Lili Krakowski on wed 4 may 11
So I looked at the current Ceramics Monthly and some of the work is =3D
wonderfully crafted, some quite beautiful, and not a one makes me want =3D
it, or raises my pulse rate. As I wrote in a "Comment" already several =3D
years ago, it all passes me by. Swell. The dogs go on barking, but for =
=3D
me, the parade has moved on.
Then I got to Adam Welch's painted bricks. For me it belongs to the =3D
school of "That's nice,dear, now wash your hands and come to supper." =3D
Meaning it looks like a child had a lot of fun painting a surface and =3D
feathering it....But beyond fun, it is and says zip.
As to the brick homage to Martha Stewart--well. I happened to be at =3D
Lowe's this morning, and there were these wonderful softly lit display =3D
racks of paint samples, and "Ah," I said...Period.
I say it over and over again: "Art" lost its meaning when instead of =3D
being an honorific, a word of the highest praise, it became a term in =3D
general use for anything produced that did not a priori have another =3D
name. A pot no longer was a pot--it was "art". A kid's colorful =3D
doodles were "art". Now painted brick is dubbed "art" because the maker =
=3D
says it is, and has convinced some gallery, and CM that this is so.
At the rate at which this lack of distinction between this and that is =3D
carried, a painting could be entered into a textile show, because after =3D
all the canvas is textile.
And a pile of pennies in a paper wrapper could be Metal Art.
This just cannot be so...Ceramic work must involve true, skilled, =3D
thought out work by someone who knows how to work clay. And the finish =3D
should be within the framework of slip or glaze. All craft work must be =
=3D
within the scope of true, serious, craftsmanship.. Or why not paint by =3D
numbers?
When one looks at painters like Braque, what he made was "new" and =3D
"innovative" in its day...highly skilled, deeply thought out...not just =3D
a whimsical idea that "anyone" could execute. (This is what I find so =3D
wrong with "Installation Art"--that it takes no skill, no craftsmanship =
=3D
at all to execute.)
And as to "...the Martha Stewart Living collection, a symbol of culture, =
=3D
branding, and advertising..Stewart's democratization of taste [that] =3D
frees one from the trouble of having to establish ones [sic] own =3D
aesthetic standard..." a thought CM pursues for several more lines....It =
=3D
all is beyond my wildest imagining of what the world of craft may be =3D
coming to.
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
Snail Scott on wed 4 may 11
On May 4, 2011, at 2:56 PM, Lili Krakowski wrote:
> ...This is what I find so wrong with "Installation Art"--that it takes =
=3D
no skill, no craftsmanship at all to execute...
While I agree with a goodly amount of what you say, and=3D20
admire the style of the rest, I do feel compelled to note=3D20
that not all installation art is created equal. Some is an=3D20
arrangement of found objects aiming at unmediated=3D20
randomness, but some is high craftsmanship on a grand=3D20
scale.
Some of my installation work takes a month or more to=3D20
execute, starting with the engineering issues that large=3D20
work may entail, followed by tests of various possible=3D20
materials, fabrication methods, and surface treatments.=3D20
Sketching, rough maquettes, then detailed models to=3D20
anticipate all the volumetric relationships. Consideration=3D20
not just of the object(s) but the space they occupy and=3D20
the relationship between them. Then, the execution.=3D20
Some in my studio, with all the care that a two-foot-tall=3D20
piece would require, except on pieces 20 feet long.=3D20
Days spent cutting, sanding, painting, gluing, welding.=3D20
Ongoing problem-solving, as such work being usually=3D20
site-specific, will not be quite like any previous piece =3D20
and need new solutions throughout. Then, installation,=3D20
within closely limited time constraints, doing work much=3D20
like the studio work but in an unfamiliar space with=3D20
portable tools and hovering gallery staff observing.=3D20
Then, ongoing maintenance, as a viewer trips over a=3D20
an essential element while balancing two plates of=3D20
hors-d'oeuvres and a wineglass and another six or=3D20
eight hours of reconstruction ensue.=3D20
Not every installation involves extensive and skilled=3D20
craftsmanship, and not all of them require it. Some=3D20
are meant to be understood at a glance, or to provide=3D20
a general experience or present a thought-provoking=3D20
worldview. Others reward the closest scrutiny of detail,=3D20
with impeccably-crafted wonders of workmanship=3D20
throughout. 'installation art' as a term says little about=3D20
the level of craftsmanship involved, or the level of=3D20
thought. And like other artforms, Sturgeon's Law=3D20
prevails.
=3D20
-Snail
-Snail =3D20
James Freeman on thu 5 may 11
On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 6:38 PM, Snail Scott wrot=
e:
...snip...
> not all installation art is created equal. Some is an
> arrangement of found objects aiming at unmediated
> randomness, but some is high craftsmanship on a grand
> scale.
>
> ....snip...
> Not every installation involves extensive and skilled
> craftsmanship, and not all of them require it.
...snip...
> And like other artforms, Sturgeon's Law
> prevails.
>
To correct for Mr. Sturgeon's excessive generosity, I would like to offer
Freeman's Corollary: 90% of the 10% that escapes Sturgeon's Law is STILL
crap.
On the main point, however:
At the other end of the skill spectrum, I recall an installation from
perhaps ten years ago by a very famous, internationally exhibited ceramic
artist, a full professor (though he teaches no classes) at a very large and
important university. It consisted of a large puddle of clay slip poured
out on the gallery floor ("ceramic art"???). We, the audience, were to com=
e
back day after day to watch as the puddle slowly dried and cracked, so that
we could experience and contemplate... What? The same thing we can
experience and contemplate while looking at any mud puddle, or at photos of
parched wastelands in National Geographic.
Now I am sure the idea, assuming there really was one, was that by moving
the mud puddle into a gallery, one could experience the beauty and poetry i=
n
a mundane natural process that, in our everyday life, would otherwise go
completely unnoticed. Problem is, and ignoring the question of whether suc=
h
an experience carries even a modicum of import, such an experience would
only be possible were one to remain at the puddle for an entire week or so
(in which case all we are likely to ultimately experience is a sense of
boredom) (Did I just use the word "experience" three times in the same
sentence? Lazy, lazy.). Absent such an extended vigil, all we could
experience through periodic visits, even daily, is the profound and deep
thought, "Look! It cracked some more since yesterday! Did you know that
mud cracks as it dries!" O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
This installation was written about glowingly, I believe in either Art Foru=
m
or Art in America (I get the two mixed up), just like the lone 2x4 that
Robert Grosvenor laid on the floor of an otherwise empty gallery (He
selected the 2x4 himself, from a large pile at a lumberyard, they gushed).
I do recall seeing another quite moving and important piece of
installation/performance art involving clay slip. They had installed in th=
e
gallery a large, shallow pool-like structure filled with a creamy brown cla=
y
slip. Two semi-clad females climbed into the pool of slip with great
ceremony and began a choreographed sequence of movements that resembled
wrestling, all the while tearing off each others' remaining garments. Oh,
wait. That wasn't a gallery. It was near the airport. And there was a tw=
o
drink minimum. Never mind.
All the best.
...James
James Freeman
"...outsider artists, caught in the bog of their own consciousness, too
preciously idiosyncratic to be taken seriously."
"All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should
not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed."
-Michel de Montaigne
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
Larry Kruzan on thu 5 may 11
I'm in the same pew with you Lili. The calling of a piece of "material" art
does not make it art. Here we go for a ride on the "concept" vs. "creation"
merry-go-around once again. Tighten up your seatbelts!
As for CM - after ten years of subscribing, I've now allowed my subscriptio=
n
to expire. I will not be renewing it. It's pages have ceased to be more tha=
n
a platform for the bazaar and that's not why I subscribed. There are
occasional tidbits of functional pottery that are thrown to us who make a
living from clay, but one article in three or four issues makes for pretty
thin "soup". The same goes for techniques and methods, one very small
portion of a page is just not enough for me to spend my hard earned dollars=
.
I know it provides a voice to educators who try to out-weird one another in
an effort to get "published", but I doubt that is why most of us potters
subscribe. I hope they turn this around, but I don't see any effort in that
direction.
Larry
Randall Moody on thu 5 may 11
On Thu, May 5, 2011 at 11:33 AM, Larry Kruzan wro=
te:
> I'm in the same pew with you Lili. The calling of a piece of "material" a=
rt
> does not make it art. Here we go for a ride on the "concept" vs. "creatio=
n"
> merry-go-around once again. Tighten up your seatbelts!
>
>
> Larry
>
To paraphrase Grayson Perry on the subject, This has all been answered
before by Mr. Duchamp. Now the question is, is it good.
Lili's "(This is what I find so wrong with "Installation Art"--that it take=
s
no skill, no craftsmanship at all to execute.)" is so broad brush as to be
meaningless at best or shows a dearth of knowledge/understanding on the
subject at worst.
--
Randall in Atlanta
http://wrandallmoody.com
Taylor Hendrix on fri 6 may 11
Snail,
Anyone who has taken the time to really examine installations would
agree with you. The year before I began working here at the Art
Center, I volunteered to help take down the annual student show. These
are great up-and-comers from our Texas Universities. Some great stuff
every year. One piece I helped take down was a 4 foot by 4 foot low
platform covered with about a half an inch of pink eraser dust. At the
start of the show people were mistakenly walking on it, so the curator
had to tape it off. Anyway, it looked interesting for a time. (Wow,
that is a lot of dust.) I was complaining that the artist did a rather
poor job of making the plinth while simultaneously discovering the
best way to gather up several pounds of eraser guts, the whole time
chatting with our curator. I finally came to the conclusion that the
piece would have been even better (and said so) if the artist had
actually used the pink erasers from which all the dust had come to
erase the collected sonnets of William Shakespeare....which the artist
had written by hand....with a mechanical pencil....from memory.
But he didn't.
Nah, that's too hard, a sander was much easier.
The platform was still sloppy at the corner joints,
Taylor, in Rockport TX
wirerabbit1 on Skype (-0600 UTC)
http://wirerabbit.blogspot.com
http://wirerabbitpots.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wirerabbit/
PS, I liked that piece.
On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 5:38 PM, Snail Scott wro=
=3D
te:
> On May 4, 2011, at 2:56 PM, Lili Krakowski wrote:
>> ...This is what I find so wrong with "Installation Art"--that it takes n=
=3D
o skill, =3DC2=3DA0no craftsmanship at all to execute...
>
>
> While I agree with a goodly amount of what you say, and
> admire the style of the rest, I do feel compelled to note
> that not all installation art is created equal. Some is an
> arrangement of found objects aiming at unmediated
> randomness, but some is high craftsmanship on a grand
> scale.
...
> Not every installation involves extensive and skilled
> craftsmanship, and not all of them require it. =3DC2=3DA0Some
> are meant to be understood at a glance, or to provide
> a general experience or present a thought-provoking
> worldview. ...
James Freeman on fri 6 may 11
On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 9:55 AM, Taylor Hendrix wrote=
:
I finally came to the conclusion that the
piece would have been even better (and said so) if the artist had
actually used the pink erasers from which all the dust had come to
erase the collected sonnets of William Shakespeare....which the artist
had written by hand....with a mechanical pencil....from memory.
Taylor...
How many erasers did it take? That is a truly impressive amount of eraser
dust. A gentleman recently sold his 26 year collection of his own
bellybutton lint, sorted by color into individual jars, to be displayed in
some museum or other. (Not kidding!)
Rauschenberg erased a De Kooning drawing and displayed it as art back in th=
e
early 1950s. Ai Weiwei had himself filmed smashing facsimiles of priceless
Ming vases and called it art a couple of years ago. I am guessing a number
of other artists have performed similar gestures. Very deep. I am going t=
o
buy up a bunch of paintings of sad clowns, then paint big red smiles over
their mouths. Start lining up now for my solo show!
Lotsa Lolz! (Sorry, Lili)
...James
James Freeman
"...outsider artists, caught in the bog of their own consciousness, too
preciously idiosyncratic to be taken seriously."
"All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should
not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed."
-Michel de Montaigne
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
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