Gouache on paper
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A.P. Ryder Essex Canal
I photographed this painting at the Art Institute of Chicago yesterday. Ryder's paintings take some time to digest, but when seen in life, have a haunting presence which seems to form out of nothing.
The American wing is my favorite in this museum.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Mythological Origins
Robert Graves has some very interesting views on the origins of Greek Myth. Almost all of his explanations have to do with the earlier transformations from a matriarchal queendom (which would sacrifice an interm king, later an interrex surrogate boy in his place, then the subsitution of an animal) to a patriarical kingdom. This factual transformation was later mytholigized in the depiction of vase painting and other objects.
He explains how then the later literal description such as Homeric Myths and Hesiod's Theogony are oral stories handed down from interpretations of earlier images. These images were depictions of real events such as invasions of other cultures or the transformation of small cults and their priestesses. The real event was then mythologized into a more poetic form.
These explanations seem very far fetched to me but at the same time extremely compelling. I cannot just simply accept the myths without at least wondering about their origins.
Along with Judeo Christianity, this is also the progenitor of Western Art. It is constantly evolving yet using these same stories for an incredibly long time.
I believe that this has survived so long because it taps into something universal. Biblical painting was viewed by an audience of 100% believers that touched every corner of their being.
In this day and age, it is not the case. If I depict a subject from Biblical or Greek Mythology, it will be internalized and understood, but not have the same impact that an earlier age would have.
As an artist I can only be true to the form of my everyday life. What I find to captivate my interest and fuels the expansion of my form.
That which is happening (content) is buried deep within that form, and like poetry, it must be read and reread until it slowly comes to the surface.
He explains how then the later literal description such as Homeric Myths and Hesiod's Theogony are oral stories handed down from interpretations of earlier images. These images were depictions of real events such as invasions of other cultures or the transformation of small cults and their priestesses. The real event was then mythologized into a more poetic form.
These explanations seem very far fetched to me but at the same time extremely compelling. I cannot just simply accept the myths without at least wondering about their origins.
Along with Judeo Christianity, this is also the progenitor of Western Art. It is constantly evolving yet using these same stories for an incredibly long time.
I believe that this has survived so long because it taps into something universal. Biblical painting was viewed by an audience of 100% believers that touched every corner of their being.
In this day and age, it is not the case. If I depict a subject from Biblical or Greek Mythology, it will be internalized and understood, but not have the same impact that an earlier age would have.
As an artist I can only be true to the form of my everyday life. What I find to captivate my interest and fuels the expansion of my form.
That which is happening (content) is buried deep within that form, and like poetry, it must be read and reread until it slowly comes to the surface.
Friday, May 8, 2009
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