Thursday, September 11, 2008

Art, blah, blah, blah.

The Last Roost
Ellen Sereda

I just completed this acrylic painting yesterday. I intended it to be a study for a larger painting, but I got swept up in it and treated it as a final piece.

I started writing a big, wordy post about art, about realism, about illustrative art, conceptual art, about visual art as a concept vs. an object and how both are fused in the act of painting, and what that means in a media that has been proclaimed dead many times over since the invention of photography... blah... blah.... blah. Then I realized, no one visiting this blog is interested in reading that, including me. I go read that from the smarter people.

So from a smarter person, here is quote that has resonated with me lately:
"What I want to show in my work is the idea which hides itself behind so-called reality. I am seeking for the bridge which leans from the visible to the invisible through reality. It may sound paradoxical, but it is in fact reality which forms the mystery of our existence" - Max Beckmann
This quote was taken from the archives of the Big Crow website (how synchronous!) created by San Francisco artist Anna L. Conti. A lot of interesting links and articles on art and realism can be found on the link.

My art tastes mimic those people who, when asked what type of music they're into, they say, "all kinds of music, as long as it's GOOD". I may feel compelled towards realism for myself these days (months, years...), but one of my favorite artists, one whom I've mentioned on this blog before is Vik Muniz. His art speaks of the illusionary aspects of representational art and the impermanence of the materials he uses is so relevant to modern society. And it's a bit cheeky at times. I simply love it. Here's his talk on TED on creativity and his art. He's entertaining and worth a watch.


12 comments:

andrea said...

You are making me think. That can't be good. I'm intrigued by that very bridge but have ignored it in my art lately. I've been thinking too much like a consumer and that road leads to mediocrity!

This is a great little painting. Can you talk about it more?

Ellen said...

Andrea: thinking like a consumer? when you start thinking of building an Andrea Pratt theme park and putting drops of your blood into the ink for the signatures of your art posters like a certain Mr. Thomas Kincaid, then I'll worry. Otherwise, enjoy all your recent success!

Talk about this painting? I did, volumes and volumes, but then deleted it. I tried to delete all the pretentiousness out of this post, but after reading back? oops, still there. I'll blurb about it on a SHORT new post. (Must be something about the kid's back to school=freedom that is causing all my verbal diarrhea today.)

Caroline said...

That bridge sounds like the shaman's link between the physical and Other... art is a great way to bring images through and sometimes rather more than that...

I love the subtle hues and realism of this painting - also the starkness of the black background from which the warm light things are all emerging.

p said...

forgive my stupidity, what part is painted?
this looks so photo based I am very impressed. I've had to look at this for awhile, it is beyond my comprehension but it engages me. it is haunting reminds me that time is very limited.

Mim said...

Ellen, I am with self taught artist, it looks so photogenic, I can't believe that it isa painting!
Thanks for your comment on my blog.

PennyBlue said...

Absolutely beautiful painting! I am soooo impressed! Happy saturday!

dinahmow said...

I look forward to reading your next post about this painting. (Whatever you say about your approach will not change my feeling about it.)

my croft said...

thanks also for the TED post. I like that conclusion: It's not about the perfection of being fooled so much as it's about the watnign to/willingess to be fooled (or some such).

Much to think about.

all best,
melanie

Melody said...

One of my all time favs Ellen.

Ellen said...

Thank you Caroline, Paula, Michelle, Darcy, Dinah, Melanie and Melody for all your kind comments. And Melanie, so glad you watched the TED video, it's a good one isn't it? Even though I do it a lot, I feel like I shouldn't post long videos on this blog. Even I skim when I'm online. (I'm pretty sure I had a better attention span before I started going online. Can web surfing give you ADD I wonder?)

my croft said...

I definitely think being online has not only shortened my attention span, but also sucked up way too attention searching for/hoping for things to attend to.

click next
click next
click next

and so to bed,
Melanie

Ellen said...

Melanie: time waster, for sure. I need to take on break off line every few weeks or I go a bit bonkers. Sometimes, turning off as much information input as you can - internet, tv, news, radio for a break of time actually starts feeling like you're on vacation without going anywhere.