tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1716933964814939778.post2469891166930479325..comments2024-02-03T16:54:27.992-08:00Comments on Late Braking Gnus: Thinking Outside the CoffinJudith Schaechterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09101849171288268318noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1716933964814939778.post-83105649275435666422011-07-26T02:05:02.185-07:002011-07-26T02:05:02.185-07:00Hi Bob--
Hey--I'm so glad you enjoyed the exhi...Hi Bob--<br />Hey--I'm so glad you enjoyed the exhibition!!!! Thank you for letting me know!<br /><br />I love your question and here's some overly brief response to it--but it really deserves a lot more!...<br /><br />So do we have an instinct of some upper limit to the beauty of utilitarian items?<br /><br />Hmmmm......well familiarity breeds contempt. Or at the very least it tends to preclude appreciation and certainly awe and glamour. Just imagine how if every time we used a cup we had to stop everything to really take in its awesomeness...we'd never get anything DONE! (not to mention the dehydration issue...) But still....to counter the adage of familiarity there's always "its the little things that count"...I can see utilitarian things not being awe inspiring...or if they are, I can see why frequent usage would dull that effect...but appreciation?<br />Surely that would enhance our lives, to have some kind of alertness to the beauty of the moment...<br /><br /><br /> Gillo Dorfles: "Kitsch is the imitation of the effect of art without the process, avant garde imitates the process of art without the effect."<br /><br /><br />Oh wow--that's great!! Who is this Dorfles?--must google!<br /><br /><br /> Amy Sedaris' sophomoric and hysterical "Crafts For Poor People." <br /><br />She's a genius!<br /><br />Lots of thoughts about Outsider Art and emulation of "The Art of the Insane" to use John MacGregor's title.<br /><br />The key here seems to be how to maintain one's "innocence" in the face of routine, experience, wisdom, etc...is this even possible for an adult without being an immature idiot? Yes, I say! Sure!!!<br />Thanks, Bob!Judith Schaechterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09101849171288268318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1716933964814939778.post-9134670172348272642011-07-24T09:38:25.218-07:002011-07-24T09:38:25.218-07:00At the Renwick yesterday when we were feeling tran...At the Renwick yesterday when we were feeling transformed by your lightboxes, we also marvelled at the tea and coffee sets that were so spectacular that no sensitive soul could ever use them. Well, maybe we would. So do we have an instinct of some upper limit to the beauty of utilitarian items?<br /><br />Your rich post of your presentation fires our associations. Gillo Dorfles: "Kitsch is the imitation of the effect of art without the process, avant garde imitates the process of art without the effect." Amy Sedaris' sophomoric and hysterical "Crafts For Poor People." Lots of thoughts about Outsider Art and emulation of "The Art of the Insane" to use John MacGregor's title.<br /><br />Thank you for making our weekend.<br /><br />Bobbobjmdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02474959745167329488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1716933964814939778.post-4613945357229462132011-07-19T15:59:40.965-07:002011-07-19T15:59:40.965-07:00My head spins too--and things will change again--w...My head spins too--and things will change again--who knows in what direction!!<br />I was in Portland in June--right near that show but it was sold out all the time! It looked amazing!Judith Schaechterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09101849171288268318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1716933964814939778.post-29420221626343098432011-07-11T10:47:28.910-07:002011-07-11T10:47:28.910-07:00Hm. On the one hand, you have a fine arts culture ...Hm. On the one hand, you have a fine arts culture that has evolved to disdain craft. Then, you have people who are undeniably skilled in their craft, creating work constricted by an artist's design which is then presented and sold as fine art. <br /><br />My head, it spins!<br /><br />What is the boundary between artist and assistant? A moving line at best, and it is ridiculously easy to split hairs as to where it is located. Who prepared that canvas, and how much of it? Who roughed out that big hunk of marble for the sculptor, and at what point did they hand it off? Are artists primarily designers, conceptualizers and visionaries, and the people who actually realize and produce their work merely skilled technicians, a.k.a craftspeople?<br /><br />Can well-designed manufactured products cross into the realm of fine art? Some would squeal with righteous indignation at this suggestion, while others are busy putting together exhibitions of automobiles at art museums:<br /><br />http://portlandartmuseum.org/exhibitions/feature/The-Allure-of-the-Automobile<br /><br />I tend to see class distinction as being the primary factor here. The perception of an (ostensibly) successful artist as The Big Thinker, flying along at 50,000 feet, assisted by craftspeople who toil away with the tedious and dirty task of wrangling actual materials into a finished piece. <br /><br />I agree with you on how work suffers if it is executed by someone other than the artist. Ultimately, I want to feel that the artist has physically interacted with the medium in question in some substantial way, that they've let that process guide the work beyond what they originally envisioned.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1716933964814939778.post-78039728027463056592011-07-09T11:37:05.898-07:002011-07-09T11:37:05.898-07:00OK--Victor--
I read the article--it was really gre...OK--Victor--<br />I read the article--it was really great (so I made it into a document for my students!)<br />Certainly thought provoking. <br /><br />I thought the collectors who won't collect art unless every atom is done by the artists were a bit draconian! Honestly--sometimes having help with small things is just no big deal. But I do think the work suffers when its designed by the artist and executed by someone else. There's no opportunity for the work to change based on the the process and materials. There's no allowance for the piece being informed by a dialogue between the maker and the material. I rarely end up with anything resembling what I started with.<br /><br />What did you think?Judith Schaechterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09101849171288268318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1716933964814939778.post-70199885688812382302011-07-09T01:52:28.898-07:002011-07-09T01:52:28.898-07:00Thanks, Victor! I havn't had a chance yet to ...Thanks, Victor! I havn't had a chance yet to read the article but I will!<br />xoxojudithJudith Schaechterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09101849171288268318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1716933964814939778.post-26519759082179618922011-07-06T10:08:47.165-07:002011-07-06T10:08:47.165-07:00Perhaps another dimension to art vs. craft?:
http...Perhaps another dimension to art vs. craft?:<br /><br />http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303745304576357681741418282.html<br /><br />What's your take, Judith?<br /><br />An excellent presentation, as always, thanks!<br /><br />Victor from PortlandAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com