality and capriciousness?

The joystick of attitude
When someone is established in a path of spiritual awareness, in faith, he realizes his essence and uses every daily doing as a lift to spiritual enhancement, to personal growth, to the aspiration to all that which is noble, pure and luminous. It's a question of attitude and attitude is an expression of the freedom of choise which God gave us, Humans.

A deep and intense spiritual awareness to the existential suffering of oneself and of mankind is a gift, but awareness which is not accompanied with equilibrium of the mind begets fear which might result in hatred, rather than a balanced and aware mind which begets love and faith.

Art can also be created out of love and faith and it will be as deep, impressive, creative and colorful as art emerging from the darkness of the artist's psyche. Again, it's a question of choise and once you do believe that God indeed contains everything � including the devil � because everything is within the boundaries of His Creation and His Providence governs all with absolute and infinite awareness, than the logical outcome of that realization, is that art which is lofted by the creative forces of the mind can soar much higher and further than art which stems from the rotten roots of the destructive forces of the mind.

Asceticism
Those artists who choose to create art out of self-hatred and conflict do so on their own, but by no means because it is necessarily the way of nature. Perhaps they choose to believe that if and when they will stop suffering they will also stop being unique. Perhaps it is the rooted belief that being miserable is being deep and that happy people are superficial and stupid. But that depends on where from this happiness flows, and of course when I say happiness, I mean true and profound blissful joy and not that unaware vapid hypocritical charade posed by most of them "happy" people.

Now, the happiness of sensual pleasures may indeed be superficial and stupid, but nevertheless it is an expression of the human nature just as much as stubbornly uncompromising and haughtily pretentious debatement concerning 'deep' philosophical issues. At the ultimate level of reality, enjoying a good steak like a beast isn�t more superficial than embittering your life with asceticism and self torture, as did certain artists of the past, since it does not indicate spiritual greatness but rather the greatness of the ego and it's arrogance and the illusion that shields them and then turns them into a distorted and dangerous belief, that it is indeed for a higher cause � Art � nonsense.

Happiness
But there is true joy, what which we call 'Happiness' � that which derives from the knowledge that in any situation and at all times there is something unfathomably bigger than us, which is aware of us into our entire depths, which knows the purpose of our existence and tries to guide us through a universal scene of illusions and misery which he created for us.

From within those short moments of the happiness of faith and the experience of the radiance of truth, art is born which is not the outcome of misery and indecisive conflict, but rather one that, for a start, expresses all those objectively and impartially. Perhaps at a later stage an art emerges that is all of the nature of radiance, happiness and faith � art which is the embodiment of the divine, the exalted and the complete.

Attraction of similarities
As an incidental remark to the above and as a side effect of the suffering human, the frequencies we generate draw to us those people who generate the same frequencies. A magnet will not be pulled to or by glass or wood but only to iron. It is the law of nature. A man � an artist, a cook, a teacher, a driver or a cashier � who generates frequencies of self destruction draws to himself other people of the same frequency.

Someone who, in the name of art and out of deep soul affinity for art, generates frequencies of self destruction, will attract 'artists' or those with 'the soul of an artist', who ruin the lives of themselves and of those who surround them, without any aware striving towards the origins of all phenomenon and the real solution to their personal despair. This is also a law of nature.

And that is all I had to say about that. Thank God for the wisdom, the insight, the pride, the journey and the conflict.

Created by findigart On 04/16/09 At 08:09 AM

Performance Art of the Renaissance

Jeffrey Andreoni for absolutearts.com — 2009-04-14T08:38:00

Many scholars mark Allan Kaprow's happenings as the beginning of performance art. Others have named Ghandi as the first actual performance artist. Others still have identified the beginning of performance art in the Dada and Futurist movements.
Unfortunately these scholars are all dead wrong. The first performance art piece actually took place during the Renaissance and was commissioned by none other than Pope Clement VIII. The first performance art piece was a true masterpiece that still burns in our memories today. It was a real sacrifice on the part of the performer and the work deserves to be added to RoseLee Goldberg's next anthology of performance art.

On February 17th, 1600, a crudely erected stage appeared in the middle of a main city square in Rome. A crowd gathered to view a performance they had seen advertised all around the city. General admission was charged for viewing, and the performance began to take shape.

Two assistants were busying themselves on the uneven wooden platform in Rome's Campo di Fiori as they tried to make last minute adjustments to the performance area. Silence overtook the crowd as they began to realize that the event they were about to witness would never be repeated. Giordano Bruno ascended the stage and solemnly took his place in the center. His two assistants rapidly descended from the stage and left Bruno to begin his performance. Bruno waited calmly as a third assistant quietly lit a torch. The crowd watched in disbelief as the third artist assistant gracefully walked about the stage igniting it in various places. Flames quickly overtook the stage and Giordano Bruno was burned alive.

This might appear to be just a routine Inquisitional burning at first, but let's examine the facts a little further. The stage name of the artist in question was Giordano Bruno, but his birth name was actually Filippo Bruno. Early in his artistic career, Bruno dabbled in other forms of expression, such as writing, rhetoric, and vagrancy. Unfortunately none of the art forms gave him much pleasure until he discovered the rewarding field of performance art. Once he found he desired path, he had no shortage of supporters, patrons, and disciples. He was later to become the darling of the Inquisition set and was invited to all their high society gatherings. It was in this enlightened environment that he gained the attention of the Pope who agreed to commission Bruno to burn himself alive before an audience.

Records from the era show the Pope's skepticism regarding the public's response, but the turnout proved his skepticism to be unfounded. Bruno's performance piece remains the most lucrative artistic event in history, with gross earnings reaching upwards of 10,000 Florins, a sum that would be unimaginable today.

Created by Jeffrey Andreoni On 04/14/09 At 08:38 AM