In this video interview, Milton Glaser offers a definition of art, or at least what art isn't. “If it moves you to attentiveness it is art, if it doesn't it's something else.” - Milton
Continue reading...Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Defining art has never been all that controversial; it’s the "good" part that carries the debate. New tools have made discernment tougher still. It’s not all that hard to make the work appear good through imitation or mechanized craft and then assert its worthiness.
Continue reading...Monday, March 1, 2010
Film delayed gratification long enough so those behind a camera needed to see the image in their minds eye and exhaust possibilities to make it happen at the moment of exposure. Technology has changed that – call it postvisualization.
Continue reading...Thursday, February 25, 2010
Visual metaphor is not only the staple of advertising but the backbone of all art. James Geary points out in his TED presentation (embedded) that metaphor is when we perceive X = Y. Though, in our struggle to understand visual abstractions, I believe we search for metaphor rather than analogy. We adore closure.
Continue reading...Monday, February 22, 2010
Artists are asked relentlessly, “How long did that take you.” The response goes – more or less polite - something like, “why do you ask?” It shouldn’t, but time does matter, somehow, in some way – it has a peculiar relationship with creativity or vice-versa. In numerous ways time doesn’t respond the way you’d expect when creativity is involved.
Continue reading...Monday, February 1, 2010
I’ve always loved the Art-O-Mat concept. It’s fun and feels contemporary and retro at the same time. It’s the ultimate in cool to have a machine in your venue. The story behind Art-o-mat® The inspiration for Art-o-mat® came to artist Clark Whittington while observing a friend who had a Pavlovian reaction to the crinkle of more »
Continue reading...Thursday, January 21, 2010
It’s not hard to find the uniqueness of Mapplethorpe’s work whether it’s a flower, a penis or a portrait. R.M. civilized the shock of sex, violence and race - localized our fears, lust and hopes with ambiguous well crafted works. He succeeded in such a powerful way that it’s spawned countless derivatives.
Continue reading...Monday, January 18, 2010
Evidently neither technology nor egalitarianism does anything to stir the soul, yet, Rauschenberg erases beauty and inspires – or provokes - the heart of an artistic movement. Watch a short video interview with Rauschenberg about his erasure of a de Kooning masterpiece.
Continue reading...Thursday, December 24, 2009
Since picking up a camera 35 years ago, I was framing images to move viewers. A desire to convince them I was good at what I did remains an underlying yet significant motivation. What's more, I’ll make the claim that most spectators do so in judgment before considering the content’s honesty – that is – if it exists. I invite you to look at these 23 images differently. There is an integrity and openness in this group photographs that is unique and worth examining. They were taken by a photographer who does not care what you think; he’s not spinning it for his reviewers. He doesn’t care about anything except how the frame and capture makes him feel and what catches his eye. His viewpoint embodies freshness. He’s a chaste artist.
Continue reading...Thursday, December 17, 2009
“Music is the space between the notes” – Claude Debussy I thought of this quote before discovering someone much more intelligent said it first. I was at a show listening to bluegrass virtuosos play so fast that it was hard to discern a space between notes. It made me realize that there was only one interpretation possible. There were no spaces for me to think or feel anything but the energy of their content.
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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