Book G
Thanks Giving
A tribute to a person or an ‘ism’.
References to those who have offered me ‘new freedoms’ in terms of what could constitute a painting, have been made both obliquely and specifically.
As my concern is limited to the abstract elements of painting, a connection to those who explored such is paramount.
My interest lies in the chronology of thought through time and space, which created these categories or ‘isms.
For example, in the case of Cubism, there appeared to be much left to explore in the abstract.
The series, ‘Homage, 19+1’, is a group of large scale panels dedicated to 19 artists. None of the constructions started with a specific homage in mind. At given moments during the process of shaping each work, I became aware of the presence of one of these inspirational artists, sometimes indirectly and sometimes more evidently than others. That awareness was prompted by painterly concerns of technique with which I was working, and which I could then equate with one of these 19; their explorations into the ‘language of painting’. Of course the work within this group, is obviously not just the sum of influences, hence the cryptic ‘+ 1’. But, notwithstanding many others, these 19 are the ones who constantly give me that deep sense of a homecoming.
For someone who hopes for an absence of sentiment in art, I can however, allow myself a decent amount of gratitude towards some of these artists without whose work my life would lack a whole dimension.
As my concern is limited to the abstract elements of painting, a connection to those who explored such is paramount.
My interest lies in the chronology of thought through time and space, which created these categories or ‘isms.
For example, in the case of Cubism, there appeared to be much left to explore in the abstract.
The series, ‘Homage, 19+1’, is a group of large scale panels dedicated to 19 artists. None of the constructions started with a specific homage in mind. At given moments during the process of shaping each work, I became aware of the presence of one of these inspirational artists, sometimes indirectly and sometimes more evidently than others. That awareness was prompted by painterly concerns of technique with which I was working, and which I could then equate with one of these 19; their explorations into the ‘language of painting’. Of course the work within this group, is obviously not just the sum of influences, hence the cryptic ‘+ 1’. But, notwithstanding many others, these 19 are the ones who constantly give me that deep sense of a homecoming.
For someone who hopes for an absence of sentiment in art, I can however, allow myself a decent amount of gratitude towards some of these artists without whose work my life would lack a whole dimension.
