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Being outgoing has never been easy.  I do not have my father's gift for talking to anyone and getting a positive response.     

Dallas Texas 
Elm Street
Early 2000's

I'm more comfortable observing people.

People don't live up to expectations.   

It's a hard lesson to absorb.   We judge by appearances, which is iffy at best.  At first, we don't have much to go on, besides appearances, and people dress to impress, if they have the ability.  

Dallas, Texas
Pearl Street
Early 2000's
I believe this is a representation of Cthulhu, although I suppose it might just be a squid.
They used to pop up a lot downtown; but, I don't go downtown much these days.

What people leave behind, even trash, is much more telling of who they are.  Also, what brings them together says a lot.  Little bits of commerce will bring people together better than the parks and amenities designed to do so.  Not the big chains, not even Starbucks, does this so well as the food trucks and carts downtown, when the city allows such things.  

Dallas, Texas
Near Elm Street in front of El Centro College
Early 2000's
Passing out free samples of coffee to students and other people passing by.

Public art does attract people.  I don't see the same interactions that people have waiting for coffee or buying food.  One can hardly expect to only have food vendors in a city.  Looking at a morning yoga class in front of The Eyeball is a sight one does not see everyday, unless you are working across the street from that garden - I suppose. 

"The Eye"
Fiberglass Sculpture by Artist Tony Tasset
1600 Elm Street 
Dallas Texas
This enormous sculpture is accessible to the public.  It is in a garden, but I liked the pattern of the fence in front of the Eye,

I just wish people didn't leave so much trash behind.  Maybe if people had more time for a sit down lunch, we could cut down on disposable stuff.  What do people get for lunch, a half hour?  I'm thinking of the minimum wage people, the one's that get lunch breaks.  Oddly, manager types and professionals get one hour traditionally.  More time as the ladder increases.  Seems backwards to me.  The cheapest labor gets the least lunch break, while the most expensive labor gets an hour.  

I'm not outgoing.  I guess introvert describes me.  Maybe, I should just play to my strengths.   

oil paint on 11 by 17 inch panel
Title: TBD

 What is the point of Art?

Currently artists tend toward defining themselves as challenging the status quo, rebelling against the Establishment.  The response of the establishment is to buy the Art, collect it, and sell it for a profit.  Not all do that, but enough to establish a stereotype.

I find this puzzling.

"The story" these days is for an artist to start in the street as a graffiti artist chased by the police.  Working his/her way into galleries and public acclaim by talent and perseverance.  

This sounds suspiciously like a retelling of the rags to riches stories found in nineteenth century publications.  But, how many people actually fit those stories?  Rags to riches stories are about hope, not reality.  

What I suspect is happening.

The actual career path for an artist involves a rather expensive education and acquiring marketing skills, along with connections to people who actually purchase art.  It's not mandatory to follow that path; but, it is easier to convince people you are an artist when you have a degree.  Artists as a group fit neatly into an existing social order, sometimes embraced or sometimes tolerated, but always recognized by the people who support Art (As customer or as Patron) and are people in the upper levels of society and politics.  The Art they acquire inevitably supports their own beliefs, or in the case of politics, beliefs they want people to think they have.

What Next?

I am a little jaded, but I have been alive awhile; and, that happens to people who face reality.   

So, my question is:  Does Art serve as a means of propping up social and political order?  Obviously, historically, Art has served that purpose for Religion and State.  The big dogs in Patrons.  

In this Republic that still values democratic principles (I hope.), Art does not appear to support either the state or religions given the small financial support from both.  (Compared to what authoritarians and monarchies spend on public art.  This is not judgement of current government spending,)  Support for Art in this republic appears to come from loosely organized groups of communities, or voters if political oriented, reinforcing that communities values.  

From this point of view, the Artist could be a "voice in the wilderness" calling for people to get ready.  

Well, I probably need to test this more, but it feels right. 

 

  

Hand Study

Photo Study of Hand
digital jpeg file

For some reason, hands are difficult to draw.  I must have some kind of block, that prevents me from seeing the forms that truly exist.

They have been in front of me all of my life.  

I know what hands look like.

That my problem.

Lines and tones go on paper, not the "hands" that exist in my mind.  

A curious thing, this concept of drawing something.  

Paper is flat.  My hand is solid. 

What goes on paper are tones.  I don't even draw the whole hand.

 

What is An Artist?

A hobbyist will  engage in more creative activity in an individual than any of the creative professions.   That is because most of the "creative" professions are about volume sales, and the people actually doing the creative part will not share the burden.   Or, as in the case of architecture, so complicated that the creative aspect  only involves 2% of the tasks.  Lets face it, modern jobs are dull and repetitive, based on a Factory model.  (And, slaves to statistical analysts because people like to "stack the deck" and guarantee sales.  Like that's even possible.)

Traditional means of support, patronage, family money, government grants, etc. all seem to require the Artist to participate in the visions of others.  If the Artist is independent of these connections, the vision belongs to the Artist alone; and, the Artist is probably dead.  

It is possible for the Artist to have a day job, or someway of providing, separate from creating art.  Get one that doesn't have managers who demand unlimited access to your time.   Trust me, there are people, managers, clients and coworkers who are never not working and expect 24 four access to you.   

Also, some jobs are more physically demanding than others.  The Artist has to take that into account, but that is more of what an individual can handle than some broad principle.    

Supporting oneself with a day job is an old idea.  I ran across it in, of all things, the Bible.  The Apostle Paul, who was the first evangelist, supported himself as a tent maker instead of taking money from those he preached to.  

This concept is so far from the tv evangelists of today who constantly beg for money and fight for audiences.  Even in religion, the job can destroy the vision of the preacher.  

The Artist cannot ignore life.  Food, shelter, and clothing are not provided by simply having faith.  There is some effort involved.     

The words that stand out in this post are Artist (as opposed to artist), support, and vision.   There is an unsaid word, which is definitely implied, and that word is Time.

Support

That which prevents death and allows the Artist to keep exploring.

Vision 

Something that people say when they are describing the body of work of an artist.  The meaning varies from person to person.  It's also what I am looking for when I explore.

Time

The most important coin in the universe.  This musing is about how the Artist spends Time. 

Connections 

An unavoidable condition of Human Existence.   They can be cultivated or limited.  Some crave connections and others, they are more selective.  Again, connections are based on individual traits. 

Artist

The one who creates art is called an Artist by other people.  How I see it, essentially an explorer of perception.  

Study Artists like Andy Warhol and it becomes clear that what you do is not as important as how you present it.

Maybe this says it more clearly:

Painters sells paintings.

Artists sell themselves.  

 

  

What Is Beauty These Days

Flowers Floating on A Reflection

What is Beauty?   It's a word.  It was important in the 19th century.   

Today, it's worn out from overuse.  A girl once said to me that inner beauty is more important than outer beauty; and, in the same breath said that beauty is only skin deep.   I was a boy at the time, but the phrases stuck with me.

There is real conflict in those phrases.  

She was talking about a friend who was less than attractive in her eyes.  I had to take her word for it.  

What a crappy way to see a friend.  Maybe, she really wasn't seeing her friend.  People tend to not see people they are familiar with.

Why did she use the phrase inner beauty?  There is no inner beauty. Even if it exists, there is no way to perceive such a thing without a physical expression.   

There are two things I believe about beauty.

        1.    Beauty is a surface effect.

        2.    It has a biological/perceptual basis.

The only time I think the concept of beauty has any real use is when I evaluate paintings or drawings that I intend to place for sale.  That would be when I am trying my hand at marketing.    

So, back to the girl with the crappy friend.  

I never actually met her friend.  She wasn't trying to match her up with me.  I don't have a clue as to what was going on.  It was important enough for her to say it out loud.   

Beauty does not lie at the core of anything, not human, not objects.  It is surface, like color.  A reflection of something.  It belongs in the world of art, design, and marketing.   It's about how we perceive objects.  

Random Musing On Art : Alfred Nobody

oil painting on 18 by 24 inch canvas
Style is not important in this case.
It is not titled nor for sale at this time.

Paintings might search for universal appeal, which is a type of artistic snipe hunt.

A snipe hunt, if you are not into camping, was a rite of passage for young boys of my generation.  It usually happens at night.  The boys are organized into groups.  Each boy is given two sticks and are instructed to bang them together in order to attract snipes.  The hunt usually lasts an hour, or more if the boys are unusually dense.  

Snipes don't exist in my part of the world, and until recently I didn't think they existed at all.  I am not sure what the point of snipe hunts were.   Perhaps, a mild hazing, and everyone felt a part of the group.

Universal appeal is thought unattainable, although people keep trying.  Not just artists, but sales and marketing chase that snipe.

If you truly believe that art is subjective, then universal appeal cannot be possible.  There are too many people in the world.

Is art really subjective?   

Dried Onion
Digital Photograph

How do we even contemplate anything if everyone sees something different?  No the image of the dried onion above is the same for everyone.  What reaction people have will be different, but it remains an image of a dried onion.

A search for universal appeal is not a snipe hunt.  What I am not sure of is what use it would be.  If everyone likes an image, it will be reproduced endlessly and fade into a rather pleasant background.  

If the internet has shown us anything useful, its that not being in the background gets you noticed.  Also, sex sells - but, then we have always know that.

Today's artists are looking for reactions.   

but

I think these are the big questions.

What are people who consume art looking for?  

Do we follow the money to find that out?  

Or, do we see what is searched for on the internet?

What about people who don't use the internet to look for art?  After all, being there is still a unique experience.  Also, just because the internet is not available to someone does not automatically exclude them from the art world.