Art in the Digital World

Just by merely reading this blog, or participating in the numerous ways Absolute Arts makes is possible, you are entwined in the digital world of art. In some ways, there is nothing real about the ethereal bits and bytes that make up any Web site, art or otherwise. If anything, when you think about it, how it happens is surreal.

Right now, you and I are having a pleasant communication interlude with you at your leisure and me at mine, all courtesy of the World Wide Web with many thanks to Tim Berners-Lee. And, the course of this communication is exemplary of how the digital world and art interact. What we have all come to take for granted in the span of 15 years regarding the Internet and how it affects us all is nothing short of amazing. Personally, I’m thrilled to be alive at a time when all this is possible and when all the possibilities digital everything creates is nothing short of wonderful and truly astounding.


Barney Davey on 02.26.09 @ 07:52 AM EST [more..] [No Comments]

JOHN CLAPP HAS A LIFE

"I think there is a stigma that if you're an artist you're supposed to be strange and aloof and not be able to relate to everyday things." -- John A. Clapp

John Clapp is a self-taught artist who lives with his family in Tennessee. After stumbling upon his website, www.jclappart.com and reading one of his blogs, I knew I had to chat with him. Like many artists, he doesn't live a monastic life in a fancy studio where he paints 24-7. Also, like most artists, he's interested in other things, not just art. In short, John Clapp has a life ... or perhaps I should say, "full life." Either way, read on and find out why.

MICHAEL: Hey John. Thanks for talking with me. First of all, I'm stunned to learn that you're a "self-taught" artist. Your still lifes are quite classical and textbook. You've had NO formal training at all?

JOHN: Nope. I've had no formal training. I loved to draw as a child. I was the youngest of four children and my siblings were much older so I occupied myself by drawing among other things. I think the "artist" gene runs in the family, sometimes skipping a generation. My great uncle, Bob Brown, was also a self-taught artist. I visited him when I was 15 years old and was amazed by his landscapes. So, I went home and asked my mom to buy me some paints. When I was 22, my girlfriend (now wife) saw the painting that I had done at 15. She said, "Is that a postcard?" (looking at it from across the room) I told her that I had painted it when I was 15 years old. She encouraged me to paint again. I had never given up drawing/sketching. So, I bought my first easel and a bunch of oil and acrylic paints and started my "painting" journey. I entered a few art shows and won some people's choice and best of show awards. Seeing people's reactions to my paintings has kept me motivated. People have mistaken my realistic style for a photograph, but then they walk closer and realize that it is a painting. It is my greatest encouragement for people to enjoy my paintings. My middle son, age 12, has got the "artist" gene, so it didn't skip a generation this time. I have a fellow artist in him to bounce ideas off of. All my training comes from hours and hours at the easel trying different things.


Michael Corbin on 02.23.09 @ 11:09 AM EST [more..] [8 Comments]

Art Store Pencil Index

I am convinced that the Modigliani exhibit at the Vittoriano Gallery in Rome was curated with one thing in mind: pencils.
The only way a stodgy museum gift shop could ever get more than 1 Euro for a pencil is by hosting a name brand artist's exhibition. At the Modigliani exhibit, they were asking 5 euros for one such item. The man was a tubercular caricaturist who did a great Cycladic Idol impersonation. Sure, he did paint a few interesting portraits, but the majority of the wallspace was submerged in wine stained sketches. Recipients of the sketches, which were scribbled in exchange for said wine, probably thought nothing of the indistinct little scraps of barroom genius. Decades later however, the would-be collectors soberly went back to their closets and dug out the sketches when it was established that they were drawn by a bona-fide genius.

I paid 7 euros, with a student discount, to see the exhibit. That means I paid close to 1 Euro per square meter of art - prime beachfront property in Vietnam costs about the same. How do they arrive at such sums? Is there an admission to art ratio I am unaware of? The Louvre costs twenty and is not nearly as scant.

As I said, the story far outweighed the productivity. Why is it that storyless art doesn't sell? Much like Gould on the piano, playing a lovely five minute piece and then talking about how lovely he played it for two hours afterwards. Modi, on the other hand, has others to speak for him. Probably dealers that want to up the value of their inventory. They talk the city into hosting the show, for free I might add, at the gallery commemorating Vittorio Emmanuele - you couldn't vote for a better location; the flow of tourists is constant!

Jeffrey Andreoni on 02.19.09 @ 01:36 PM EST [more..] [9 Comments]

PIERO SPADARO

Piero is a young artist who I kind of met at "The Artists Fair" in Miami, Florida back in December 2008. I say "kind of met" because I remember nodding at him when I entered the fair and when I came back around to his booth, he had gone out for lunch, so I spent time admiring his art while chatting with his lovely mom. Anyway, I took his information and contacted him for an interview. I'm very glad that I did. After you read our chat, check out his website at www.pierospadaro.com You'll no doubt discover that the polite and generous spirit reflected in this interview definitely lives in his art.

MICHAEL: Hi Piero. First of all, you've got a cool name. If "Piero Spadaro" isn't the name of an artist bound for greatness, I don't know what is. We sort of met at "The Artists Fair."
What did you hope to achieve by displaying your work there? As you know, art fairs can be like a crapshoot. Was it worth it?



Michael Corbin on 02.16.09 @ 03:40 PM EST [more..] [2 Comments]

Cubicle Suit Installation

Traditional Palestinian houses have a separate room that is reserved for entertaining guests. This room is called the Madafah and is an addition to the main house. People entering the Madafah are at ease and in the mood for socializing. There are props in the Madafah that contribute to this phenomenon, namely a Mihbaj which serves as both a coffee grinder and percussion instrument, while the host completes the Mise-en-scène.

To recreate the Madafah in a western, work centered society, I placed a cubicle in the city center, while we posed as office workers. Upon entering the cubicle, people automatically felt at ease; as if it were a psychologists couch. People began socializing and sharing their lives with us and joined our team of "pretend" workers, playing along with our fake telephone and computer.

My theory is that people have difficulty socializing in western cultures unless it is work related. By placing a work related object in the public space I created a "safe zone" for people to socialize and/or network without feeling awkward. Perhaps, if you are pretending to work, you don't feel like you are wasting time by socializing.


Jeffrey Andreoni on 02.12.09 @ 01:08 PM EST [more..] [13 Comments]

KAREN SPERLING’S MAGICAL MYSTICAL TOUR

Karen Sperling is an artist I met outside the Bridge Art Fair at Art Basel Miami Beach this past December 2008. I stumble upon most of the artists I meet and Karen was no different. As she walked by, she introduced herself and handed me an invitation to her group show. I’m glad that she did. While viewing the exhibition, I was impressed by what I saw … work that seemed gritty and edgy to me, yet warm and dreamlike. They were part of her Magical Mystical Tours series. She agreed to an email interview in which we chatted about her work, leaving New York for Los Angeles, the benefits of being a sociable artist and what it was like meeting the great Andy Warhol years ago. You can see some of her work at www.karensperling.com but first, take this tour. I think you'll enjoy the ride ...

MICHAEL: Hi Karen. Now that some time has passed since Art Basel Miami Beach 2008, how are you feeling about your experience there?


Michael Corbin on 02.09.09 @ 09:55 AM EST [more..] [3 Comments]

Futility of Cubism

Universal subjects of art are not necessarily a guaranty for universal interest in them...

Money for nothing
Most artists do not deal with anything. The "art geniuses" deal with "artistic issues" which are of interest only to the art critiques and a hand full of artists, and by that narrow the language of art – the language of shapes and colors, the most universal language possible – down to a collection of petty conflicts and dilemmas with tedious solutions that are of no importance to anyone, at any scale. Few are the artists who deal with issues and problems concerning the whole of humanity and the essence of existence, probably just as few are the people who really care about others of their kind.

Perhaps the beautiful thing about the art of the Middle Ages, for example which was mostly religious, is that it really served a purpose. There is no doubt (I think) that they are primitive, and there is no doubt that utilizing different solutions and revelations from the course of art along the ages might assist in conveying messages in a more articulate, advanced, attractive, credible, authentic and diverse manner. However, I feel that in the great efforts of escaping the conditionings and fixations of the archaic and institutionalized art and of creating new "art languages" every alternate day, perhaps unconsciously art has gradually become a tool in its own hands and nothing more.


Ilan Lichtnayer on 02.05.09 @ 12:25 PM EST [more..] [38 Comments]