Measuring a work of art

It makes me deeply envious.
It pulls me out of my skin--floating, dreaming, wandering.
It pushes me deeper inside myself.
I suddenly know something important and new.
I want to rush to my studio to try again.
I am connected.
I recognize I must have a voice, too.

Boundaries

Art, like life, is tamed, hemmed in, corralled, smothered by society’s conformist boundaries, even the most benign of them. For the serious artist, new boundaries must emerge from inner necessity. This means navigating a treacherous space, as boundless and without edge as possible, where risk, exhilaration, disciplined attention, love, failure, diligence, exhaustion all map new boundaries of the world swallowed and released, the boundaries that make possible the gift, the challenge, the prophecy that only you can give.

contemporary art

Here are some observations on contemorary art:

1. Beauty is not just pretty anymore.

2. You can't get vaccinated against it.

3. It's nothing you learned in school.

4.It's just as susceptible to market forces, fads, superficiality, spectacle, arrogance, triviality and fashion as any other part of society.

5. It's vastly more important than most people think.

6. Contemporary artists must be responsible for their work and its consequences.

7. We have to own it; it's the art of our time.

8.Wrestling with it is a hell of a lot of fun.

9. You don't have to like it all.

10. You should mistrust the one-night stand.

Betrayal

We have been betrayed
by capitalism into needless needing,
by art into spiritless images,
by life into empty rituals,
by society into freedom without responsibility,
by culture into shallow lives,
by education into learning without heart or wisdom,
by routine into death without life,
by spectacle into facile awe.

Envy

As an artist, there are numerous ways to judge the excellence of a piece of art. A colleague of mine, Walter Driesbach, once commented that he recognized quality in a work of art if it made him envious. We think of envy as one of the seven deadly sins, and uncontrolled it is acid demon. But it also has quiet messages that tell us achievement, standards, perseverence and the tremendous transformative power of the personal creative act.

What is art? (continued)

Art is what you ask it to be. Ask it to be merely pretty, and it will be. Ask it to make you feel happy, and it will. Ask it to give you status, and it will. Ask it for a return on your investment, and it will. Ask it to blend into your wall, and it will. Ask it to ask you questions, and it will. Ask it to make you uncomfortable, and it will. Ask it to make your world bigger, and it will. Ask it to help you understand what it means to be human, and it will.

Ask and it will deliver.

What is art?

What is art? Some digging will uncover all kinds of definitions. These definitions will clarify, confuse, provoke, give insight, seem laughable, contradict one another, hang on the past, try to define a future, muddle the now, be conscientious, be flippant, be genuine, be self-serving...

What can someone who cares about art do? First, don't give up. Whatever the definition, it contributes something to the dialogue and could teach us something. Second,look with an open mind at lots of art. It's the art that triggers the definition, not the other way around. Third, come to some resolution, even if a transient one, of what you expect of art. The more you expect of it, and consequently the artist, the subtler, richer and more incisive a definition would be.

And, in the end, it's your definition, your expectations, of art that will determine how it enters and transforms your life.