[Previous entry: "Search Engine Strategies for Success: 2006"] [Next entry: "NAM JUNE PAIK"]

02/06/2006: "MORE IS BETTER"

Whoever said, "less is more" would have a heart attack after sweeping
through my home.

Paintings and art are everywhere. Every nook and cranny makes some sort of
artistic statement. Art even lives in my bathrooms, where I'm very careful
not to let humidity build up. I don't know. I just can't help it. I must
have art. I crave new acquisitions. Money (and politics) is the only thing
that stands between my purchase of the Museum of Modern Art. Otherwise,
that big box would be mine!

The other day, I was walking through the hallway outside my bedroom. In
this particular area, I have quite a few paintings standing on the floor
leaning against walls. You know, that whole casual, hip (okay and sometimes
pretentious) way of displaying art. I've made a promise to myself that when
people look at these paintings, I will never say anything like, "Oh, yes I
picked those up when I was in Sri Lanka last year!" Gag us all.

Anyway, while I was combing through these paintings, I noticed two 25" by
25" abstract pieces by Portland, Oregon artist Joseph Kucinski. Joseph
rocks. Think DeKooning and Pollock and you've got his style. I decided at
that moment that I had to hang these pieces. "But where?" I thought. "The
walls are completely covered!"

Of course, I could've resorted to my usual trick of just rotating paintings.
I could've just removed two paintings from a wall somewhere and replaced
them with the Kucinski pieces. However, I didn't want to do that this time.
Hmm. This would be very tough. I put the paintings back down and tried
to forget about my dilemma or perhaps I should say, privilege.

Later on that evening, I walked into my bedroom and ... BAM! There they
were! Two empty spaces on the wall above the nightstands on either side of
my bed! Right above my bed, like a headboard, hangs a large, abstract
diptych on canvas. Elijah Aaron is the artist. It's a great piece. It's
green with specks of color throughout and thick, black edges at the bottom.
It's edgy. I thought that this piece was enough for one wall, but after
hanging the Kucinski paintings on either side of the bed, I realized that
they all complement one another. You can NEVER have enough paintings on
your walls.

I've tried the whole "less is more" thing and you know what? Who am I
trying to impress?
Have you ever seen the interiors of some of these residential buildings
designed by famous architects? I would feel more comfortable inside a
walk-in freezer. Are you kidding me? The whole, tasteful, minimal thing is
dreary and sterile to me. God bless the architects, but do real people with
real life experiences actually live like that? I actually consider myself
fairly disciplined (despite my art habit), but to live like that requires
the discipline of an ice cube. Even an ice cube melts!

There's this great line in Woody Allen's, "Manhattan Murder Mystery" where
Allen and Diane Keaton play husband and wife. At one point, one of the
characters says something like (paraphrasing), "We have the rest of our
lives to be conservative, let's just have some fun!" I thought about that
line when I decided to hang the Kucinski pieces. It was life imitating art
imitating life.

We have the rest of our lives to be tasteful. Why not just go for it?
Looking at those paintings now, illuminated from below by the lamps on
either nightstand, I can't believe that I didn't hang anything in those
spaces sooner. Subconsciously, I always felt that those spaces needed to be
filled, anyway. That's what I get for trying to be "tasteful." Most of the
time, more is just more.
It's not necessarily better (unless it's money, of course). However, in
this case, more actually is better. Now, I feel much more comfortable in my
own bedroom.

As for the folks who think "less is more," they've got bigger problems.
They're recovering from heart attacks right now.

MICHAEL CORBIN IS A WRITER AND AVID ART COLLECTOR

Replies: 16 Comments

on Friday, February 10th, Eve aka ERBU said

The opening of my exhibiton last nite was a sucess..before the nite ended two art professors were on the floor beating each other up..what a perfect performance art...no one was hurt save their egos...i stood there watching .

Yes , like many ..my artworks have all piled up higher than me..some i give away and some sold...my most precious paintings i roll and keep under my bed for when i die...becoz when one lives in Manila , like i do..one must always be prepared.

on Friday, February 10th, Natallia said

To StEEL:
What is your point of copying my saying?

on Friday, February 10th, StEEL said

Like a flower that is born from a little seed that grows and blooms at its best, then fades and disappears; a person grows through maximalism stage to minimalism. And at the end there is no difference whether you are a maximalist or a minimalist, the most important is who you are.

on Tuesday, February 7th, Paul said

Micheal,good blog,paintings all over the place,tell me about it,but at least youve bought them so you must love them,spare a thought for us artists who are invaded by paintings and artworks,that we of course have created,but they pile up so,I myself have to operate a strong discipline these days in regard to this,and like you I have several ways of dealing with it,rolling them up,laying them flat,working smaller,and occasionally selling them,or gifting them,as I have done lateley,by the way when are you going to buy one of my paintings,what was it,under two hundred bucks,Ive got plenty like that.

on Tuesday, February 7th, Natallia said

Good Point about the Louver. I spent entire day wondering around and enjoying the artwork. However afterwards I realized it is pointless to spend the entire day there I might as well spent couple hours looking at one collection. It is just too overwhelming. And although I’ve seen thousands of fantastic art pieces through the day I only carried to in my memory and my hart: Venera Miloska and Mona Lisa Smile.

so "more" does get you lost

on Tuesday, February 7th, gabriella said

The point Andrew makes is a good one. However i do not believe that most people who live with various art pieces exist in a five- and- dime jumble. More is not always better. it probably is more important to value the pieces one has in keep, be able to peruse its difference unimpeded by competeing distraction of other close works and to be content to live with limitations of space where one lives.
Of course, there must be differing reasons as to why people collect art. Suffice it to say that i do not derive an identity from the objects with which i choose to surround myself, merely pleasure, familiarity and a sense of what moves me to thought and feeling. i guess this makes me a non-collector.

on Tuesday, February 7th, Hyacinthe Baron said

The Japanese traditionally used scrolls to both store and display the art of choice so as to afford the best possible contemplation of the work.
If one is doing a collection then the point is to offer a view of the contrasting styles and impressions of many artists.

As Emmanuelle Kant is quoted: "ART FOR ARTS SAKE."

Collectors acquire art for many purposes, often to compensate for their own lack of artistic skills and that is a good thing for artists.Unless one is a Victorian. when the practice was to cover every inch of fabric draped walls with paintings for warmth,(I personally have always thought this was a device to be able to determine how strongly an artist's work stood out among the crowd.
This is a practice traditionally followed by Art Schools, i.e. The Art Student's League in NYC when they put on the student's visage, purposefully cramming everything in order for the best to stand out.

Ever notice that the master artists of Victorian days painted huge monster canvases?)The Metropolitan is filled with them. And then of course the Louvre is crammed.
But to simply fill "every nook and cranny" makes a statement for me: aside from evidence of sloppiness: "I have more art than you!" And that goes for Museums as well, who after all are looking for the big dollars from patrons.

Years ago the Guggenheim tried an experiment. They took every frame off every painting by every artist and hung them all at the same eye level as a sort of equalizer. Pardonne moi, but what insane curator thought that Van Gogh and Mattisse and Renoir et al needed to be levelled out?

Years ago we put on an exhibition of women artists in our gallery for the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and even though we had a large space in order to show everyone's works we had to cram the wall spaces. It was overwhelming to the visitors as the works tended to blend together like so much wallpaper. Which is fine if the intention is to show how much art one owns or wishes to display as in this case.

I am curious when a collector claims "my arts" and as to what were the "best collected works" and how they were disposed of? Also if the artists, who always retain the copyrights, were compensated by the resales, especially if the sales were over $1000.00?
Artists have traditionally been at the mercy of collectors who bandy the works about as if art was so much folderol and claim "ownership" when in fact the artist never relinquishes this.

on Tuesday, February 7th, jose freitas cruz said

Well said Andrew. There were two major difficulties I faced working in Brunei. One was coming across quality work regularly the other, much more complex, was getting the message across that the ‘shopping mall display’, as I call it, does not do justice to the artist’s work and makes it all the more difficult for whatever quality work their might be to stand out. I know Michael’s blog is more about how we display art in our houses but I still feel the same applies. I am no fan of minimalism either, I am a hunter-gatherer like all the rest of us and I like to display as many of my ‘trophies’ as the space allows me, squeezing in a painting or two of my own wherever possible. As Michael says, sometimes you discover they complement themselves. But there is a limit. I still believe that a painting [work of art] has an aura - a Wah, I believe the Japanese call it – and that it should be granted the space to stand unimpeded and radiate. Ultimately, I feel, it has all to do with balance and how we experience it, recreate it and live it out at our personal level. There can be no pointing of the finger or moral/aesthetical judgements here. Having said that, personally, I do enjoy the hunt - I love going into the bazaars and looking for some hidden treasure amidst the chaos – but once I’ve found an object that brings me satisfaction I bring it home and give it the space it deserves to shine out.

on Tuesday, February 7th, Seamus A said

Indeed, this thing of having a mile between each painting you have up is fairly new. it just shows the difference between an art lover and someone who's decorating their apartment with ikea photos

on Tuesday, February 7th, Andrew said

In both the blog, and in the responses, what disturbs me is a lack of reference to quality. Having 'art' all over one's walls is great, but isn't the essence of such an enterprise to have each piece speak to you? I get no sense of that happening through what you say, Michael, or in any of the comments so far. More is better is what they say when they give you the 'big shake' deal at a fast food place.
Since I am a collector, too, I place what I have chosen to buy in spaces that allow one to concentrate on the piece itself, without any nearby disturbances. Romano Cosci, 'allievo' of Anigoni, has a place on my wall. If you look into the painting, you can see the master's influence, as well as the individual changes in approach that make it a Cosci. Nathan Wasserbauer also has his own space (search 'wasserbauer') and the way he paints is so strong that I really couldn't picture it next to anything.
And, as an artist, while I am secure enough about what I do not to believe it would be overpowered by a piece right next to it, I still want its influence to be felt purely, and allow the viewer to get everything it has to give. The space around a work thus becomes a part of the total effect. Haven't all of us that have shown been in spaces we felt too crowded to allow our work to be at its best? I would think a collector would show his collection so as to give rightly deserved value to all of its components.

on Monday, February 6th, Annick said

As YOU know,it does ring a bell, Michael !

What we need is a brand new museum to exhibit our collections, and at this rate Le Louvre won't suffice nor the Uffizi Gallery.
For now, I am not sure there is a difference between "collecting" and "cluttering" but, like you, I am compelled to have more to enjoy looking at , as if I was on a mission to "save" Art. It might sound pretentious, but I have an itch.

on Monday, February 6th, Margaret Stone said

Great blog. More is more and better and better.
For me, art is everywhere. Sculptures cover tables. Paintings hang on doors, over light switches, stacked against walls. I once covered a hallway end to end and ceiling too with drawings. The space comes alive--like a cosmic garden.

on Monday, February 6th, Natallia said

It is the standard equation of life. Like a flower that is born from a little seed that grows and blooms at its best, then fades and disappears; a person grows through maximalism stage to minimalism. And at the end there is no difference whether you are a maximalist or a minimalist, the most important is who you are.

on Monday, February 6th, gabriella said

Ah, the curse of living in a small house! However, that does not daunt us - we have art hanging everywhere and feel completely spoiled. i have made a concession to lack of space and only collect works on paper, the big abstracts now live in my son's house. And of course moving the stuff around in the place also works well, but when something isn't up to be seen i miss it!

on Monday, February 6th, Olga said

The more art, the more inspiration. More is always better.

on Monday, February 6th, Brad Michael Moore said

Don’t they call that Salon Style Exhibiting? Wall to wall, floor to ceiling? At my earlier homes, art was everywhere – every nook and cranny. It had often brought the remark, “Bachelor Lives Here.” And that was true. Then I had to sell some of my best-collected works, to cover medical bills. Afterwards, I began to pair down the rest… Nowadays, I’m still covered, to a degree, but, I have greater storage capacity. I think I liked it better when my arts were all over the walls.