The Lower-Case "a" by Chipka
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Description
I’d planned on posting something else, but after looking through the galleries and seeing the most recent posts in Bill’s (bmac62) gallery, I decided to dust off my “beer foam” shot and post it instead. I made this a few months ago, and if I remember correctly, I’d posted it as a part of a genre challenge for “minimalism.” It was an accidental piece of work, a bit of serendipity that artists live for. It is little more than a photograph of a bolt, a rusty washer, and two colors of paint on the side of one of my father’s trucks. I was struck by the feelings I got when I looked at the truck-fragment through my camera, and well…I spent hours snapping pictures and trying to get just the right balance between easily-overlooked components. I think this is the best example: it’s definitely the only one to survive my rather merciless culling.
I find it ironic that in the world of art (as with religion) dogma reigns supreme. It’s a bit hilarious that “Art”, yes, with the capital letter, is purely representational to a degree, and not open to interpretation. Art…with the capital “A” is—all too often—little more than…well…journalism, only without words. It’s “just the facts, ma’am,” and any emotional coloring that is achieved, generally comes about after critics have decided what feelings are valid. Art, again with the capital “A” is something no one would ever dare dislike.
Lower-case art (Pop art and the like) is completely different. It’s subjective. It’s meaningless and it’s often playful, whimsical, and stubbornly inscrutable. Ironically, it’s also far less homoerotic that that Captial-A Art splattered all over the insides of prestigious museums. Unlike “finer Art”, it’s easy to dislike, and indeed, almost fashionable in some circles, to dislike it, to “not understand” it, to dismiss it as crass, tasteless, or completely without skill or intellectual merit. Admittedly, quite a lot of ALL art is bollucks. I don’t like everything that Rembrandt did, nor do I find the other Dutch Masters particularly masterful: on a level they were photographers who existed before the invention of cameras. I always ask myself: were they true artists who created life, or were they simply biological versions of recording devices? No doubt, they were artists and innovators, but I often wonder why so many modern innovators and artists are completely ignored and dismissed, simply because of something as trivial as Krazy Glue, can openers, and Scotch tape.
Pop artists (including digital photographers) like the Old Masters, Dutch and otherwise, are probably closer to what the Old Masters actually were: adepts at manipulating what is seen and what is not. Where the more “classical” artists were preoccupied with realism, and working with what are now primitive materials, Pop artists recognize various societal preoccupations, prejudices, and knee-jerk atavistic responses, and often work to unhinge or playfully exploit them. Art has moved away from depicting the real and the ideal to recontextualizing the real…turning saxophones into floppy things, turning chrome into high fashion panties, turning soup cans into meticulous paintings of startling photorealistic intensity, or even discoloring Marilyn Monroe time after time after time. The spectrum of art has widened, allowing more artists to emerge from the unwieldy mass that is human society. Now, in a world dominated by Pop art and such, artists are no longer privileged individuals with arrogant patrons. Artists, are—instead—people with something to show, something to say, something to explore; they use whatever tools they can to present their visions. Art, for better or for worse, has become something anyone (and not just the privileged) can create.
I like that just as much as I like soup cans, comic book art, or boring paint on the side of a dirty, dying truck.
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting.
Comments (20)
beachzz
Art, or art, is so personal whether you're making it or looking at it. There are purists who decry anything remotely differently and there are artists who take things SO far out, their work is dismissed out of hand. No one is right or wrong, we all just like what we like. I tend to like soup cans, comic book art and rusty sides of barns. But I also like the other stuff too--I wonder if that's allowed?
MrsLubner
Another Lone Star of Texas. :-) Love it!
helanker
It is such an awesome capture and simplicity. I really like this alot. I even once posted something similar. And I so like your "meditations" over art. There is much truth in what you wrote.
whaleman
I think whatever you like is allowed. My objection to some of the far-out stuff (in my opinion) is the vast sums of taxpayer (always) funds spent on it while artists producing realism are ignored for the most part, as I see it.
auntietk
I once had a friend who, while reading guest book comments after his first gallery show, came across one that said, "Some of it I liked, and some of it I didn't ... must be art!" That pretty much sums it up for me. Art is art. Some of it I like, and some of it I don't! I don't much care what the "experts" say about what I should and shouldn't like. At the Nelson there was a canvas, perhaps three feet wide and ten feet tall. It was painted black, but in squares, with slightly different techniques, slightly different black paint, and it was fascinating! There was a room where everything in it was Romanticism, and I didn't like much of anything in there, no matter how "classic" it was. Not my thing. It all seemed emotionally manipulative, like a Hallmark movie or a tearjerker story about a brave, dying child. On the other hand, there were some thoroughly "classic" paintings that were absolutely astonishing, and seeing those famous works in person was like seeing them for the first time. The world got bigger, and I swear I heard horns. And the soft sax? Bill's photograph is fantastic, but the real thing was sort of boring. Going through the photography exhibit I was so struck by some of the images. They were amazing! But then I started to wonder why some of those photographs were in a museum, and some of the folks here on RR who are doing some AMAZING work aren't hanging in any museum anywhere. It seemed so random! It was an interesting experience to view photographs in person, hanging on a wall, when I spend so much of my free time viewing photographs on the computer. (I've gotten REALLY good at looking at photographs!) The point of all this, of course, is that I agree with you. LOL! I suppose I could have just said, "right on, babe," and left it at that, but isn't it more fun to agree with someone vehemently? :) Ummm ... I like your photograph, btw!
Meisiekind
Interesting reading as always Chip and a thought provoking image! I like the whole package a lot - whether it is Art or art!!!!
durleybeachbum
Gosh, I could have a humdinger of a 10 day discussion with you, Chip! What about the huge 'craft' component? After umpty-ump years of art appreciation as well as a bit of doing.. and regarding Tara's comment, I can completely separate whether or not I LIKE it from a critical assessment. It would be impossible to 'mark' childrens' exam work if 'liking' came into the process initially. OOO! what fun we could have, can hardly wait for to get to Europe and visit me! By the way..I would class this image as Art.Hehe! And I quite like it too.
anahata.c
yes, andrea got it right. I saw your comments on Pop Art 1 & 2, and thought they were great. I tried to re-cast one of your points, and I'm not sure you'd disagree. Namely, I don't think it's so much the old masters who dictate perception to us as the institutions that act as their 'guardians'. The guardians tell us, also, "who" the old masters are; and too many are called master only because they fulfilled the social ideals of their age, while too many others are left out. (Tara's point about some who get in museums and others who don't. Received opinion has been shown too often to be way off...) To me, the greatest artists are those who reveal inner journeys, which can be giddy, sad, strange, heavy, light, whatever. Whereas the "accepted" vision of masters has little to do with that act, more to do with received cultural values. (I said it better in Bill's gallery. You can disagree if you wish, but I think I was just stating your point from another point of view.) What I said about Rembrandt was that his most touching work, for me, was from well after his "master" status disappeared; that what he did then had little to do with the critical views that propelled him to 'master' in the first place. The only mastery that matters to me is when someone opens their hearts, whether in anguish or play or just wonder, and whether about a mountain, a human being or a nut on the side of a truck. (Universe in a grain of sand, something like that.) To me, there's an eternal dance in that act. and that's the only 'mastery' I care about. You made great points in both places, and now here. The photo is wonderful, Chip. You once again took a single sight and peered into it. It feels like a shot of this nut's inner powers. It's electric and bristling. It brings Nikolay to mind, who also takes the most commonplace sights and penetrates their inner energies and personalities, and presents them as constantly alive; sometimes beautiful, sometimes strange, sometimes menacing, always deeply electrified and with great inner presence. You let this little nut speak its own language, without interference, and it takes over the whole universe. It's an affirmation that art can be made of anything, that the subject isn't what matters, it's the play, the assault, the caress, the harmonies, the disjunctions---fill in your adjectives---that make it alive and make carve out its own unique space. This tiny nut commands the whole universe, you've proven the point. Beautiful work, and as always, great commentary. I would say that to find the inner art, cast away labels...it's about the experience it gives us. Some critics get that, some open doors for many people...but for the most part, art sits beyond all that. Another fine upload, Chip.
traceyjane
wonderful capture of colour and texture, just goes to show there is beauty everywhere if you take the time to slow down and look.
jmb007
bonne photo!!
romanceworks
A fun little bolt and a fascinating discussion. For me, others art is about the feeling it gives me, and my own art is about the feeling I'm trying to express. And a feeling is never right or wrong, it's just a feeling. CC
flavia49
wonderful and fascinating discussion!! marvelous picture!!
MrsRatbag
I like it; as with all A/art, I can't really say why, I just do. I think art is the most personal thing out there (as much as, or maybe even more than, sex). So excellent work, my friend!
sandra46
i'm stunned at looking at it, it gave me an emotion i can't say. the tender white and yellow clashed with the rust and the metal!
marybelgium
simple ...beautiful !
bmac62
Wow, you've got all sorts of "artsy" or should it be "Artsy" thoughts racing around in my head. The immadiate thing that came to my mind, as I read your narrative above, was that my grandfather smoked lots of cigars. His house was permeated with stale cigar smoke. When I came home from a visit with him, my mother immediately washed every piece of clothing I had on. He smoked "Dutch Masters" cigars. You may have seen them...the old boys with the long clay pipes. Sorry, got off the subject a bit. LOL. Back to the little "a" and the big "A". I like Pop Art too. But I am relatively new at it. I have always been a bit of a traditionalist (Why? Because it is the path of least resistence). But the whole subject of Pop Art has pulled me into more new thought. I no longer find myself saying, Ugh,...because it is the popular thing to do when you don't understand something. I have over the past 15 years (Shuttlecocks were installed at the Nelson 16 years ago), come to have a new respect for both the "a" as well as the "A". I have learned that there is seen and unseen art in all art. Whoa, that sounds like circular logic doesn't it? What I mean is that it isn't just the physical art object that is important but what the artist was thinking about when he/she/they created it. And how do you do this? Well, today...I can google it...slight chuckle here. But put another way, I can come to know each artist and learn what he thought he was up to. All this makes more sense out of Pop Art for me. And all sorts of other art. I love what you've written above. I love the controversy we've had here over the past 2-3 days. I hope, even one or two of our fellow artists may have broadened their views of art (and Art). You and Mark have done a lot of teaching...thanks for that too! Now, that I've had my ramble, I'll go back and see what I said:-) I know I am seeing even a rusty bolt on the side of a white and pale yellow truck differently today than I did not long ago. Thanks for your thoughtful comments on my uploads of Pop Art #1 and #2. Enjoy your Sunday!!!
beatoangelico
semplicemente fantastic...great image..!!!
CoreyBlack
...And then he took an empty canvas and stuck it on the wall.... Dire Straits/In the Gallery My parents are both commercial/fine artists, so I grew up surrounded by art. Both the joy of creation, and the business of art as a job and means of putting food on the table. I started being dragged around to gallery showings when I was about 5 years old ( it was cheaper than hiring a baby-sitter ), and have been to more of them than I care to mention. Along the way I've seen some amazing stuff that I really like and some stuff that I didn't like at all. I also met some cool and very talented people who influenced my life in wonderful and unexpected ways. And I also met a lot of arrogant phonies and so called experts who were horribly dreary people and utterly full of s**t. I've seen artists I thought were wonderfull who couldn't get arrested, and garbage peddlers trading their excrement for obscene amounts of money. I've seen endless petty politics and a whole lot of kindness and support. After 40+ years of hanging around in this environment I've come to the conclusion that art is anything you want it to be, and anything can be art. Great pix, Chip!
kgb224
Stunning capture my friend.Lots of art in this capture my friend.I like this capture it is so filed with shapes and colors as well as patterns.A masterpiece of simplicity my friend.
lucindawind
fascinating !!