006 | Why Art Matters: A WORLD VIEW

It’s important to remember what art exactly IS when discussing its impact on the world.

Art is an expression of human skill and imagination to be appreciated for its beauty or emotional power.

Therefore it is something we humans are uniquely capable of creating (with our hands or our minds) to be experienced in a way we are uniquely capable of.

Art Reflects Culture

Art is a tool for mirroring what the cultural society is going though at a particular place and time in history.

Art Represents Our Standing Value for Creativity (and can help us value it more, too!)

In the past, we see art being used as an informative tool. We were focused on survival, so our art shows us not only where we were culturally (focused on not dying!) but also what sort of capacity we had to appreciate creativity.

We shift to see art focusing on religion, politics and the aristocratic elite. We are not only showing what is important at this time and place in history, but also what our value of creativity is. We are celebrating creativity as long as it is in line with the patrons vision for the artwork.

When a switch into modern art occurs, we are also seeing greater freedom in the world! Suddenly we thriving culturally and we are ready to accept and appreciate artistic ingenuity, even if it pushes us out of our comfort zones.

In the contemporary world, artwork is selling for 100s of millions of dollars, however the myth of the starving artist is still live and well. There is a tension between the understanding that art will sell for a lot, but it is not a viable career choice, further distancing the relationship between the masses and artwork.

Meuses, by Monet sold in 2019 for $100.7 million dollars.

There still is major value for creativity in our contemporary world, but it is leaning towards the digital world, ie technology.

Why?

Because no matter how expensive a piece of technology is, we believe and understand that technology is for US, not only the rich and elite.

How many of us spend $1000.00 on a new phone that we will need to replace every three years? How often will we pay $1000.00 for a piece of art that we will appreciate for our lifetime and pass on to the next generation?

The creativity that we value is equally represented by the creativity and ingenuity that we can appreciate daily.

005 | "I Could Do That" Artist: Jackson Pollock

1912: Jackson Pollock is born in Cody, Wyoming

1930: Jackson Pollock finally arrives in New York!

1934

“Going West”

1937

“Landscape With Steer”

1943

“Mural”

1947: We see Pollock’s first full “drip painting”

“Full Fathom Five” 1947

No. 5, 1948

004 | How to Experience Art + Gallery Protocol

In this episode I teach different methods of looking at and experiencing art.

First, you need to approach art open and ready to receive. Art can seldom force you to open, so if you are not open to receiving, perhaps find a different time to experience art.

Method 1 | How Did They Do That?

Ask yourself “how did they do that- technically?”

-Are the brush strokes chunky?

-Do you think they created quickly or slowly?

-Do you think they mixed paint or pulled straight from a tube?

-What medium did they use? How do you think that impacted the creation of the piece?

Method 2 | Why Did They Do That?

If you are experiencing art in a professional setting (ie gallery, museum, public installation, architecture) the artist is a professional in their field, which means that every choice the artist made was with purpose and intent.

-Ask yourself why you think the artist used that color?

-Why do you think the artist paints that subject matter?

-Why does this artist work abstractly?

-Why does this artist work in this medium over other mediums?

-Why does Leah Pantéa put white over her paintings?

Method 3 | Notice Your Eye Movements

How your eyes move around a piece of art is a very significant thing for an artist to consider while they are creating a work. Notice how your eyes slip through negative spaces and feel caught in very dense and intricate areas.

Method 4 | Do You Like It? Why?

A method discussed further in episode 1.

-Observe the artwork judgement free for at least 20 seconds.

-Ask yourself if you like it, yes or no.

-Ask yourself why you like it, and then continue asking yourself why to each answer enough times that you start getting a little unsettled. That is where the sweet sweet honey is.

Method 5 | Dig A Little Deeper

If you are genuinely interested in a piece of art or the artist, find more information! It will only get better!

Might I suggest:

-Asking the gallery attendant for more information

-Try your hand at deciphering the artist statement!

-Google the artist!

-Find the artist on instagram!

003 | What is "Fine Art" + Why We Need Artist Statements

Please allow me to break it down for you… visually.

Prior to 1819 and Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa , art and the reason for art was very straight forward.

Art was created by the artist in commission to a patron and that patron could have been a wealthy family (ie, the Medici’s), the church, or a political leader. The art that was created was directed by the patron to show a certain political agenda, religious mood, or regal-ness that the patron wanted, and the artist went along with it in return for a steady life of work, living arrangements and status.

Above, fine art by J.M.W. Turner (left) and Van Gough (right)

Enter the Romantics (starting around 1819) where the artist begin to veer away from the agenda of the patrons, and begin creating art for art’s sake , quickly followed by the modernist movement and specifically the avant-garde movement. During the avant-garde movement, the artists, finally creating as they desire, begin to call for art with a high concept and/or high intellectual content.

This shift created a need for the artist statements.

Artist Statements: An introduction to an artist specific work of art, collection of art or lifetime of art. This can include details of how it was made, why it was made, the reaction the artist hopes to receive, where it stands in history and the contemporary art world, and anything else the artist may want to mention. They can contain all or none of these thoughts.