Washington, D.C., artist, Jamie Wimberly, continues my recent project by writing about "burden." As usual, I extend an invitation to all local artists who would like to participate in this effort. Just email me!
Painting is Dead
Mixed Media Construction
Jamie Wimberly: Burden
The burden of inspiration. The humming that comes at night ...
Sometimes I stop, aware of this humming
Building inside of me, and I know it is a harbinger.
I know that it portends laughter, wild laughter.
Or sadness and dry tears, or a shaking
That only comes from pure fear.
And the humming comes on so strong,
So strong.
Then, beyond the inspiration, there is the weight of legacy. What am I leaving behind as an artist? What is my offering?
You can see the burden, the weight, on "her," the red-headed woman, who appears over and over in my work. She stars in her own little box of context. Isolated. Her shoulders slumped, or arms wrapping around herself, caught in an art construction that she doesn't completely understand.
My work increasingly is using art to discuss art. How did we get to a place that art, especially "fine art", has no definition, no parameters? A place where everyone has become an artist and everything has become art -- and, so, nobody is one and nothing is art. How did we create a hole that is now being filled by non-art values -- marketing, propaganda, personality, to name a few? How did art become such a devalued commodity?
When did craftsmanship, spirituality, history, and beauty stop mattering in art? We are in one of the wealthiest societies in the world – and yet, there is no legacy beyond the ephemeral.
She, the red-headed woman, asks: “What do you think now?”
I ask you. I ask you about this burden that we must all bear as artists.
Legacy
Mixed Media Construction
Previous Posts:
Charles Neenan: Tradition
Kelly Towles: Color
Ryan Mulligan: Originality
Matt Hollis: Confinement
Dean Fueroghne: Originality
James W. Bailey: Obligation
J. Coleman: Depiction
Andy Moon Wilson: Decision
Molly Springfield: Language
Bryan Whitson: Scene
Elyse Harrison: Motivation
Jiha Moon Wilson: Influence
Alexandra Silverthorne: Derivative
Jose Ruiz: Contemporary
Kathleen Shafer: Focus
Jennifer McMackon: Connection
Gregg Chadwick: Responsibility
Warren Craghead: Material
Angela Kleis: Purpose
Peter Reginato: Order
Anna L. Conti: Community
Wayne Schoenfeld: Content
Elizabeth Morisette: Naive
Tim Tate: Craft
Jesse Cohen: Hidden
Greg Ferrand: Experience
Joseph Barbaccia: Commitment
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