I am continually looking on the web for synchronicites. I believe that Western art is coming to a conclusion (at least for this period). There is always an ism, or what the critics consider book ends that will help them to figure out when one things ends and another begins. Is this always the case? Its hard to say whether there has to be anything at all that would describe these types of historic events.
I'm sure that there were plenty of artists that have fallen outside the book ends and have failed to receive adequate attention during their lifetime, or posthumously, as well put into perspective, repositioned and included in the faithful list of iconic artists from so and so time and ism. What happens when there are no more isms? Or worse, the lack of one is so blatant and troubling that they begin to try to fit square pegs into round holes.
During one of my surfing sessions lately I found an artist that shows his work in New york. Born 1959, painter. Normally this wouldn't mean anything at all if it wasn't for the fact that I found an image of a painting of his with an image that I used from a national geographic. Derivative comes to mind. Wait, that's what I do. In the words of the Fantastic Mr. Fox, Cuss.
The image was the exact same one that I had used in a painting called cinematic beginnings. When I say that I search the "cloud" for synchronicities I hadn't thought that it would pertain to my work. Though I should be more forgiving as there are quite a few artists making work in North America and that I shouldn't beat myself up about it. If people are working from popular or corporate images there is bound to be some overlap. This could mean one of two things however.
-One, that I am on the right track, that since this gentlemen is using these images there is something special about them that makes it worth while.
-Two, that I am on the wrong track and headed towards obscurity. The second, more dire circumstantial situation is the one that I have been dreading for years but have not had any indisputable truth to go by. This is an indisputable truth though. Cuss.
Obviously this gentlemen has been painting for a long time. I always thought that the found images game would be something that I would work out of. It has made me very sensitive to illustrative techniques and I am finding these recycled images everywhere. Ones that I have seen in my clippings of magazines and books and those that I have physically used in my art. The question now is what will I do. This gentleman's work was quite exhaustive and detailed. He projected the images and work from reference creating a very painterly style. I have gone in a similar direction where I attempted to make the image disappear while maintaining a sense of realism in the paint. I focused on the use of colour and composition rather than brushstroke and paint. This is perhaps the largest problem facing me at this point. I have a solution to this problem.
I have always been struggling with the direction of my work; where it was taking me, etc. I assumed that by simply working I would get there. That mediated steps would result in too much planning and would ultimately ruin my work. This is partly true. However if I look down the line I see a dead end. I have always assumed what it would look like, now I know what it is. If I am to escape this void that Western art seems to be spiraling into I have to look far ahead and escape before it is too late.
Even now as I write this I am talking as if I am a prisoner of some system. In an interview lately I actually said that I work with perspective because I feel that it echoes the system, but I am only perpetuating it by following it, whether I am pointing it out or not.
The only thing that I can think of that would save me from my terrible end at this point is to abandon structure and found images in favour of something that makes more sense. The only problem is, I'm not sure if I can undo the damage that has already been done.
