12.27.08 - 118/365

for my partner in crime

got lost in so many places today...
this was only one of them:

some background
i subscribe to the Robert Genn Twice-Weekly Letter.
i don't always agree with everything; it is mainly geared towards representational painters
but i often learn something and i recommend it to anyone in the visual arts.

yesterday i received the following letter:

December 26, 2008


Dear Nina,

For the past while, our good friends Gil and Marion Dyck have needed a medium sized abstract to go at the top of the stairs in the entrance to their new home. Over the last two days Gil and I got together and made one. Gil is a medical doctor who works in emergency in the local hospital and had no previous experience in painting. While both he and his wife are well informed about art and are serious collectors, he doubted his potential contribution as a co-painter. But when he got the brush in his hand, he began to see the possibilities. We've illustrated our progress and techniques at the top of the current clickback.

The Dycks had in mind a strong-impact vertical 36" x 48" acrylic. We decided on a 2" stretcher gallery canvas so the work could hang unframed. After a grey primer the early strokes were augmented with a roller. A dark tone was chosen to give spotted and blended effects and a strong vertical presence.

Various brushes and cardboard spreaders were used to add serendipitous colours and shapes. Paint squeezed directly from the tube was scraped and formed to add significant texture. Without too much planning, a motif began to form. Gil and I alternated work on the canvas.

The next day the paint was dry enough to tone down with a glaze. Then we scumbled here and there to add casualness and mystery. We worked more patches of colour back into the motif. Decisions were made to cover the less desirable passages and to leave those of greater interest exposed. While individual gestures and motifs were somewhat arbitrary, we found these decisions were often difficult to make. We agreed that toned-down surrounds were needed to play against higher-key centers of interest. We tried to avoid specific detail and went for overall graphic soundness. Including interspersed acrylic isolation coats and slightly forced drying, the second working lasted about an hour.

We discussed several titles. As the work had evolved into a sort of enigmatic monument, we decided to call it "Totemic rise." As the effort was a co-project, we signed it "Gennovese Van Dyck."

The work was shortly on their wall. After a few days we'll put on a coat of final varnish to make sure our efforts stick around.

Best regards,

Robert

if you click the "clickback" link above, you can see the process unfolding and read a bit more about it.

well, this didn't sit right with me AT ALL
and this was my response:

Dear Robert,

I honestly have to say I don't know how to respond to this letter. The subject "Holiday fun" is not lost on me and I am a huge fan of the DIY approach to home decor but I am not sure what is being said here about abstract art. I suppose it is the line between decoration and art that has become blurred and I am not sure which of those things this exercise was meant to address. This is particularly confusing because the Dyck's are described as serious collectors which implies commitment to and respect for the role art plays in our cultural and spiritual development as well as an appreciation of the dedication that is necessary to make meaningful work in any genre.

The description of the process shows that certain basics tenets of painting were observed: a concern for balance and composition, evaluation of color, consideration of texture and a nod to preservation, all which are dutifully recorded. Yet, a crucial element, one especially integral to abstract expressionist art is completely missing: the desire to evoke emotion and/or to create an expression of the human experience. These things reside deeply in the base of most abstract painting and yet the project as you describe it seems to have been conducted without any concern for the very thing that separates abstract work from the notion that "my child could have done that".

In faithful representational painting, skill of draftsmanship, mastery of technique, control of light can all be easily evaluated and a skilled painter can often compensate for a lack of emotional content if their technique is sufficiently refined. Expressionistic work involves a leap of faith and a willingness to balance a seeming lack of representational qualities with the benefits of an emotive response, but abstract work is at the other end of the spectrum and its power lies in its ability to seduce the viewer into abandoning concepts of the world as it is perceived it to be in order to venture into a deep, rich, collective unconscious of emotions, fears, dreams and visions. I find it unfortunate that what a "well informed" collector "need"s in a medium sized abstract is a work that seems more about functioning as a pleasing surface than the experience of having access to a doorway that opens into the mysteries of life.

In all fairness, you have refrained from defining what was made (art/decoration/whatever) and I can imagine that the thrill and joy of creating this piece will bring much happiness and light into the Dyck's home. But, while I am sure Gil "can do this" I hope there is some understanding that it might take as much time and effort to achieve genuine proficiency as it would for me to become a medical doctor in the ER.

All the best for a wonderful 2009,

Nina Meledandri
www.meledandri.com

you can see other people's responses and comments on my response here