The Essence. The Original Object vs a Reproduction.

I've been saying this for a long time, but actual research has been done. It's a quick read.

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/original-artworks-move-us-reproductions-90869/

I haven't been posting in a while, too busy, and a little "bored" with the blog, though I'm not quite ready to cease. Here, one of my (mine) favorite paintings:

 It's much better in person, see above.

Basswoods, and Rants.

I'm sorry, I seem to have been side tracked, and have been neglecting the Basswoods. Above. petals and bracts on the street. With careful observation, one might deduce that I live on a street that is paved with bricks. A recent post explains bracts.

And now, a little curmudging from the Hinterlands:

Some rambling rants from the Hinterlands. You might sense a certain, liberal bias, but I’m actually a fiscal conservative. Never could figure out, why the so called conservatives ran up such debt; then a tax and spend liberal could balance the budget, and have surpluses. Must be missing something.

Government, why this hatred for government?  This, " drown it in a bathtub"?   Safe food, and water?Paved streets? Police and Fire protection? National defense? Weather warning systems? Well, Grover, back in my youth, there was a saying, "love it or leave it". I just don't get it, hating government from folks who proclaim themselves  "patriots". Yes, I know there are excesses and overreaches, but let's move on, cause I seem to be missing something.

Ahh, Unions. So, how many in favor of no limits on hours worked per day? Hours per week? Benefits? Nah, you don't need benefits, we, your employers will take care of you. And, if business is slow, well, you

could work for less pay, to help us out? Ohh, you’re hurt? You're fired,must have been doing something wrong. Ever hear of company script,that could only be used at the company store? Oh children, you should read some history. But,again, I seem to be missing something; moving on.

Detroit and the auto industry. Not much is ever mentioned about a huge problem; we all drive toyotas and hondas now. I know, they make em here, in non union plants, cause we all think unions are evil. Where do the profits go? Again, I seem to be missing something. And, along these lines, when much younger, I couldn't understand Jewish people, driving Mercedes Benzes, sending profits to people, who in some cases, literally tried to exterminate them. Must be missing something.

Race? The President gave a very nice little speech, talk the other day, in which he very gently tried to explain what it is to be an African male. Mostly, the rabid, right wing attack dogs left it alone, though there are always exceptions. Some egregious exceptions. The more “foamy at the mouth’’ ones are saying racism is over in America. Say What? I’m sorry, but I’ve already had some issues with my “African, Catholic, Jewish” kid, and with my “Chinese Catholic” kid. Not to mention the Polish, Lithuanian stuff. John Scalzi, well known author, has written a nice piece, somewhat on this  subject:  So, if you’re a straight, white, male,  ..... maybe you should  ....  shut up.

Curmudging

Early Sunday Morning

Edward Hopper

Whitney Museum of American Art

My comment in the previous post needs some elaboration. It has become a cliche of art speak to compare certain kinds of images to the work of Edward Hopper. I, personally am offended for Hopper's sake, as it seems dismissive of him that any "hack job" can be compared to his work. In much the same way that certain aspects of Andrew Wyeth's work have been copied into being a cliche, the rustic aspects of rural decrepitude were for Wyeth, portraits of the people who inhabited that decrepitude, and these were people he was intimately involved with for long periods of time, not just some rustic ruin he happened upon.

In other news, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, has started putting online, some of their publications, with some of the out of print items available for download as PDFs. Of interest to framers is this one: Italian Renaissance Frames

A resource to be explored.

And from Richard Christie, Framemaker, a link to another resource: The Frame Blog

TOOLS

A corner of a recent frame, aluminium leaf,  over gessoed basswood, hand carved.

I talk about tools, but in a general way.  If you follow photography, there is an almost obsessive interest in the tools, and the qualities inherent in the different brands, and the minutia of lenses and bodies, flashes and LED lights over fluorescent lights, ad infinitum. I'm not immune to the fascination, though I tend to study, buy, and then get on with learning and using the tools, and losing any interest in the research aspects, the obsessing over which is better, which is going to produce masterpieces, and oh, if only I had this or that, then the work would sing. PFUI!

It's not the tools ... oh, they help, they can make you more efficient, they could even raise you a level, if you were ready to be raised. No, it's still the one using the tool that is most important. If you can, do the research, buy the best tools you can afford, because you will spend less time fighting them, but then, use them, and don't waste time on what could have been, or what might be down the road. In a nod to "It's a MMMM World", Terry Thomas, it would probably be better to have an infantile fascination with mammary's, then to obsess over tools.

I have spoken. 8-)

Bron  

More on safety ...

An image of the fence on my table saw, with the assembly for holding the various hold downs. Wood faces have been added to the original fence, so that either side of the fence may be used. The bar for the spring hold downs has been added by drilling and tapping, and then adding a set screw to prevent the bar from moving.

This image shows a closer view of the spring hold downs. There is a large amount of adjustment available, ranging from position, to amount of pressure applied to the stock by the springs. The only problem with them is that with all of the variables, they can be time consuming to set properly.

Devices aside, and I've alluded to it in the previous post, one also needs to apply some thought. Someone coming into the studio before an unusual run, would see me slouched into my work bench, dreamily staring at the saw, day dreaming and loafing. No, no, because I'm actually very hard at work, thinking through the actual cuts, all of the cuts, and all of the sequences. Get the a,b,c, wrong and there isn't enough support for the next cut. If I were a better bidness man, this wouldn't be a problem, but no, I seem to revel in pushing the limits of what I can do with the tools that I have, with not much thought to profit. Make the tools do what is needed, fix the ghastly blunders, and keep going ... on.

The current economic downturn has been ...  difficult, financially, but the quality, the creativity of the work has been at a very high level. Very high. It has been a nice revelation, that doing what is needed to survive might bruise and hurt, but it is DOABLE, it can be done, and the art, the craft, that is there, regardless of what I'm doing. It's surviving, thriving actually. It has been an affirmation of my true belief, that art, and artists, true artists, can work in anything, any medium, and produce great work. Illustrate a story, design a rug, build a brick wall ...  whatever. At a point in time when I should have been contemplating retirement, I, due to the vagaries of life am raising a teen and a preteen, have wiped out what retirement funds I have, but ... retirement has never had any charms for me. Heck, I'm just getting good at what I do, I can't quit now. And, I really can't see myself as another fat, gray, pony tailed old fart riding around on a too noisy Harley. Hey, that's what I did in my gloriously misspent youth.

Well, it's a good thing that this is my blog; as that last paragraph ... well ... probably my most personal post ... that last bit ...

Bron

Rantings from the Right

A nice picture of Violet, AKA Little Bit, and Big Fin, AKA Big Fin.

Recently, a State Representative, from Fort Wayne, sent a letter railing against the Girl Scouts of America to his fellow legislators. He connected them to Planned Parenthood, and a letter sent to Indiana lawmakers from Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne), which explained why he would not support a resolution honoring the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts. In the letter, Morris accuses the Girl Scouts of "encouraging sex," being a "tactical arm of Planned Parenthood" and listing only "feminists, lesbians and Communists" as role models. 

Well, Fort Wayneites, it seems "Mad Anthony Wayne" is still the guiding spirit of your fair town. Be proud! He did send an apology letter; basically saying he was still right, but should have been gentler in his diatribe.

Sheeesh! Follow that with the Federal Judge in Montana, who seems mystified that the nasty, vulgar, misogynistic, and raciest joke about the President of the United States, he was forwarding to his pals would be offensive to a lot of people  ...  good grief. Alternative universes, indeed. You know folks, you keep letting these maroons into office, pretty soon you're going to get one with an itchy finger ... ohh ... ohh ...  too late, already happened. Nevermind.

And, if I were a republican, I'd be embarrassed to admit it, considering some of the rantings coming from the "main stream" candidates. When did outright lying become standard for political debate? I'm not talking "normal political prevarication", no, no, this is whoppers of such grandiose hyperbole, as to really question what universe I am in. (Quietly, I blame it all on that paragon of lying, gaseous, demagogic, egotistic fear mongers, Rush. Political savant?  No, No , strictly entertainment, if your tastes run to lions and Christians.)

Well, I rant, therefore I am ... Me. Have a nice day!

 

Cranky Pants

One of many "distressed" houses in one of the older neighborhoods of South Bend, though that seems a curiously optimistic piece of tagging.

I seem to be going through a period of "broken" communication; messages sent, phone calls made, voice mails left; even some small donations to blogs that I enjoy (the occasional tip jar sort of thing), resulting in zip, zero, nada, rien, niente, niets. Nothing, but silence. Annoying for the most part, until it involves money ... especially money owed me ... that makes me unhappy, very unhappy. Cranky pants, indeed.

I'm posting a repeat image, as I really like this image aside from what it depicts. Very much a luminist delight.

The H. L. Hunley by Conrad Wise Chapman

The Haversack Store
The Official Online Store of the Museum of the Confederacy

Ego

Just a random thought after noticing that an FLLW house is for sale in Highland Park, north of Chicago ... that it takes a strong ego to buy an historic, architecturally important house, as you must subsume some of that ego, to preserve the house ... though not buying it in favor of some ticky-tacky McMansion in an anonymous suburb, is really more of an ego subsume  ...

Ranting, ad infinitum ...

If you do not go to venues where the actual objects of art are available to view, you are missing the whole experience. Even two dimensional painting is three dimensional in ACTUALITY, ...  but looking only in books, or slide shows, or on the interwebs, there is so much not seen, missed, and never to feel the spirit of the actual ...

Lying to ourselves that we "know" something, that is 3D, through a 2D medium ... PFUI. I have met art curators, who do not have art in their lives; they have reproductions as decorations, but not actual art ... how sick and wickedly perverse ... to allow the flatulent gasbag art historians to tell you what you should like ... it is their opinion against yours ... and yours is imbued with your own life, your emotions, feelings, responses ...

Art is not a competition, it is not a "one true art shall prevail" ... it is an every day activity, predating the dawn of time, and we can all participate. It is a human activity, needing neither pedestals, historians, nor cults of genius.

It just needs us to decide that we like something, it might be art, and to hell with others opinion, that we like it, it pushes our buttons, and we would like to decorate our cave with it ... or our persons ... but real ... handmade ... an object, of dimension and imperfection.

If you do not understand an aspect of the ART world, be comforted, it is just commerce, and has nothing to do with actual art ...  rest assured that if genius is part of the descriptive it has to do with commerce foremost. And avoid pedestals ...

And this, as I recently cleaned the surface; it's in our kitchen and in a spot that is not really art safe ... but it cleans up well ... and the surface of the sky, due to the technique in painting it is very tactile, thin, slight, but distinctly nubile. Edit: Nubile is nice but this should have been nubbly.

Why?

I still believe in the object, made of wood, paint, and hand, eye, and mind. Imperfect, textured, tactile, inviting and yet resistant to easy understanding. I believe that the hand made object is imbued with a spirit, birthed in the effort of creation, and something that seems increasingly irrelevant, even in the world of art. I curmudge, therefore I am ...  artist.

Curmudging from the Hinterlands

On the other hand, it is a valid supposition that photography is an art, or capable of being art, based on the eye only. I don't think any kind of argument can be made for "hand", especially in digital photography, but the eye and mind must be there.

As an artist, I'm free to make what I want, sans category or definition, and sometimes it touches the infinite, and transcends material and technique. Art. Not the ART of the cult of genius, but the art of an artisan, craftsman, laborer in the fields of obscurity ... be it painting, photograph, frame, or sculpture.   

Random Thoughts

 Photography and Art at The Art Institute of Chicago

I've always, in spite of having studied it, been a little ambivalent about photography. I'm not sure it is an art, though the museum and art world in general treat it as such, or at least, some portions of it. Though I've embraced digital, I think computer control of images makes it even less of an art, speaking only of the minor manipulation inherent in photography from its beginnings. There was and is  more "hand" in the wet, optical process, as in the darkroom performances of Saint Ansel.

Maybe, for me, hand, is important, and a lack of hand, negates the art. A hand made pot, by a child, might have more "art" than a beautiful image from a digital camera, computer enhanced, and mechanically printed, but never touched by hand, until pulled from the printer.

The idea of hand made versus mechanically reproduced is a notion I've been pondering of late, and I am not without contradictions on this subject. The so called giclée print, an ink jet print, is not a hand made object. If I make a frame using molded ornaments, the molds were hand made, the ornaments are cast and pulled by hand, and they are definitely fit and applied by hand, but alas, it is a mere bagatelle in the world of ART; it is only a picture frame.

Though “hand made”, it is possible to reproduce those ornaments ad infinitum, but there is still a lot of “hand” involved.

I am ambivalent, and as far as art goes, I’m probably far more inclusive than most, but photography is documentary, sometimes enchanting, and a huge part of the world of the new Millennium, but for the most part, not art. Hand is important!

And, for the sake of this post, I’m not going to touch on craft, but leave you with the work of a great artist, one that some would call a mere illustrator:

Earnest H. Shepherd, Eeyore

James Montgomery Flagg's definition of an illustrator, I paraphrase, was an artist who ate three meals a day, and could afford to pay for them. I think there was some ambivalence about art, craft, etc. 

Bron

Phoneography

Another shot, from yesterday, of the fearless Snow Dog of the Frozen North. I like this one as she looks resolute in her forging a path.

Tuesday morning, and the snow has mostly stopped.

 Bears in the Snow

  The Morning Clearing

And some thoughts on phonography:

I've been a photographer since my teens. Studied at one school, worked in the Audio-Visual Dept. at another, where I was the staff photographer and darkroom tech. I was conversant with a wide variety of equipment, in an industrial way; in focus, properly exposed, horizons level, and none of the team had their finger in their nose. Since then, I still do some pro work, documenting fine art, though my equipment choices have gone from SLR-DSLR to a high end compact. I still use lights, battered, and stands, held together with wire, and polarizers.  The little camera, at base ISO, on a tripod, and good technique, is image quality wise, going to be comparable to almost anything else out there, and for 99.9 % of the uses, perfect. Plus, when I started using it, none of the DSLRs had live view on the LCD; you need to stoop and look through the viewfinder, while I could look at a 3" LCD.

In my own work, sketches for paintings, my amusement, family, I had discovered early on that a good image could be technically flawed; and in fact, those flaws might enhance the image. Technical perfection is not something I seek, nor am I probably very good at it; adequate when required. ( Certain aspects of painting require a "base" level of technical competence, something akin to grammer for a writer, but more ...?) Which raises another question; what is image quality? Technical perfection, or an image worth looking at? The point here is that technical quality should be subservient to the image itself.

Lately I've been using my phone camera, see previous post, as my casual, walking around tool, and that same tool has been recently featured in some of the photo-centric  sites I keep up with. It has not been considered a ... serious tool. In fact, it seems possible that western civilization is in decline due mainly to phone cameras. OK, but it is discreet and quiet. There is only one "setting", focus and exposure, a tap on the screen, then the shutter release, which makes for very quick shooting. It also allows one to concentrate on composition, rather than settings. This basic simplicity, though often asked for as an essential aspect of serious "street shooter" cameras, is ignored on a phone camera, because it's a ... phone? Well, when I need to, I still have the "big" camera, but if you start seeing a lot of noisy, blurred, poorly focused shots here, it's just me practicing phonography, rather than being serious.

This square aspect ratio is quite a departure for me, as my paintings are often 1:2, or close to that, but since it's not serious, I'll continue to fool around. 8-)

Bron

A note: On this day in 1861, Delaware votes not to secede from the Union. I had no idea they were even contemplating it. Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.

Really?

Whilst taking a small break, before starting to gesso one of the frames I'm working on, and checking some of the sites I frequent, I've noticed some "Zen yourself, redefine yourself" posts, and my response is puzzled; then sort of WTF. You can say fuck, it's alright. Here, some redemption.

Any way, as any kind of artist, you really need to let the barking of the dogs on the parade route wash off of you; not listen to Joe, but listen to yourself. Doesn't mean you can't reference the previous artists, or no plagiarism homage to other artists; just do your own work. Might not sell, but might be good work, better than doing only what will sell.

Carry on.

Bron

Frame for a Civil War Icon

 

The Last Meeting of Lee and Jackson

Oil on Canvas, 12'10 3/4"  x  9' 7".

I've long been acquainted with this image, one of the "iconic" images of the American Civil War. The image above is from a book, "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, The Civil War in Art", by Harold Holzer and Mark E. Neely, Jr., wherein I first saw the painting in its frame. It's great to see art in some context ... alas the above image has been truncated. See below:

The second image is courtesy of Thomas P. Crowther, Director, The Charleston Renaissance Gallery, who graciously e-mailed me a copy of the image from their archives. They owned the painting in the late eighties, and were responsible for the rescue and restoration of the standing outer frame. The base has been replaced, visible as a variation in the wood color. The painting is now part of the collection of The Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, VA.

And now, I shall curmudge. 8-)

By chopping off the eagle, one loses a good bit of  the wonderful Victorian excess in the frame, though to the books credit, most of the frame was included. And, they included the size.

My complaint is that the majority of imagery of Art has no context, no frame, and quite frequently little information as to size and medium. Usually, size is only for the canvas, or image, and of course, the frame is once again slighted. However from some images on the web, with people in front of the painting, context,  I suspect that the size above is actually for the outside of the frame, as if the canvas were that big, the frame would be close to 20 feet in height. Not inconceivable, but large.  I will check on that.

Here, a small rant on this subject. 

Addendum 1.: I completely forgot to include the artists name: Everett B D Fabrino Julio (1843-1879). He studied in Paris and Boston, and so was probably acquainted with the Pre-Rapahealite Brotherhood, who had a taste for achitectonic frames as well. A somewhat tragic figure, who died young, never having sold this painting. It did, however, go on tour, an alternate income source for many artists in the 19th. century.

Addendum 2.: Mr. Crowther, see above, has responded with a size for the canvas as: 108 x 72 inches, or nine feet high and six wide. Height precedes width.

Frames of another ilk.

I'm working on some frames for windows; restoring double-hung sash for a 1912 "four-square" house for a small "Green" organization. These sash are about 100 years old, and are easily restorable to the same functionality of any modern window. Add a storm, and they are completely competitive with any modern glazing method. And, in 50-60 years, they can be restored again; the weights will still be there, the rope can be replaced; the glass can be replaced, paint and putty, replaceable. The way these older windows are assembled and the maturity of the technology involved is just amazing. Unlike furniture, many of the sash are not glued at the joint; just pinned, and then the glazing, points and putty hold it all together as an integral unit.

I fear that many of the newer style windows, with the spring loaded balancing mechanisms, are going to be unrepairable in the future, due to lack of parts. With a traditional sash, weights can be recast; rotted out elements can be repaired or replaced; a mature technology, and the "eyes of your house".

Context

A visitor looks at a self-portrait by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo during the first day of an exhibition of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the Gelman Collection at Pera Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, 22 December 2010. The exhibition will be open until 20 March 2011. EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU.

The above is from Artdaily.org, here, Frida Kahlo.

I like that a lot of the images Art Daily uses  show the actual exhibition, with some context.

The frame is very nice, as well. 

Rant

 

A small rant on looking, and context, all probably said before, but needing said again.

It's nice to see people in an actual museum, looking at art in frames, hanging on a wall, just like it was meant to be. Too many curators, art students, and even dealers, look at art on computer monitors, in books, or sometimes, still, transparencies, where the art is torn from it's frame and any context, and the object quality of it is completely lost. No texture; just flat and flat. This out of context viewing leads to artists who labor long periods on the painting, and then finish it by "framing" with some ill-fitting, shoddily finished, wood strips, haphazardly nailed to the stretcher bars. A very obvious comment on the importance the artist attaches to his or her work.

I think a disservice to art is done by art professionals who think naught of tearing the art asunder from its context, and base all sorts of curatorial decisions, on the sundered remains. Is the frame, and some context, necessary? Obviously, I believe so, though, being an artist who works in the medium of the picture frame, it would seem I'm biased. More later, and a "snarky" comment; if you don't want to frame your art, become a sculptor.

Sunday Rant

A some what bedraggled Ken, getting ready to be eBayed by my wife, from her childhood collection.


Just a thought on a Sunday, as I'm listening to an album mentioned on TOP, see the links. I'm very responsive to jazz, like it a lot, but for some reason, I do not seek it out in the way I do classical. I'll have to think about that for a while ... in the mean time, "Ben and Sweets" is a delightful album.

My thought had to do with framing, and specifically the framing of mirrors, and affirmation and power. Most of us look in mirrors a lot ... yet the mirrors are nothing special ... don't you think that the affirmation and power of a really special mirror, one that frames YOU as special, important, Louis XV, sort of person would be important? New marketing program yowzahhh!!!!!

 Stuff I'm working on. The frame would be good for an affirmation of self though, don't you think? Designed as a vertical, kudos, a big bag of them, to any one who notices. Verticallity.

I'm sorry, it's a little tricky, as the image isn't that clear, but the bottom inner "bead", center, is not carved, which adds to the vertical feel.

Works Progress Administration

Another painting in process, top, and a better image of the one in the previous post. The one on top is essentially done, only needing some air brush glazing with egg yolk and water to even the sheen. The one on the bottom needs a little tonal "fussing", but is also, essentially done ... but, they both need the frosting ... the FRAME. I feel such a dinosour, frames, how quaint.

The "dune" painting started from a photo, but has wandered off in directions of it's own. It is somewhat large for me, 12 x 24. The "sunset" is based on an existing watercolor, but it has also wandered off, seeking it's own path I guess. It is dimensionally, 6 x 12. All dimensions are in inches, and height precedes width; customary museum practice. Some picture framers and some wood butchers reverse that ... but they are just wrong. I asked my wife, a former museum registrar, whether the American Association of Museums had set the standard; she laughed, and said no, it came from the "book". Dorothy H. Dudley and others, Museum Registration Methods.

Here, from the Museum of Modern Art, a brief bio of Ms. Dudley.

So, just for the record, height precedes width  ....  OK?

Get it right ... and the bluebird of happiness will do ...   whatever ...  OK?