The Latest Issues
At the start of every month I find myself browsing through the magazine racks to pick up the latest issues of Art in America, Art News, Art Forum, Modern Painters, and perhaps a few other art magazines. What strikes me over the last few months is the abundance of film and installation and the general lack of meaningful painting. What's wrong with painting?
I love paintings. In fact, it is my life's dream to do nothing else but make paintings. And I feel sad and disappointed when I thumb through the glossy pages these days. While I have nothing against installation and film as a media or mode of operation, I still marvel at the wonderful immediacy and intimacy a great painting can produce no matter the size.
A friend of mine has suggested that the fact that installation and film may be so prominent these days is that the art world and the greater public may feel that art is for the masses to behold, not for the individual to possess. Afterall, when was the last time you went to someone's home and saw an installation in their living room?
It makes me wonder where the first step was taken that led to this seeming separation of the art object from the individual owner. And I am saddened that of my friends, the only ones who have art in their homes are artists themselves or close friends or family to an artist. I love a good painting or sculpture in my living space. It fills me with joy to have such a beautiful and unique object in my home. And the best pieces I have just keep on giving. They are never the same. Or rather, I am never the same when I view them and they offer avenues of digression that meander through my daily experiences and give me new ideas and reflections of living. New understandings. And I can't imagine not having some art in my home.
As a painter, I call on myself every time I push that brush against the surface to create something that when someone else views it, they say to themselves, "Wow. I guess we still need painting". I can't see myself building installations, or calling a fabricator to give them the specs for my new piece, or amassing a crew to help me accomplish my grand vision. I suppose my view of making art seems rather simplistic, but I just can't get enough of moving around in my studio, making marks, trying to create meaning, and crafting a beautiful object. It just makes me happy. And I know that many artists feel the same. So why don't the magazines see it that way?
I love paintings. In fact, it is my life's dream to do nothing else but make paintings. And I feel sad and disappointed when I thumb through the glossy pages these days. While I have nothing against installation and film as a media or mode of operation, I still marvel at the wonderful immediacy and intimacy a great painting can produce no matter the size.
A friend of mine has suggested that the fact that installation and film may be so prominent these days is that the art world and the greater public may feel that art is for the masses to behold, not for the individual to possess. Afterall, when was the last time you went to someone's home and saw an installation in their living room?
It makes me wonder where the first step was taken that led to this seeming separation of the art object from the individual owner. And I am saddened that of my friends, the only ones who have art in their homes are artists themselves or close friends or family to an artist. I love a good painting or sculpture in my living space. It fills me with joy to have such a beautiful and unique object in my home. And the best pieces I have just keep on giving. They are never the same. Or rather, I am never the same when I view them and they offer avenues of digression that meander through my daily experiences and give me new ideas and reflections of living. New understandings. And I can't imagine not having some art in my home.
As a painter, I call on myself every time I push that brush against the surface to create something that when someone else views it, they say to themselves, "Wow. I guess we still need painting". I can't see myself building installations, or calling a fabricator to give them the specs for my new piece, or amassing a crew to help me accomplish my grand vision. I suppose my view of making art seems rather simplistic, but I just can't get enough of moving around in my studio, making marks, trying to create meaning, and crafting a beautiful object. It just makes me happy. And I know that many artists feel the same. So why don't the magazines see it that way?
posted by HGordon at 22:51
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