Art and the Homeless

An artist makes paintings at the edge of what is recognizable as art, and yet, at the very moment when that realization seems immanent, it shifts and blurs. It contains a promise that at some point the very nature of reality will become clear, that its meaning will unfold. What is not real? If art is imaginary, it is somehow pre-determined by the means of production. Fresh plaster is a surface that seems to both absorb and radiate paint the way black absorbs light, at once standing before one as a formidable object in itself; and then, when this virgin ground is stained, rubbed, and splashed it emanates a paradoxical space that is both infinitely flat and infinitesimally deep. These are not mere exercises in virtuosity. Each work uses only sufficient technique to bring out an idea—the essence—as the artist's touch is able to give only the most rudimentary manifestation of the intelligence behind. At back, the work-of-art is an urgency, one that will not wait, and yet, one that can...

II The hardness of recent art—in terms of its difficulty—is that it is stuck in an unresolvable paradox. The validity of the work of art is no longer a matter of its reception. It is the artist's self-aware realization of the impossibility of being other than who he is. Conceptualization is counterproductive, because it proceeds from preconceptions about the self, and the other. It is in thinking like an art critic, that an understanding of the artist as subjective-other, a theory arising from difficulty, and, despite the conflict, accepting the reality that change arises from the synthesis. It is visible at the boundary between abstract painting, formless form, and all that exists as objective reality. With revolution, the creative impact of the fluctuation state of representation will become manifest in its reception. As the artwork gradually evolves from matter, like burning coals kindled for toasting a delicious treat, the aroma of the irrational fills the air. You would do bet...

The narrative of art history seems to be melting. The conceptualization of art drains us of intellectual resources, of art's purpose, its meaning, as if in fear it would come to an end. There is an essential physical reality inherent in phenomena, but (of course!), we do not know what it is. It is palpable. That is all we can know from appearances. It is the difference between what reality is and what we want it to be. It is a sufficient thematic motive for the cultural wing of the museum of all institutions. Based on the original story, as received, it is reducible to the difference between partial civilization, and its completion. Describing it as a legitimate and practical knowledge of individual and social relations, as not only a legacy of myths and power relations, but as the great narrative of events, political accommodations, substitute social systems, and the history of ideas. It is the relations of social conditions, gradually developed from the narrative story type, and ...

 This blog journal was intended to provide context for my artwork. The perfunctory, "About the Artist" paragraph on the last leaf of the typical art show's 3-ring document binder, as written by the artist. Not autobiographical, so much, as an index of the artist's mentality. "Are you putting me on?" wonders the skeptic. An artist's sincerity can't be judged on the basis of the artwork itself.  As my college art teacher said, "Don't even look at your finished work of art for at least 6 months." In other words, “Don't judge yourself.” Documentary photographs of artists' studios often show canvases facing the wall. It is for the simple reason that an artist can only work on one painting at a time (focus). The work of art is not finished until the artist is finished with it. Do you have any idea how many changes I've made to a painting after signing it? And I even practice my signature until I'm satisfied!  When I set out t...