Thursday, November 18, 2010











Just home from my recent opening. Actually, from the opening and a late dinner with friends. But anyway, I knew you would all be on pins and needles waiting to hear how it went (ha-ha-ha!!!) No sales tonight, but some really nice feedback from some locally well respected artists. This is the kind of stuff I need to keep me going. After seeing the incredible stuff at the Art Institute the other day
I was feeling pretty bummed, actually to tell the truth I was feeling pretty crappy about my work. One of the artists at the Art League has his films in the Art Institute. I saw them on Monday. I'm not sure why they are there, I guess I have a hard time with video/film stuff. Anyway he was there tonight and said he thought my work was "very nice". Maybe he was just patronizing me, but I'd like to think he liked it. He was saying that he was not pleased with a couple of his films at the A I so he was almost as insecure as me I guess. Sometimes being an artist is pretty tough. What we put out there is so personal and intimate and it's hard to distance ourselves from it and see it as a comodidty instead of as an extension of ourselves. Let me re-phrase that. It's not that it is always a personal or intimate reveal, but the actual work comes from a personal struggle. It is a struggle to make what is in the head or heart or soul, or where ever it comes from, appear out "there" in some form. It is usually the struggle that is so personal or intimate. Some artists do put their intimate selves out there but the struggle is still the hardest part. Of course there are those "interesting" artists who make their art using themselves as the medium. Some like to paint with their spit as the medium with acrylic paint or maybe use their semen on a particular surface that turns it a different color. Ah, such talent. Years to perfect it! But I must not condemn such creativity or I will be condemning all of us. Oh, what the hell...that kind of crap is just that, crap! And I'm sure there are "paintings" out there done in just that, with perhaps a bit of oil paint mixed in.




But I digress, my intention tonight was simply to say thet my little opening was ...well...little, but nice. I will keep working.

2 comments:

  1. Being that I am not an artist, I am always insecure about my work. What makes art work good? I haven't a clue so insecure or not, I just keep plugging away. The whole thing is a personal struggle because each image has a piece of me. Its not so easy to tear these pieces out. It can be painful at times. Other times, it flows in a way I don't understand...intuition? I dunno.

    However, I do recognize you are in different league from me, so if I can keep plugging away...you can do the same! And I, for one, will sit back and enjoy.

    Michael

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  2. Thanks Michael. I appreciate your feedback and compliment. Your work is wonderful! I always love seeing it.
    mj

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