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01/03/2008: "ART: the Big Picture (Part 1)" by Walter King

Some observations on the constitution and purpose of art.



I do not intend to judge only to observe in this introduction to my topic. So it will take the form of some
truisms and generalizations. In later parts I’ll allow more of my own opinion to enter the discussion. So let’s begin at the beginning and define art in its most general sense.

Anything made by human hands can be considered art. Art is neither utilitarian non-utilitarian or anti-utilitarian. A machine, like a well made antique watch, beyond it’s decorative engraved gold cover, may be seen as completely utilitarian. But its gears of different metals, the tedious intricacy of the movement and the jewels which both decorate and serve as numerals might easily be seen as art. Certainly the artifice required might still amaze us even a century after it has been surpassed in function and affordability by its modern digital siblings. It is no less an art form than architecture. Today we might call it Industrial Design. But that does not change the fact that it is artistically done and therefore falls into the general category of art.



Today the term art is given to nearly anything. The servers at a SubWay fast food restaurant are called sandwich artists. Even things found in nature (or the Hand of God as it is often described) and presented in a new way so others might see it’s beauty or significance is considered art. Change the context of a stone and artifice hardly seems needed as long as a concept is communicated. Ultimately some balance of both are required. Artifice, if only in the presentation, and communication whether it affects feelings or intellect or both. Don’t discount the intellect as it can affect feelings as much as feelings may affect the intellect. An aesthetic moment is more often then not attributed to both feelings and intellect in some combination. In the end we tend to give more credit to those who tamper with both.


Art can be a personal/public vision of the past, present or future.

Art can be contrary as easily as it is agreeable.

Art has a life of its own above and outside the life of the artist and the culture in which they live. But eventually, if it strikes enough of a chord in the culture, it becomes embedded in the hearts and minds of the society. It partakes in the realm of metaphor, symbol, archetype…a kind of gestalt meaning more than the sum total of the parts.



Art sometimes begins purely as a recognition and response to beauty, whether in landscape, still life, human or animal form. The artist sees and is taken by the form of a thing and is inspired to try to ‘capture’ it’s likeness. This kind of homage or worship is quite common and in some minds the beginning of the spirit of art. I still remember the first oil painting I ever tried to paint…from a photo of a Marlin leaping out of the ocean. The arch of its spine, the color of its scales in the sunlight, the vastness of the deep mysterious ocean from which it appeared captivated me. I was not interested in fishing at the time…but the shear beauty of this creature and its leap from one world to another captured briefly by the photographer was so wonderful to me. I must have been in the 8th or 9th grade at the time. I was seeing through the eye and lens of the photographer. I didn’t think of his photo as art nor the photographer as an artist. That’s how clear was the lens of his expression. I was only interested in the glimpse of a reality I could not manage to see myself in person. Now I understand that the picture was taken by an artist who must be given the credit fort the work itself although the work has since been destroyed and the photographer long forgotten. And that my variation on that work must be signed something like ‘After such and such photographer….” Photography has all but overwhelmed this and other aspects of the arts.

There are a number of stereotypical images that show up in juvenile works. For instances young female artists and horses. Why young girls are so fascinated with horses I do not understand. Yet it is a stereotypical image that one finds in many portfolios brought to art schools around the world. Something about the taming and nurturing of a wild spirit perhaps…or maybe that assumption of the female spirit is also a stereotype. And of course young male artists are fascinated by the female form in all of its sexual suggestion. But historically art often begins in the hearth or kitchen as a naïve expression of happiness or concern for well being. This kind of work has been labeled ’Kitch’ by some and has been extended to many subjects over the centuries, still life paintings of vegetables and herbs, pretty flowers, teary eyed little children, sophomoric nudes...all cliché in the end falls within this category by reason of familiarity.



Art may also fall within the concept of magic or prayer in an attempt to control the physical world through metaphysical means. Blessings on the hunt, celebrations of the harvest, reverence for the gods who are believed to control such things are common in the earliest of prehistoric art. Celebration of romantic love shows up in graffiti even today --“Johnny (heart) Mary” for instance with an arrow through the heart-- a reference to cupid and the divine left over from Greco-Roman times. Of course the opposite kind of expression, or curse, also appears…a salient bit of graffiti I remember on a bridge crossing the river Charles from Boston to Cambridge said “Radcliff girls go down like sea anchors…all green and slimy. Another magical variation are the Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs painted on barns and other buildings to protect from evil. Many societies make some kind of ritual images, fetishes and effigies to bless, curse or ward off evil.

Art is a cultural expression as much as a personal expression. Yes it is both at the same time…at least the stuff we remember as a culture. We make famous those works we have had with us in common for long periods whether they have deep metaphorical meaning for us or simply because it has been before our common consciousness is debatable.

Art eventually moves to the public forum. From decorations on kitchen utensils and hunting weapons to fetishes for personal magic to costumes for public celebrations, cave and wall paintings, earth works, alters and architecture and the embellishment on facades and within on the wall and the floor and outside on the lawn in the form of sculpture…these are public expressions whether of the common culture or the king’s attempt to appease or control the society. The Viet Nam war memorial and all memorials are an expression of this idea. Whether to commemorate the bravery and loss of our heroes, to celebrate the spirit of a city (the Saint Louis Arch or any arch in any park not dedicated to the fallen) or the modern public sculpture in Chicago which is for most inscrutable beyond the character it gives the city itself-- public art becomes an expression of our hopes and fears as a people. In this case the personal expression of a single artist is embraced by the majority…oftentimes only after intense controversy.



Art as culture eventually rises above personal taste and gets at the heart of what is happening in the psyche/soul of the culture from which it was generated. And so it moves from the personal tastes and desires of the kitchen to the cultural hopes and desires of the forum or the museum… from art with a little ‘a’ to Art with a capital ‘A’. This step up from the personal to the public causes a huge change in subject matter and philosophy . When an artist decides to create works that join the dialog in the public forum they have made a major decision which will change their life one way or another. Making happy, pretty pictures of still lives of fruits and vegetables, landscapes that suggest a rustic and romantic life, even portraits of your aunts family are one thing. But making a public statement about politics, war, consumerism, corruption, the environment begins to challenge the culture in ways that you may not expect. And, if you are terribly deep in terms of philosophy, you may find yourself either being championed or mocked not so much because of the quality of your work but because of the subject matter and how you depicted it.

Publicly funded murals and sculpture tend to be very saccharine and politically correct these days. To try to compete for such contracts with anything hard core will most often get you rejected. It is a very fine line one must walk in these cases. It is quite easy to see what is being accepted by the various boards and commissions for public art. Just go downtown and see what gets installed. Some of it is quite good and worth the money paid. But most of it is quite awful and shallow and laughable. And I’m always surprised to see a work put up in public that is done horribly but purchased simply because it didn’t offend anyone. Contemporary public art for the most part has fallen on very hard times especially in smaller cities and towns.

While art is in the eye of the beholder remember that the eye of the beholder matures, can be educated or induced to see another way. Tastes change over time for better or worse. We begin to see beyond the immediate image to the suggestion of its meaning(s) whether that meaning is simply possible or purposeful.

Vita briva, ars longa
(Life is short, art is long)




I’ve included a number of my own works from over the years as an illustration of how ones tastes and interests in art changes and matures.

1. Flowers detail 1972 acrylic

2. Chipmunk 1975 acrylic

3. Baptism 1990 oil

4. Iconography 2005 charcoal and auto body primers

5. Twin Towers 2007 modified digital photograph

Replies: 36 Comments

on Wednesday, January 30th, walt said

Jenn,

I thought I did. But look for a current email from me. If nothing is in your inbox by tomorrow contact me via my quest book.

on Tuesday, January 29th, jsunderland68@aol.com">Jennifer Mitchem said

Walt,
Hey, ya still there? I emailed you a while ago, but never heard from you. I need your advise on showing my work on line.

- Jennifer

on Saturday, January 19th, walt said

Too true Brad.

on Saturday, January 19th, Brad Greek said

Hello Walt, Wow! a great topic went personal quick and on the subject of Columbus,Oh. LOL That's funny to me, being from Ohio originally. To be honest, what you both say about the place is true with just about every city in our nation. Big or small. We as artists, I feel, are the only ones that worry about all of this stuff. The general public could care less. Just as musicians are constantly thinking of creative gigs to get their names and works out, and hope that the public will show up. We are doing the same thing.
Do we sit around our studios and think of what musicians are up to or contend with? NO, they do, just as we sit around our studios worrying about our gigs. No one else is worrying about our gigs. So what do we do? What can we do?

Walt says, paint and sell if it finds a buyer, if not, no matter, I agree with this. Chris sounds to me is more into the commercial side of it, while hiding his good stuff under a tarp. Which is what most artists I know are doing to try to survive. Actually most of the artists I know have alternate incomes from a spouse. Lucky them. But I do agree with Chris that it does take a total commitment above all else, You have to be hungry for it. And most of us are hungry and can't think of doing nothing else but to be creating. But life gets in the way and noone understands. Recently, after being asked numerous times if I only do this for a living and they look down on me if I answer no, That I'm Semi-Pro. LOL Screw'em I paint what needs to come out and most of the time I let the canvas determine what it wants to be.

Brad

The bottom line, and the reality of it all, is we are in this together, just us artists. Even the rich and famous artists are scratching their heads from time to time.

on Monday, January 7th, dlapenta22@aol.com">madge said

5150....TMNK........ ! sosic =)

on Monday, January 7th, shea said

interesting

on Sunday, January 6th, walt said

As do we all Chris. Gotta stay focused on what get's us by. The new work is good by the way. Happy New Year.

on Sunday, January 6th, Chris said

Yeah I'm right there with ya. I just walk with blinders on to survive.

on Sunday, January 6th, walt said

You see? You have your critical points of view about this place just as I do.

on Sunday, January 6th, walt said

Chris, I have given Columbus kudos when I think she deserves it and critiques when I think valuable. Isn't the point of freedom of speech to encourage the internal debate that challenges us on to higher achievement?

on Sunday, January 6th, Chris said

I'm taking a 360 here Walt. You are absolutely correct in saying that there is not a venue for new experimental work. The Short North is entirely commercial as you said. The Wexner center is off in art la la land doing their own thing. There just isn't anywhere in this town to show engaging, thought provoking, non-commercial work. I have a whole line of work stretching over 15 years that I cover over with tarps when people come over to the studio. This work is just so far out, and is totally unsellable except to the likes of a Saatchi, that conversations of it just get in the way of my other work.

I just don't think there are very many artists in town producing high quality non-commercial experimental work. So many people think our local private art school is god. The school has a huge marketing arm. I attribute the lack of highly progressive art in Columbus to this school. All the art schools I went to were out of town. They all taught their students to not ever sell a dang thing untill after 5 years of leaving school to keep the person from puking out all the crap that was shoved down their throats as a student. Students are not artists. They should never be treated as artists. And they surely should not be advertised as artists for the sole means of attracting more students.

When the student starts selling work as a student, progression stops. They get spoiled. Here they are, already selling, they think they know what it's all about, commercialism. We were taught that it takes at least 5 years to develope your own voice. That's what's missing in Columbus, unique individual voices!

I have never been to that Indie Art Junction studios. One member of their group wanted me to cut up a sculpture that took 5 years to build just because I hadn't sold it in 15 years. That really turned me off to their group. Personally, I see a great deal of conformity going on with these kids. The individual has been lost to pack mentality.

on Sunday, January 6th, Chris said

I guarantee I make much more work than you, Walter!

Sunny days are a distraction. Columbus has perfect weather for being in the studio making art. Please quit bad mouthing a beautiful city on an international forum. You are doing me and everyone else in Columbus, a nasty disservice.

Dismount the high horse. Sell your work for whatever anyone will pay. Otherwise, you will burden your offspring with the guilt of having to pay storage fees someday. Trust me, guilt wears thin quickly.

on Sunday, January 6th, walt said

Chris we just have two different points of view on this. I make as much art as you. So I also live for art. Who cares if I sell it as long as I can make it. I get it out there which is more important to me than selling it. And sell enough to make me happy. I don't like Columbus for a lot of other reasons than its posturing in the arts. For instance the weather. I'm from a warmer sunnier climate. Never gotten used to only an average of 60 some days of sunshine.

Look. I admire the fact that you're committed to Columbus. You can be a cheerleader for her. I don't mind. But I'm her critic. We both have different jobs. Someone has to call her to a higher place. Goad her there, push her there. Columbus could be so much better than it is. It's got all the parts. Just needs the push.

on Saturday, January 5th, Chris said

Quit dogging Columbus Walter! It's getting old! It's not Columbus, it's not New York, it's not anywhere! A good artist can survive anywhere anyplace. I'm talking those 2 percenters (less than 2% of artists live on their art). Those 2% put everything behind their art. Art comes before everything. I've said it before, it takes a great deal of sacrifice, personal sacrifice, financial sacrifice. Art before comfort. That's why less than 2% live on their art. It takes complete commitment. Complete! Sorry, I don't know how else to say this,... it takes balls!

I remember another disgruntled professor. I took painting 2 from him at a university. I never forgot what he said one day as he was all flustered and frustrated... he said... "If you want to make it in the arts, don't get married and don't have kids".

Oh, Columbus is a great city. If you price your work for the market and not your ego, you can live. And living has only one purpose, to make art!

on Saturday, January 5th, walt said

OOPS!

"galleries that have opened are showing more sick commercial kinds of work,"

Should read "slick commercial kinds of work"

on Saturday, January 5th, walt said

Jen, sorry, my mistake...it's Junction View Studios in Grandview. And Michael Reed is the contact person for the Indie Art Capital endeavor! There is a new write up on him and his endeavor in the most recent CityScene magazine. I just finished reading it.

Chris, let's hope you are right. The artistic potential is here for sure. Whether the market will develope is another question. In the recent two or three years I've seen a lot of galleries close with fewer reopenings. Gallery 5 closed last year with only one artist selling in any quantity and that was out of their last exhibition. And the galleries that have opened are showing more sick commercial kinds of work, often from artists outside of Ohio. More craft oriented things, flower pots, jewelry etc. Not that these are not art at one level or another just that the emphasis is on what will sell at the common denominator rather than art that has anything to say beyond be happy have a nice life kind of message. Little philosophy, dialog or commentary, just feel good stuff. I see a lot more cutzey fuzzy than brilliant vision. I suppose it is the times we live in. Prices, and I don't mean the kind that compete with the extremely overpriced ratios in NY or London or Berlin, but with the national average for serious art still seem quite depressed here in C-town to me. Good for the collectors (if they will actually leverage their advantage), hard on the artists.

The expectation that NY was done for has floated up a number of times through its vibrant history. Hasn't happened yet. Art is still more liquid in the big art capitals than in the little ones. And very few things are being written about small city artists unless they make it to one of the big capitals to show. I do hope you are right Chris. I do, I do, I do.

on Saturday, January 5th, Chris said

It has been a standard statistic for over 50 years: less than 2% of artists make a living by their work. This statistic overshadows location. It's the same everywhere!

The spin in NYC is that the outlying cities are where it's at. NYC has finally realized that the incredible hustle it takes to live there is ruining the art. No one has enough time to develope. No one has much time to make art.

That's why cities like Columbus are so hot! The cost of living is low. We have time to make art! The dealers and collectors are following this trend.

As much as I love NYC, it's over! That's not where it's happening in the art world anymore. Just a bunch of overpriced, inbred, undeveloped work in those galleries.

Fresh is Columbus! We are becomming the new New York!

on Saturday, January 5th, walt said

Chris, You are much more involved in searching out patrons and clients than I so I defer to your knowledge. And I don't deny that there are a few good collectors in Columbus. But you know better than I how hard it is to live on ones art here. Again, there are a few who are doing ok. Some very well but it is a very limited number who don't work a second job and not all of those are artists I would consider really great! Current company excepted of course. Yes, there is hope for Columbus as I said in my answer to Jennifer. But I'll be long gone before it takes the place of New York.

No problema Sophia. Your comments were very welcome.

Jose, Sometimes it is present in my mind as I work, this competition with the ghosts of the greats. But more often than not is is a creative block. I do tend to get deeply involved with the images I'm working on to the point of tunnel vision...what is in front of me and how it connects to my construct of the universe is the whole world at that moment in time. I mention public art because it is a possible source of income. But as always there is a caveat...as you say it is very political.

Jennifer, I do remember...in fact I still have the sketches we did but we never got to the sittings for the painting. Still interested? Good to hear from you. Send me some of what you are up to these days. You can contact me diretly through my guest book.

on Saturday, January 5th, jsunderland68@aol.com">Jennifer Mitchem said

Walt, Do remember that I was one of your student at CCAD from 1987-89? You were suppose to do a painting of me! Where is that!! LOL

Thanks for all the great information. I just quit my job last year and an looking to jump back into the art scene. I'm showing a piece at Mac Worthington Gallery starting in February, no biggy. Just a starting point.

I googled you a few weeks ago and saw all the new stuff you have on this site! Very exciting!! Last time I was at your studio, you were doing "heads in boxes" and a post war piece with rolling heads and toy air planes. I also remember seeing the painting you have on this blog with the guy in the water. You were and always have been a great inspiration to me as an artist/painter.

on Saturday, January 5th, jose said

Ars Brevis Vita Longa sounds more like it these days, Walt. The More science and medicine manage to prolong our sojourn on this plane the more I am left asking myself how much of the art that is being made these days will truly outlive its creators.

The first half of your blog and some of the comments grab my attention and come close to things and ideas that make me tick: I very much like the idea of ‘the big bang’ you say one sometimes gets from ‘Great Art’. I was left wondering if some works of art aren’t really that – echoes of the Big Bang as it continues to breathe out reshaping our ideas and our world through the means of people with artistic inclinations? Brad raises a very interesting question: ‘will the creativity of man ever run out?’ Once the Universe starts to breathe back in and man can no longer sustain himself on this plane, is wiped out or moves on to some different place on those spaceships he is so busy working on [Noah?], will the works of art that are left behind have any significance at all? And does it matter? I haven’t got a clue either.

Most of the time those things aren’t present in our minds while we’re working - if they were we wouldn’t be able to work - but I do believe that they are present in the back of our mind [even if only secretly] and I do think that each and every one of us, if he or she is an artist, is competing on the sly with the Great Ones. Otherwise, what would be the point? Like you say, a little forethought doesn’t hurt, because the opportunity doesn’t just come upon you to rise to the occasion, it comes in small doses a little at a time.

As for Public Art I think it shouldn’t even concern us, it has all to do with politics, very little to do with Art. We should continue to produce the ‘flavours’ without worrying too much if we are ‘Flavour of the Month’.

on Saturday, January 5th, sofia said

Modigliani, there is no "y" in Italian alphabet. Sorry for this mistake.

on Friday, January 4th, Chris said

There are many huge very developed private collections in Columbus. A number of them are comprised of local people only. Also, two of the top 200 collectors in the world live in Columbus. One needs to price their work for the market and not their egos. Quite often in Columbus, the wall opposite the framed jersy, has an original work of art from a local artist. It ain't New York anymore baby! Columbus is fast on the rise!

on Friday, January 4th, walt said

Jennifer, there are lots of places to show. Few of them have much status. The Short North died as soon as they put in those upscale condos and the Arena District took off. There are sales in Columbus but few can live from them. People in Columbus tend to put OSU jerseys in shadow box frames over their mantles. I see them in German Village through the big plate glass picture windows when I take the occasional walk around Schiller park. This is not to suggest that there are not a few good collections in town. But far fewer collectors than artists of merit.

Columbus, with some exceptions, tends to sell itself as a cultural center in Ohio without actually walking the walk. And that not for the industry of several organizations like the GCAC, OAC, OAL and a few others. But there seems to be no sense that art of any note could be created in Columbus. It's what I call the 'local yokel' syndrome. It goes like this: If you live in Columbus you must not be a very imortant artist. So why bother? I've mentioned more than once the collector who bought a work in Columbus directly from the artists studio then bragged that she bought it in Chicago to a friend (who happened to know the artist.)

BoMA is a breath of fresh air. I hope they make it through the long haul. They have a lot of work to do getting the word out but could be a really great venue even though they are primarily a restaurant and bar. But I have to give them credit for trying to do something with some ambition. I'm not showing anything there at the moment but if you haven't been you should go. It has such great potential if only Columbus will get behind it. Maybe I'm being enthusiastic about the concept more than the reality of the place-- dunno. But certainly the food is no more expensive than it is at any fine restaurant in town and better than most. And the building itself is quite grand. Beats eating in some storefront strip mall on the Cap.

I'm being more realistic than deadbeat. But just so you know I still have hope. There is a big warehouse full of studios and younger artists in Grandview called Riverview Studios (I think I have the name right.) They seem to have picked up and are continuing the legacy that alternate galleries like Acme once had with lots of open exhibitions and open studios. There is a group there who have managed to get Columbus dubbed the Indie Art Capital of the United States. Even got it read into a city council meeting recently. Worth looking into. These kids are sharp, tech saavy, know how to network and seem to be hungry. I hope Columbus doesn't bore them into submission. Try Googling 'Indie Art Capital, Columbus' to find out about them.

Jennifer, didn't I do some drawings of you once?

on Friday, January 4th, jsunderland68@aol.com">Jennifer Mitchem said

Walt, How do you feel Columbus is doing in the art scene? Are we doing the more politically correct thing? The Short North has injected a great deal of art and culture. Are there any current open forums for new artist to exhibit without scrutiny of a board?

on Friday, January 4th, walt said

Thanks Mark. I always liked the way Bob Dylan would take a cliche and twist it into something new. It makes you rethink what you think you know.

on Friday, January 4th, Mark said

I think Ellen has a good point of looking at other entities art other then just those things labeled as art. Some things can look artistic even when they are haphazard, say felled trees for example. The open mind could also open doors to subject not yet thought of as subject.

Kitch, painting subjects that many see as overdone, I do it all the time, the secret is to do those subjects with the freshest of eyes and to give it your own life. Picasso said something to the effct that; every time you draw a circle it is new, fresh and original.

on Friday, January 4th, walt said

sorry for posting twice in a row but as I was re-reading what I'd just said a picture came into my head of a kind of continental divide where the snows from many mountains begin to melt off creating thousands of little trickles that eventually join into streams which then eventually become only a few great rivers to the sea where it all becomes one. It seems to me that at the beginning of the last century, Modernism did something almost the exact opposite breaking the whole into its constituent parts. In fact one could almost say that Modernism, with all its different isms, broke down the machine into every possible purpose, mode, form, and variation, like finding the fault lines on the human psyche in such a way that you could peel back the skin of the orange and see how it all fits together. I don't know that such a reversal...reversal is the wrong word...that such a spontaneous change in viewpoint perhaps has ever happened in all the history of art.

on Friday, January 4th, walt said

By the way Sophia, not to be bothered by my use of the word kitch. I really don't have a big problem with most things others might call kitch. We've come through a very very overly biased time in the last 50 to 75 years of the arts. We've seen many narrowly defined styles rise and fall in short order. I think the ideas about what ever school or direction art is taking must broaden its borders, open it's arms wider and find terms and definitions that allows for variety while still defining some kind of direction in which it is flowing. Any language must allow for fluidity and flexibility and diversity of movement within its terminology. The language must define quality broadly without bias to content, and meaning without limiting form. I fumble with the verbiage myself. But I am getting a glimmer of a vision the older I get.

Ellen, if we could just begin to see what is good we might have a half chance getting to great! The second time I saw Guernica it did't have the effect it had on me the first time. The second time I was able to analyze it's formal relationships more carefully. I had students in tow as well but I was able to confirm the quality that I sensed the first time. The first time I was younger and it's content overwhelmed me to a point near tears. It had been a point on my map of the pilgramage. In fact I'd seen the image all my life in books and posters. The fact that others in the crowd were crying beneath the small billboard sized warm and cool black and white image of war and desperation din't help I'm sure. They were of an age who would remember the specifics of the Franco regime, the civil war and the beginning and end of WWII. For them this piece contained even more meaning and emotion than I could fathom.

I still believe in the 'big bang' one gets from 'Great Art'. But I certainly don't want to throw out the rest without which there would be no stairway to higher ground.

And I'm not sure an artist wants to think about competing with the greatest art of centuries everytime they go into their studio. That is a different and difficult dialog in every way. But every once in a while, maybe only once in a life time one gets the oppurtunity to rise to the occasion. A little forethought, some preparation couldn't hurt.

And maybe it is important to say that greatness comes in small doses, a little at a time slowly gaining a mass effect.

on Friday, January 4th, Ellen said

Great piece, Walt! I find art everywhere because I want to. I used to limit my concept of art to what I saw in museums, galleries, etc. Now I realize that a short order cook can create an artistic sandwhich: something visually appealing. Is the sandwhich "great art?" I don't care. I no longer circumscribe my vantage point to "serious paintings/sculptures." It is very stimulating to be open to art in what I see in the market as well as on the walls of MOMA or the Met.

on Friday, January 4th, walt said

Sophia, yes, with the exception of Redon who was more the metaphysician in the selection, those artists were essentially about form rather than content. We could add a great number of the worlds artists into the list. But even Cezanne had some ideas about doing Poussin's classicism over again "according to nature". Picasso wanted to seduce the audience (was it seduction or sedition)into seeing the world with his eyes. And Matisse wanted his work to be like an easy chair for those who work with their minds. These ideas work their way into the art and back out into the hearts and minds of the audience who respond to the work in one way or another like the artitist hopes. The doing is as important as the reason it is done. There are so many ways to say that form equals content.

Well and I said I would judge in this part of the introduction but gave in to temptation and reneiged on my promise when I discussed public art. The truth is if the public didn't like what they get they should complain more. But they only seem to argue before the thing is built, rarely after. There are some recent public works in Washington DC that have inspired me. For instance the relatively new Roosevelt sculpture park with its multiple parts celebrating the various times and stages of his times and policies. The garden's warm bronzes and the interactive spaces that invite visitors to step up into the imagery contrast the mostly cold and stiff forms of many public works. However I find the Korean soldiers memorial to be a good idea badly done. The soldiers form a platoon moving across a space and could be haunting but for the feeling that they were body casts whose center of gravity is often out of kilter, not like a man loosing his balance who might shift his own weight to counter but like a stiff sculpture that cannot respond to the change in balance.

on Friday, January 4th, swyshkind@yahoo.com">sofia said

Walter, what to do with art of Modigliany, Cezanne, Odilon Redon, Morandy ...&&&? There is no any public statement in theirs art - just fruits and vegetables, landscapes and nudes. Many and many apolitical artists have great significance in the modern life. They are educating the soul and influence the modern industrial design. Artist should lead, not follow, and most important in art is "how", not "what". Also if we want to improve public art then the structure of "boards and commissions" should be changed. I am sure most of the public share your opinion about "public art"

on Friday, January 4th, walt said

Brad, I have to wrap my arms around this thing every so often, like you suggest, if only to get my bearings. Like that Marlin leaping from one world into another and back again. Aw it was an awful painting that first one. So muddy I threw it out before it was even dry. But I was hooked.

Hey Vern! How's it hangin?

on Thursday, January 3rd, Brad Michael Moore said

No kidding, Walt, thanks... I always need someone to remind me of the, "Big Picture..." It allows me to judge how narrow I permit my world to become - while I focus upon my own efforts of artistic expression. I disregard the fact that my intensions are always a mile wide when my mark can be measured in inches... This is what I learn from the Big Picture... Just making the decision to be an artist seems presumptuous to me. For someone to consider me an artist may be presumptuous of him or her. Those who can actually say for near-certain, they have likely spent a lifetime in a study that is never completed (I consider you a friend in that company). As for myself, I know what and who inspire me as an artist also humble me. Still, beyond what I know, and have learned, I often dream of the creative efforts embarked upon over the ages. I mean the efforts lost, first, from one’s possession, and then, from one’s memory – therefore unmarked, and fallen between the pages of Art History’s record. Perhaps, that is the gift of the Big Picture – what still falls between the lines of the recorded account. Maybe this is what we are to gather from what we know and have learned. Will the creativity of humankind ever run out? Is it an unseen commodity we can reuse from what we have studied of it – those salvaged remains from the ages before us? Can we gather this mind-matter, remodulate it, and hope our efforts someday will be seen as unique – and fitting into the Big Picture of tomorrow... I have not the slightest idea - but the notion does engage upon me.

Thanks Walt, for your contributions.

on Thursday, January 3rd, Vernon J. Cornsnappl said

Mah name is Vernon J Cornsnapplebob.

Art works at the bakery.

Up the road a bit and theres a guy named art workin on cars at the fillen station.

on Thursday, January 3rd, walt said

I'm working on it. But to some extent I suppose comments will cause me to modify the direction it will take.

on Thursday, January 3rd, Mark said

Intersting Walt, look forward to seeing where you take it.