Theories of Art
Been reading the third in a series out of the Routledge & University College Cork, called Doubt, by Richard Shiff. This book is also discussed in another blog .Though it’s a critique of critics, it […]
Blog
Where’s the Fun?
At first I was put off by Harold Rosenberg’s early 1970’s book on art criticsm Art on the Edge (1) by his use of terms like “the artist is a man who…” and almost quit […]
Possibilities
My recent paintings are inspired by the conceptual world of Quantum Physics and explore how these theories can be explored through paintings. Quantum physics suggests that objects exist not so much as objects but as […]
Transcendence
Modernisms & Postmodernisms The art historian/critic James Elkins made an interesting statement in his 2005 book on Modernisms & Postmodernisms, Master Narratives and their Discontents (1). The focus of the book is the role of […]
Grotesques
Last year, I spent 3 weeks in Florence Italy, with day trips to Siena & Lucca. It was a heavenly immersion in Italian Renaissance art, with a generous helping of my favourite motif – wingéd […]
Being & Becoming
Currently I am working on a series of paintings that strives to capture in oils my understanding that life is a continual state of flux in which formless takes on form then returns to formlessness. […]
On Painting: 2D/3D
I used to claim that, “I make art because I have to” as the daily pursuit of the elusive goal of expressing ideas visually gave my life focus and direction in the same way that […]
The Singer in Progress
I’ve had a few requests for more information on how I worked on the polystyrene armature for The Singer, so rather give an individual response, I thought I would post a bit more detail on […]
Postmodernism
A friend sent me a link to a New York Times article about Hilton Kramer, who died recently at age 84. As the NY Times states: “Mr. Kramer made it his mission to uphold the […]
On Abstract Art
I have always had a conflicted relationship with abstract art. On the one hand, I love the freedom of simply creating a visual language of form, colour and line to create a composition independent of […]
Women in Art
The Three Graces After having explored the Running Man theme for many years, it was time to explore my inner woman in sculptural form. So as a counterpoint to the Running Man series, I developed […]
Critiquing Capitalism
Last night I saw the film, Surviving Progress. Though many of the film’s points were ones I am aware of, its most important message was that debt is the driving force behind the world’s current […]
The Singer Redux
I have been carving away on my hunk of recycled Styrofoam (polystyrene) and The Singer is beginning to emerge. Here is its present state of completion. It has been very interesting creating this blog recording […]
Art & Anarchy
Daily, hourly & minute by minute, we are deluged by propaganda for the consumer society and free-market capitalism. What is the alternative? Some believe that the problem is restrictions on our freedom and that without […]
Running Man
I was down at the Occupy Vancouver march on Saturday – it was such a lovely day for a demo. Given the world-wide focus on corporate power and the abuses thereof, I’m reminded of a […]
Back to Birds
In an earlier post, On Birds, I showed progress to date on a sculpture I am working on called The Singer. Since then, I have been carving away on the chunk of discarded styrofoam that […]
More on Birds
Birds as Symbols In a previous post I described some of the work I have been doing in exploring bird/human imagery. This post continues on this theme and also illustrates the process in which an […]