Art and Class

9.5 Theses on Art and Class

I've been reading Ben Davis’s new book entitled, 9.5 Theses on Art and Class, named by Hyperallergic as the 11th of the "10 Best Artbooks of 2013".   Davis is executive editor at Artinfo, and this book is an exploration of the art market using Marxist theory.  The major contribution of this book is discussion of class, artists, and the art market, that goes far beyond the auction results and gallery gripes.  You’ll find within these pages a broad array of topics in contemporary art: How does creative labor fit into the economy? Is art merging with fashion and entertainment? What can we expect from political art? Davis argues that returning class to the center of discussion can play a vital role in tackling the challenges that visual art faces today, including the biggest challenge of all—how to maintain faith in art itself in a dysfunctional world.

Panned by the Greg Afinogenov in IDIOM, I nonetheless find the content a riveting read and came away with a better understanding of where artists stand, and I’d like to think that I’m on firmer ground politically and creatively having read most of this book (at time of writing).  I like the review given by Dushko Petrovich writing in BOOKFORUM better. "Davis is an intellectually clearheaded critic dishing out some tough truths, often backed up with statistics, to the rarefied 'art world.' . . . The book reframes the production and sale of art in tough terms, which is why the collection’s centerpiece, 9.5 Theses on Art and Class, should be required reading for art professionals. In this first book, Davis proves himself a critic to be reckoned with." 

As the book presents some new perspectives on old problems, I hope it generates further discussion.

Artist's Birthdays - December 22

Jean-Michel Basquiat (22 December 1960 - August 12, 1988

I hadn't intended to do another artist's B-Day post so soon, but it is Basquiat's birthday today and he deserves our attention, so this post is a homage to him.  

Starting off as a graffiti artist (pseudonym SAMO),  Basquiat became a pop icon and a cultural figure,  was active in music and film, but he is best known for his neo-expressionist paintings completed during the 1980's. A friend and artistic collaborator with Andy Warhol, he became increasingly isolated after Warhol's death in 1987 and died barely six months later of a heroin overdose on August 12, 1988 at age 28.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat

Many people do not 'like' Basquiat's work, and I count myself amongst them.  However, in understanding contemporary work, liking or not liking a particular work is not the determinate criterium for appreciating the work.  The world has become highly globalized, with the center and the margins constantly redistributing across old boundaries.  Art is not labeled "western" or "primitive" any longer, and Basquiat's paintings should be viewed as culturally significant precisely because they broke barriers. His work lays claim to the increasingly diverse and dynamic flow of ideas and ways of seeing and experiencing a world grown increasingly complex. Today, the contemporary art world (Modernism, Post Modernism, Post Post Modernism etc.) is not about the West's point of view being the dominant mantra. It is about a hybrid new aesthetic in which the seeing and the communicating across all cultures uses new forms of expression.  In this way, Basquiat was a ground breaking artist, who drew from his multiplicity of backgrounds and redirected his creativity towards a new interpretation. 

Post Script In 1998, the highest money paid for an original work of Basquiat's was US$3,302,500. In 2002, Basquiat's Profit I (1982), sold for US$5,509,500 and another Basquiat piece, Untitled (1982), for US $13,522,500. In 2012, for the second year running, Basquiat was the most coveted contemporary artist at auction, with €80 m in overall sales. For more information about Basquiat, see the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) or the Wiki link above.

Artist Birthdays - December 21

Thomas Couture (21 December 1815 - March 1879)

Couture was an influential French history painter and teacher of later luminaries such as Manet. He exhibited at the École des Beaux-Arts earning several medals for his works, in particular for his 1847 masterpiece, Romans in the Decadence of the Empire. He wasn't always successful in the art world, and in 1867, he thumbed his nose at the academic establishment by publishing a book on his own ideas and working methods called "Méthode et entretiens d'atelier" (Method and workshop interviews). It was also translated to "Conversations on Art Methods" in 1879, the year he died. Interested in learning more about Thomas Couture, see this link http://hoocher.com/Thomas_Couture/Thomas_Couture.htm

http://www.neoclassicism.us/Content/TheUsesOfAntiquity

Romans of the Decadence, 1847

For those of you interested in design and dynamic symmetry, have a look at Stapleton Kearns explanation of Couture's famous painting Romans of the Decadence, 1847 .

http://stapletonkearns.blogspot.ca/2011/04/decadent-romans-dimed-out.html

What's New in Metro Vancouver

Introducing a new feature:  Gallery Check (what's new in the Metro Vancouver gallery scene, just to the right of this post).   The post gives the latest exhibitions and shows for major galleries in Vancouver. In time, I will also include Artist Run galleries.

Enjoy seeing an exhibition when you can. Vancouver is not on the art world 'map' (yet) but art is being produced and shown to an increasingly interested audience. Keep up to date and in the know!

Let me know if this works for you, and if you have suggestions to improve this section.

Making Art is Hard Work

Semester is over and I had high hopes to complete the many art projects that I had collected during the semester during this December's break.  But, I've completed only one to any satisfaction.  If I can see clearly what I want it to look like, why can't I get there? Obviously, I'm not close to the required 10,000 hours yet or I don't have enough talent! Or...wait...

"Were talent a prerequisite, then the better the artwork, the easier it would have been to make.  But alas, the fates are rarely so generous.  For every artist who has developed a mature vision with grace and speed, countless others have laboriously nurtured their art through fertile periods and dry spells, through false starts and breakaway bursts, through successive and significant changes of direction, medium, and subject matter.  Talent may get someone off the starting blocks faster, but without a sense of direction or a goal to strive for, it won't count for much.  The world is filled with people who were given great natural gifts, sometimes conspicuously flashy gifts, yet never produce anything.  And when that happens, the world soon ceases to care whether they are talented.  

Even at best, talent remains a constant and those who rely on that gift alone, without developing further, peak quickly and soon fade to obscurity.  Examples of genius only accentuate that truth. Newspapers love to print stories about five-year-old musical prodigies giving solo recitals, but you rarely read about one going on to become a Mozart.  The point here is that whatever his initial gift, Mozart was also an artist who learned to work on his work, and thereby improved.  In that respect he shares common ground with the rest of us. Artists get better by sharpening skills or by acquiring new ones; they get better by learning to work, and by learning from their work.  They commit themselves to the work of their heart, and act upon that commitment.  So when you ask, "Then why doesn't it come easily for me?", the answer is probably, "because making art is hard!"  What you end up caring about is what you do, not whether the doing came hard or easy."

          David Bayles and Ted Orland
          Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking


And with those wise words, I'll be at it again tomorrow.

Welcome! 

I have named this blog Thoughts on Marks  because being an artist today is not only about making art.  It is also learning about art that others are making, what conversations is art and the artist engaged in. It is about continuous learning and being on that learning curve. This is not onerous as I have never met an artist or read about an artist that said s(he) knew everything about art, so continuous learning is a prerequisite to producing the best art one can.  Continuous learning is also about understanding one's place in the continuum of what is art, past, present and future. Lastly, in the age of communication, continuous learning is about how you can express your ideas not only visually, but also in verbally and in written form.  It is my observation that although most professional artists (or those that aspire to be one) practice and work on their art every day, most do not talk about or write about their art, or someone else's art, or even art in general.  This blog will allow me to work at my art in the broadest sense of the word as part of becoming the best I can be as an artist.  I intend to direct attention to all aspects of art, but will focus on Vancouver whenever I can. I will highlight emerging and established artists and their works; showcase notable gallery exhibits and art shows; and provide insights and comments on what is happening in the broader visual art world.  Along the way, I will occasionally introduce my personal works of art.  In the process, I will learn new things every day, and I hope you, the reader, will too.