claybair on fri 23 aug 02
Very simple solution Joyce..........
Do what I do.............
Buy a couch that matches your art work!
Gayle Bair........ perhaps I cheated because I painted the paintings long
before I could afford a couch!
Bainbridge Island, WA
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From:Joyce Lee
I've repeated the above many times myself....... "good art doesn't have to
match the sofa" ...... has an honest, earth
bound ring to it; nothin' snooty abut that statement ..... very potterly ...
appeals to most of us, including me. Reflects the person I strive to be
...... gritty, grimy, exhausted but content ... as I stride across the
desert (well, 30 feet of desert, anyway) from the studio to the humble abode
of this wannabe artist.
Circumstances, however, are causing me to re-think.
I recently came upon a small windfall and decided to use it to purchase
some
art in a style I've long admired and which is different from any in our home
.... abstract? I think it is ..... doesn't matter. I love the two expensive
prints that I bought.
... mean much more to me than the money.
But.... after several weeks of various placements on walls all over
the house, I find this work I feel very close
to .... works that speak to me about me ...... works that were purchased
with only my tastes in mind .... works that make me want to climb into them
just to see how it feels to be in such a rare place ... works remindful of a
particularly spectacular heart of a geode .... or the inner depths of a
roaring, spewing, living volcano ......... these same works ....
are a bit jarring .... a bit? .... no,
chalk-screeching-on-the-chalkboard ......
mind-bending......
when positioned among the objects which surround me on a daily basis,
objects which like most of yours, are somewhat of a compromise ... in some
cases a BIG compromise .... a Necessary Compromise ... in order to more or
less please the senses of two distinctly separate but loving folk, as well
as to accomodate every member of the family's treasures ..... treasures with
family historical significance ... treasures which sons&granddaughter left
for
my caretaking some time ago.
AND they don't belong with any sofa in the friggin' house!
What's more, the juxtaposition bothers me .... a lot.
Joyce
Sickeningly Ordinary Plebian Mensch from Meeksville in the
Mojave Desert of California..... chicken shit, too.
J Lutz on fri 23 aug 02
Joyce,
Leave the pieces in one place longer - at least a month. What you may find
is that instead of the new pieces not fitting in with the old - the old
"stuff" will start to soften the new. Try not to think about whether they
"fit" or not. If they "fit" they would look just like everything else in
the house. Think of them as the wild technicolor cartoon shown with a black
and white movie. I'll bet soon you be seeing new aspects of all the old
things.
If all that doesn't work - hang them somewhere you think they should go,
then place yourself so you can stand on your head and view them in that
setting. Sort of like "drawing with the left/right side of your brain".
(but if you fall down and break your neck trying this I will deny I ever
suggested it) It's amazing how different everything looks from a totally
different perspective.
Jean Lutz
At 07:21 AM 8/23/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>I've repeated the above many times myself....... "good art doesn't have to
>match the sofa" ...... has an honest, earth
>bound ring to it; nothin' snooty abut that statement ..... very potterly
>... appeals to most of us, including me. Reflects the person I strive to
>be ...... gritty, grimy, exhausted but content ... as I stride across the
>desert (well, 30 feet of desert, anyway) from the studio to the humble
>abode of this wannabe artist.
>
>Circumstances, however, are causing me to re-think.
>
> I recently came upon a small windfall and decided to use it to purchase some
>art in a style I've long admired and which is different from any in our
>home .... abstract? I think it is ..... doesn't matter. I love the two
>expensive prints that I bought.
>... mean much more to me than the money.
>
>But.... after several weeks of various placements on walls all over
>the house, I find this work I feel very close
>to .... works that speak to me about me ...... works that were purchased
>with only my tastes in mind .... works that make me want to climb into
>them just to see how it feels to be in such a rare place ... works
>remindful of a particularly spectacular heart of a geode .... or the inner
>depths of a roaring, spewing, living volcano ......... these same works ....
>
>are a bit jarring .... a bit? .... no,
> chalk-screeching-on-the-chalkboard ......
>mind-bending......
>
>when positioned among the objects which surround me on a daily basis,
>objects which like most of yours, are somewhat of a compromise ... in some
>cases a BIG compromise .... a Necessary Compromise ... in order to more or
>less please the senses of two distinctly separate but loving folk, as well
>as to accomodate every member of the family's treasures ..... treasures
>with family historical significance ... treasures which sons&granddaughter
>left for
>my caretaking some time ago.
>
>AND they don't belong with any sofa in the friggin' house!
>
>What's more, the juxtaposition bothers me .... a lot.
>
>Joyce
>Sickeningly Ordinary Plebian Mensch from Meeksville in the
>Mojave Desert of California..... chicken shit, too.
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
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>
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>
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>melpots@pclink.com.
vince pitelka on fri 23 aug 02
> AND they don't belong with any sofa in the friggin' house!
Joyce -
Sounds to me like it's time to paint the sofa.
Seriously, the whole concept of matching interior fixtures is grossly
overrated. Many of the most interesting interiors feature eclectic
combinations of color and texture, and artists should trust their intuition
in this regard. Most interior designers are hired by people who severely
lack imagination and artistic intuition, and in order to please those people
the designers just create sensory deprivation environments that don't take
any chances or stimulate the senses in any way.
I am sorry to put it so bluntly, but your statement that you love the two
abstract prints does not jive with your statement that the prints grate on
the senses and do not fit anywhere in the house. You bought the prints
because you love them, but apparently you have not fully made the commitment
to them. If you really do love them, then they belong in your house. They
seem to grate on your senses because they are very different from the norm
you have been living with. So screw the norm. Put them suckers up, and
change everything else so it works with the prints. Hell, paint the
furniture. Life is way too short to waste time on a mundane status quo.
Best wishes for domestic aesthetic anarchy -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@worldnet.att.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
terry sullivan on fri 23 aug 02
After many years, I have started collecting ceramic works that "speak"
to me. I don't give a damn if these pieces go with the furnishings. In
fact I'm doing some major remodel so the walls and furniture do not
conflict with the art.
Every day I am in the company of wonderful ceramics pieces that inspire
and uplift my day in the office and at the more mundane tasks. A
"racer" of a wood fire piece from Tony Clennel, A fantastic large wood
fire jar from the SFPN show last year, and many others. The more I have
the more they inspire me to get in the studio to work.
Lots of the stuff I have purchased is not anyting like what I would want
to make. It is just fantasticly wonderfull ceramics.
the couch will have to go.
terry sullivan
Joyce Lee on fri 23 aug 02
I've repeated the above many times myself....... "good art doesn't have =
to match the sofa" ...... has an honest, earth
bound ring to it; nothin' snooty abut that statement ..... very potterly =
... appeals to most of us, including me. Reflects the person I strive to =
be ...... gritty, grimy, exhausted but content ... as I stride across =
the desert (well, 30 feet of desert, anyway) from the studio to the =
humble abode of this wannabe artist.
Circumstances, however, are causing me to re-think.
I recently came upon a small windfall and decided to use it to purchase =
some
art in a style I've long admired and which is different from any in our =
home .... abstract? I think it is ..... doesn't matter. I love the two =
expensive prints that I bought.
... mean much more to me than the money.
But.... after several weeks of various placements on walls all over
the house, I find this work I feel very close
to .... works that speak to me about me ...... works that were purchased =
with only my tastes in mind .... works that make me want to climb into =
them just to see how it feels to be in such a rare place ... works =
remindful of a particularly spectacular heart of a geode .... or the =
inner depths of a roaring, spewing, living volcano ......... these same =
works ....
are a bit jarring .... a bit? .... no,
chalk-screeching-on-the-chalkboard ......
mind-bending......
when positioned among the objects which surround me on a daily basis, =
objects which like most of yours, are somewhat of a compromise ... in =
some cases a BIG compromise .... a Necessary Compromise ... in order to =
more or less please the senses of two distinctly separate but loving =
folk, as well as to accomodate every member of the family's treasures =
..... treasures with family historical significance ... treasures which =
sons&granddaughter left for=20
my caretaking some time ago.=20
AND they don't belong with any sofa in the friggin' house!
What's more, the juxtaposition bothers me .... a lot.
Joyce
Sickeningly Ordinary Plebian Mensch from Meeksville in the
Mojave Desert of California..... chicken shit, too.
Stephani Stephenson on fri 23 aug 02
Joyce your post gave me a good laugh
not laughing AT you, but WITH you
I am sure you will work this out
and you will arrive at a solution that exceeds your expectations!
it is interesting how we select these objects and these dilemmas, eh?
you have set yourself up with the ultimate design exercise!
It may be that you find or create a new and unexpected space for these
paintings!
maybe you separate them entirely from the comfiness of the living room
or maybe you begin to change the quality of the room itself.
But enjoy the challenge
It is like the different parts of our own personas come face to face
yaaaaaaa!!!!!
I think in style-ish terms , they call it eclectic!
I bet you will find a great solution.
There is a company that puts that phrase 'good art doesn't have to match
your sofa" on t-shirts, etc.
they make another one which I like and which I will now heed
it says
"Go to your studio and make stuff"!!!!!
Stephani Stephenson
steph@alchemiestudio.com
Carlsbad CA
Marta Matray Gloviczki on sat 24 aug 02
dear joyce,
i am glad you bought those prints!
hope you are going to listen to vince`s advise,
which just made my day.
marta
vince pitelka wrote:
If you really do love them, then they belong in your house. They
>seem to grate on your senses because they are very different from the norm
>you have been living with. So screw the norm. Put them suckers up, and
>change everything else so it works with the prints. Hell, paint the
>furniture. Life is way too short to waste time on a mundane status quo.
>Best wishes for domestic aesthetic anarchy -
>- Vince
>
Janet Kaiser on sun 25 aug 02
Poor Joyce! You have my sympathies too. The best way of finding the right
spot for "different" work, is to just prop it up against the wall for a
while. Then move it around the house until both it and you have
"acclimatised". Now I know you are going to say you have tried this for a
couple of weeks already, but maybe you need to give it a little longer? You
like the new work AND the "old stuff" around the house, so it cannot
conflict THATmuch in the scheme of things and it will gel sooner or later
as long as No. One Support Person agrees and shares your sentiments...?
You yourself have been going through a pretty intensive couple of years of
"redevelopment" of your sensory powers and appreciation, so in many ways it
is no surprise that there are some difficulties accommodating your new
tastes with the old. When we say "match the sofa", it is more those ideals
of the interior designers who "mix and match" colour schemes, swatches and
styles we are mocking, more than the integrity of our own interior design
skills. I do not know a SINGLE artist or maker who does not have a pretty
eclectic mix around the house and/or studio. Even people who chose to live
in a big barn of a place with minimal decoration... It is amazing what they
will juxtapose for effect. A 15th century dresser with 21st century pots,
stood next to a contemporary Swedish chair and window with Art Deco
curtains (drapes)? No problem for some, although the interior
match-your-sofa designer would go nuts.
It does have to match the sofa, in so far as a room must feel balanced and
homely (or whatever other emotion one wants to evoke) when a new piece is
added. Which is where your problem lies... And there could be some bad news
here... We show work by Howard Coles, an artist whose powerful work Eckhard
and I admire very much. HOWEVER, I could not actually "live" with much of
what I sit looking at for hours in a gallery context. Once in a while he
will bring in a painting which I know I could live with, because it is
"toned down" in some respect. Either the subject or the palette is somehow
softer than his usual work. No less strong, but not as disturbing. Because
none of us buy or acquire the art of others on a daily basis, we are not
too aware of this aspect of art appreciation. What is good in the gallery
is not necessarily good in the home.
That hateful phrase "I like what I like" enters here... Yes, we like what
we like, BUT living with what we like, nay what we LOVE and ADORE can be a
challenge!!! Just ask Eckhard!! :-)
So, like everyone else, I await with interest to see whether you decide to
accommodate this new work in your nest, or be a cuckoo. I can well and
truly understand the quandary you find yourself in. Being a gallery person,
I am lucky because I can just take it back, but your solution may involve
hanging it in the studio, the toilet (my mother's favourite place both
figuratively and literally for work which she could not or did not wish to
accommodate elsewhere) or else the revamping of a whole room around these
new works.
But again, I would strongly recommend breaking them in a little longer,
before you decide.
Good luck!
Janet
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>
>AND they don't belong with any sofa in the friggin' house!
>
>What's more, the juxtaposition bothers me .... a lot.
>
>Joyce
>Sickeningly Ordinary Plebian Mensch from Meeksville in the
>Mojave Desert of California..... chicken shit, too.
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art =95 Capel Celfyddyd
8 Marine Crescent, Criccieth LL52 0EA, Wales, UK
Tel: 01766-523570 URL: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
Cindi Anderson on sun 25 aug 02
Good art may have to match your sofa, it depends on how your house is
decorated.
Some houses are so "designed" or "matched" that you can't add things to them
that are not in that same style. My house is somewhat like that now. It is
less so than it was, as I have been modifying it over time. But I am
attracted to "themes" which evoke a certain feeling in a room, and I have
many of these theme rooms. They are tough to add things things to randomly.
The theme is so strong that certain items conflict, and it ruins the whole
feeling created by the theme. I loved my house this way for a long time,
and other people love to be in it, but I have found that it doesn't always
leave room for certain styles of art.
So in the house I am planning to build, I am keeping this in mind. No
matching furniture, that is a start. Colors on all the walls, so adding any
more colors will just seem natural and not conflicting. It is a tough
balancing act that I've been thinking about a lot, because the feeling of a
space is very important to me. I find that most rooms in most houses are
either characterless (matched furniture and white walls), or cluttered
(probably appeal to the owners who collected all the things but not to
anyone else).
I think it is a little funny that artists are always complaining about
people who want their art to match their house, but wouldn't artists be the
ones to understand balance, and that some items will simply put some rooms
out of balance? Particularly if a person is striving for harmony and calm
in a room, you can't expect them to just put a bright piece in there unless
they want to upset the harmony or purpose create some type of purposeful
focal point.
Cindi
Fremont, CA
--- Original Message -----
In fact I'm doing some major remodel so the walls and furniture do not
> conflict with the art.
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