Thinking About Art

Influenced by...

Or, owes a lot to...

I've always wondered about art reviews that state an artist was clearly influenced by so and so. How does the writer even know if the artist has seen so and so's work? There may be similarities, but is there actual influence?

Out of curiosity, I've always wondered who other people thought I was influenced by based on my work. Is anyone willing to participate? Who am I influenced by?

Now, the "owes a lot to..." statement is clearly different. Obviously past artists lead the way and future artists (i.e. us) follow along the paths they've set out. Duchamp built a frickin' superhighway for artists to drive down. It seems a bit like a family tree. Artist A did this which allowed Artist B to do that. Artist B did this which allowed Artist C to do that... Artist XYZ did this which allowed me to do this. I realize that is oversimplified but I would love to see my family tree. Does anything like that exist?

Kids and Art

Now this is a tough one. Kids and art. Without question kids need to be exposed to art from an early age. But how do we go about it? Look what happened in Detroit.

On Saturday night I saw a kid about 4 years old grab and shake one of the photographs at Project 4 Gallery. In the article linked to above, a kid placed chewing gum on a Frankenthaler painting.

So what do we do? How do we find a safe middle ground for kids to view art? Sometimes, I think a straight jacket is in order, no matter how cruel it seems. Other times I think the parent or guardian should be forced to pay for repairs. I think kids need to see art, but art needs to be safe.

Or is art safe enough as it is?

And then there are the adults who damage art. Maybe they should be dealt with first.

Yeah, let's deal with the adults first. If they can't respect art, how will their kids?

Motivation vs. Inspiration

Just the other day I was exchanging emails with an artist. We were discussing ways of promoting ourselves and I gave him an idea to which he responded, "ah, that motivates me to..." It was an innocent enough statement but it got me thinking. Do artists need motivation to make their work or to be an artist? If so, why?

I have never found myself needing motivation to make art or to promote myself. I have needed a good jolt of inspiration from time to time, but I am always motivated to create. And why shouldn't I be? Why shouldn't you be motivated too?

I've always been concerned by artists who are tired of talking about art. I remember a time being with a good friend of mine who had an opening that night. We went out to dinner with the gallery people after the opening and another artist who was having a solo show at the same gallery was there too. My friend and I chatted about art the whole night. The other artist look bored to death. She asked if we could talk about something other than art. We continued talking about art the whole night. Poor thing must have been miserable.

Another example was when I attended the opening reception for OPTIONS 2005. I ran into a hot young artist whom I had been critical of in a review. We got to talking, about art of course, and after about 5 minutes (if that) she commented, "I am so sick of talking about art. Agh!" I was appalled.

Coming back around, do artists really need motivation or inspiration? What's keeping you out of that darkroom? Motivation or inspiration? I'll forgive the latter but if it's the former then I got a problem with you.

Do artists understand how lucky they are? To have the guts to pursue art is admirable. But to want to pursue art and then not be motivated, what are you doing instead, then, when not making art? Are you at least thinking about it? Reading about it? Talking about it? Or are you watching TV? Drinking beer at a pub? Playing video games?

Why aren't you motivated?

Lori Grinker @ Project 4 Gallery

UPDATE: Heather Goss contributes a review of the Grinker show on DCist.

On Saturday night I made my way to the much anticipated grand opening of Project 4 Gallery. "Much anticipated" is an understatement. The place was packed. How in the world the four owners of Project 4 got that many people there is beyond me.

The space is remarkable if kind of small. Two of the four owners are architects and it shows. I would have loved to snap some pictures of the interior but there were just too many people. I usually have a pretty high tolerance for cramped openings but this was ridiculous. Many of the people I saw there were what I like to call "scenesters." You know the type... dressed to the nines even though they are tramping up and down dirty U St. Or the people who know you, have met you previously more than once, but stare right through you in a hip crowd. This has happened a few times with this particular artworld person and it's getting old. I know I'm not cool enough for you but still... Oh, and then there was the girl in the super nice dress, shoes, made up hair and overdone makeup who barked at a homeless person begging for money, "Get out of here, bum. You're disgusting. This is an art opening. You don't belong here." Classy, real classy. After less than 10 minutes I was gone... I couldn't take it!

Sorry, I talk about this stuff because I really couldn't see the art. What I did see though didn't do much for me. Documentary photos through and through. I thought they would be more at home at the Newseum when it reopens. I'm sure they are well done, but artistically, I didn't get much from them. See the Web site for several examples of Grinker's work.

Having spoken to one of the gallery owners a few times via email, I expect lots of good things from the gallery. I think they will be somewhat experimental in their exhibitions and that will be welcome. However, I attended my first and last opening at Project 4.

Artists Interview Artists: Roz Leibowitz

Roz Leibowitz, a New York, NY based artist [heavy flash site for her gallery] and blogger, participates in the Artists Interview Artists Project. Below Roz responds to another artist's five questions (Anthony Easton from Ft. Sask, Alberta, Canada). In order to participate, Roz had to provide me with five questions for some other artist to answer. The assigning of questions to artists is completely random. If you're an artist and interested in participating, let me know.

Lena
pencil on vintage paper
15 1/4" x 12"
2006

1. What’s your day job?

My educational background is actually in language arts and library science – I have master’s degrees in both. In the past, I have worked as a public librarian and as a reading specialist in New York City, but currently I am devoting most of my time to my art.

2. How much of your work is about theory, and how much of your work is about practice?

I don’t know if I can make an exact distinction, if by theory one means the conceptual framework and by practice, the actual manipulation of materials. I would rather say that there is a Spirit that moves with the hand and pencil, and that without such a Spirit the work is dead, just as without the hand the Spirit is silenced. I believe strongly in the panentheistic universe of Boehme, Eckhart, and other mystics: Spirit is revealed in the continuous ebb and flow of creation. Making art is simply being in right alignment to the cosmic show. But, of course, “simply” is an understatement: the daily practice of moving the pencil, preparing the paper, trying and failing and trying again is an essential part of the work.

3. What makes you different than a lawyer, a doctor, a busboy?

Absolutely nothing, if the lawyer, doctor or busboy in question is willing to give up his or her life for the work.

4. What is the oldest artist you have an affinity for? The newest?

I think my strongest influences, historical or modern, come from vernacular culture, especially folk art and folk belief. This includes European and American printed broadsides, pamphlets, and other ephemera as well as anonymous snapshots and photos. I also have a strong affinity for the classic “outsider artists” such as Martin Ramirez, August Natterer, Henry Darger (all 20th century) as well as the Naïve painters of both Eastern Europe and Haiti. In short, anything or anyone who deals with a kind of reverence for memory.

In terms of well-known artists, Joseph Cornell is an absolute influence for his creation of worlds within worlds and his singular vision, Louise Bourgeois for her oddity, Hannah Hoch and Grete Stern for their precision.

My opinion of contemporary art changes continually. Recently, I have been drawn to the work of John Digby and Maritta Tapanainen, both of whom work in collage, a form that is increasingly of interest to me.

5. How does technology directly affect the daily practice of your work?

I thank daily the wizards who invented Photoshop and the ease with which we now travel on the Internet. I use Photoshop to do initial layouts and cartoons for the final drawings, which are still done by hand with that most un-tech of mediums – the pencil. But I also have a vast collection of images that I collect from print media and from the Internet that I use for inspiration and reference. I have files on everything from “women dancing 1940s hats” to “Hand Movements - Flamenco”. Very recently, I have dipped into web blogs (having always been inveterate diarist) and am in the process of preparing my own. In a very real sense, technology has opened new worlds and new vehicles of communication for artists everywhere.

The Flower of Eternal Imagination
pencil on vintage paper
43" x 26"
2005

Previous Interviews:
Juno Doran (questions by James W. Bailey)
Josh Feldman (questions by Joseph Barbaccia)
Lisa Stephenson (questions by Whitney Lynn)
Joseph Barbaccia (questions by Josh Feldman)
James W. Bailey (questions by Matt Hollis)
Matt Hollis (questions by Juno Doran)
Carol Es (questions by James Leonard)
Alexandra Silverthorne (questions by Ami Lahoff)
Christine Buckton Tillman (questions by Carol Es)
Douglas Witmer (questions by Alexandra Silverthorne)
Sky Pape (questions by Douglas Witmer)
Whitney Lynn (questions by Lisa Stephenson)
Heather Levy (questions by Joanne Greenbaum)
Heather Lowe (questions by Samantha Wolov)
Samantha Wolov (questions by Heather Levy)
Timothy McClellan (questions by Heather Lowe)
James Leonard (questions by Sky Pape)
Joanne Greenbaum (questions by Timothy McClellan)
Richard Kooyman (questions by Robert Walton)
Candy Keegan (questions by Warren Craghead)
Robert Walton (questions by Candy Keegan)
John M. Adams (questions by Richard Kooyman)
Prescott Moore Lassman (questions by Mary Addison Hackett)
Mary Addison Hackett (questions by Prescott Moore Lassman)
Andrew Wodzianski (questions by Nathan Manuel & D.Billy)
Nathan Manuel & D.Billy (questions by Andrew Wodzianski)
Michael Janis (questions by Scott Listfield)
Scott Listfield (questions by Michael Janis)
F. Lennox Campello (questions by Sean Hennessy)
Matt Andrade (questions by Adrian Parsons)
Sean Hennessy (questions by F. Lennox Campello)
George Wayne (questions by Michelle McAuliffe)
Eridanus Sellen (questions by Anabela Jevtovic)
Anabela Jevtovic (questions by Eridanus Sellen)
Marianela de la Hoz (questions by A.B. Miner)
Martin Henry (questions by Barbara Johnson-Gresser)
A.B. Miner (questions by George Wayne)
Barbara Johnson-Gresser (questions by Martin Henry)
Adrian Parsons (questions by Matt Andrade)
Heather Schmaedeke (questions by <Patricia Hartnett)
Anthony Easton (questions by Melissa Kennedy)

Take that, karma!

UPDATE: Karma takes another blow to the mid-section. So long Melt, I'll miss you.

I am becoming a firm believer of karma. As I discussed here, karma got me down on Thursday. Two rejection letters in one day is not fun. However, karma balanced things out again and then some over the weekend when I sold three pieces of art (all drawings), two of which went into a wonderful personal collection here in DC. Additionally, I got interest from another excellent local collector who may purchase a piece or two. Then, the internet gods worked their magic and an intriguing collector from Michigan wrote inquiring about my work. Turns out she found my work through the blogosphere and it fits perfectly with her aesthetics. She inquired about 14 pieces, though she assured me her budget would not tolerate that many purchases.

Rejection and acceptance. It's crazy. It's a tough artworld and I expect nothing from it. I consider myself lucky to even be able to create art. It's icing on the cake when someone finds something in my art that speaks to them. Though I would make art regardless of acceptance or rejection, receiving this amount of interest in my work certainly energizes me. And given the number of holes I'm drilling now, I need all the energy I can get.

Karma, I know you'll balance things out again sometime in the future. But for now, take that, buddy!

But my name ain't Earl!

Karma will bite you in the butt. Just ask Earl.

Why is that when you get rejected from a show, you get two rejections in the same day? This is at least the third time it has happened to me. Is it too much to ask that I get one rejection on Thursday and then another on Friday?

Well, I knew one proposal for a solo show would be a stretch, although the proposal was great I think. The other show, a group show, I considered pretty much a slam dunk. Oops!

Last night I had an incredible studio visit with a local collector. I gave a preview of my upcoming show and it was well received. I was excited about the show before the visit and after the collector left I was bouyed with confidence. Nothing like karma to keep the ol' noggin from swellin' up too big.

It's all for the best though. If you're going to be an artist you gotta be able to take the good and bad. If nothing else I have more time to focus on my current.

I sure would have liked to have been accepted though...

Is this really the best?

Edna turned me on to a recent article in New York Magazine that highlights 10 artists to watch in the upcoming Whitney Biennial. Browsing through the article this morning provided me with more ammo that a lot of Chelseafied artists are just making a bunch of crap today. Seriously. Browse through the images (one for each artist... admittedly a too small sample although that won't stop me) and tell me if there is anything you want to see more of.

I see one guy who intrigues me, Mark Bradford, although I get an overwhelming sense of Julie Mehretu. Gedi Sibony intrigues me a bit in that I do want to see more of his work. It could be something or perhaps not.

As a preview for the Whitney Biennial, I gotta say, I'm not inclined to hoof it up to NYC to see the show. Something tells me I can browse Chelsea next time I'm there and get the same feel.

Blogger Previews

This morning Tyler hits on something I've been thinking about quite a bit lately. That is, museums should do special previews of shows for bloggers. Recently there have been numerous excellent shows to open in DC area museums. I get invited to all the press previews for the shows, but they are always scheduled for mid-day during the week. This may be fine for full-time press people, but for those of us with non-press day jobs, it makes it nearly impossible to attend these events. I'm not looking for an elaborate preview hosted by many employees, but a short period of time on a week night or on a weekend before the show opens would be excellent. It would allow the numerous art bloggers in DC to come see the show in advance without hordes of people and to write about it prior to the opening. It would demonstrate goodwill to bloggers. It would establish a wonderful relationship.

The press previews I've attended in the past have been incredibly valuable. But now that I work out in Dulles during the day, I can't attend them anymore.

So, whadya say NGA? Hirshhorn? Corcoran? Phillips?

Book Update

I wanted to provide a quick update on the status of the book I am publishing for the One Word Project for all those who are participating artists or those interested in purchasing a copy.

In short... we're ALMOST there!

On Saturday I received the first proof copy of the book. It has been fully designed and the layout is wonderful. Of course, there are some minor tweaks and edits to make, but I think we are just about there.

While I was flipping through the "book" in Xerox black and white copy format, I was still impressed with its appearance. It should be 87 pages long and measuring in at 8.5" x 11" it should be a formidable presence.

Do not even try to hold me to this, but it is looking like the book will be priced at $20, the very low end of my original estimate of $20-25.

I wish I could share more about the book but really it's one of those things where I've just got to publish it so you can see for yourself. With any luck, the book will be available in one month. I've got to complete my edits and send the proof back to the design guy. After that, the next step is to upload the book and take a look at the real thing.

Fingers and toes crossed!

I'd like to extend a huge thank you to the participating artists. I know you're anxious to see this thing (upswing in emails tells me so) and I appreciate your patience. Trust me, I'm just as anxious as you are!