A Couple of Things on My Mind
Artists working at a whole other scale
Ok, so I need to get back to the Creative Lifestyle posts. So let’s see here…
While on this last trip up to Brooklyn and Manhattan not only did I meet a lot of great collage artists in their studios via Les Jones gathering material for Contemporary Collage Magazine but I got to take in the Whitney Museum, Metropolitan Museum and the Guggenheim. It is going to take me a while to digest all of that.
I think I came away with a couple of things on my mind that caused me to wonder. The one I will think about in this article is the difference between most of the art community (all of us) and the artists that end up as superstars or darlings in the institutional venues like Howard Hodgkin, Mark Bradford and Jenny Holzer all of who’s works I saw in the museums in NYC this trip. For Hodgkin it was the show of his collection of Indian miniatures. which was very cool.
Mark Bradford, whose work I love, had a couple of paintings in one of the galleries in the Guggenheim. Below is a detail of a fairly large collage painting maybe 6 or 7 feet square and another much larger black and red collage painting on canvas maybe 8 x 15 feet or so. A very good and complex work.
Jenny Holzer has a retrospective at the Guggenheim that extended over the entire spiral to the top floor. Also a great and very interesting show and quite a production.
I think of these kind of artists like pop stars such as, for instance, Beyoncé or somebody like that in the sense that I wonder how in the world they can keep up with all of the exhibition activity and the deals constantly going on and the traveling and keeping up with themselves. It seems exhausting. And how did they get into the position to be in such a seemingly overwhelming condition. Was that intentional? Was that their idea of how they want to live out their creative lifestyle?
I know I am constantly at it in my studio and I take care of my art business to make a living but these kind of artists are working at a whole other scale, a very public and institutional scale. It is like an international corporation compared to a mom and pop store or the Beatles compared to any typical garage band. Could anybody do it like that if that was their ambition and they put enough thought into it and then set about making it happen? Sure you have to make some great art but a lot of artists make a lot of great art. I am just wondering what the secret sauce is on that. Are these artists’ interest driven from early on by public or institution acclaim? I really don’t know.
I have always been a pretty private person. I like to have my days calm and peaceful so I can work in my studio. I am probably not very good material for that type of super heated creative lifestyle. I think it would get on my nerves. You would have to have ‘your people’ to get that much stuff done I would think. That seems like it would seriously cut into one’s freedom of movement like you are trying to navigate a cruise ship instead of a fishing boat.
I am not saying I have anything against it. I think it seems pretty amazing. But kind of a mystery when you think about it. When I am writing articles about creative lifestyle I am working from my own world which is pretty much all self-taught mostly from observation and experience. Hopefully I have been teaching myself the right things over the years because that is all I have to offer.
Now that I am getting to be an old guy I am thinking about the end game. I am thinking a lot of different things, different angles like how my kids are going to manage my work and my collection of things when I am not here anymore. I could just say ‘Well, I won’t be here so who cares? Not my problem.’ On the other hand it is possibly fun to think it out, make plans, come up with schemes, etc.
Anyway, that was one of the things on my mind after this trip. Write in the comments what you think about all that. If you are reading this in your email click over to the site and write something. Would love to hear from you.
When I was involved with New Gallery in Houston, I'd witness the artists who did get to the highest fame of game and mostly I saw that they had a "ruthlessness" to them. They lived, breathed,ate, farted art and nothing else. They didn't/couldn't maintain intimate relationships, or friendships. They were pushy, even rude and unlikable most of the times. I have a life and it includes creating art but not at the expense or sacrifice of the rest of my beloved life.
I enjoy reading all of your posts. Reading about the New York trip was fun. I know Jenny uses assistants. Besides talent, I think a lot of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time doing the right type of work. I found this article interesting: https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/23205/1/jenny-holzer-texty-lady.
In my youth, I anticipated the typical artistic life, one with many shows, big sales, etc., but discovered I’m too much of an introvert, too laid back and basically dislike being the center of attention. I was exhausted just from the shows I did manage. I am so thankful now that it didn’t work out for me. I like my current, creative life. I can’t image the amount of energy such a long, life full of creative high demands and obligations must require. I wouldn’t have lasted.
What was really an eye-opener for me was reading The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art. It was quite informative, a bit of a shock in fact. However, my main concern now, like many others, is what to do with all of my remaining and future artwork. It’s quite the dilemma for me.