Is It Art?

I remember working from an older male model in a figure drawing class during college. He took a pose where one foot was raised on a chair or box. My vantage point was from behind. His rear end and genitals were prominently displayed. During a break a classmate looked at my unfinished drawing and said that he didn't think it was "art". Being a young fresh student I wasn't of a mind to declare when something was or was not art so his comment always stuck with me.

Reclining Male Nude, oil pastel on toned paper, 8 1/2" X 12", 2016

At a recent figure session I was presented with the above view. The pose had good movement and complexity so I set to work in the thirty minutes available. Is it art? You tell me. Forty odd years later I'm still not inclined to make that judgment.

Canabalism

I have no business dealing with figurative art photography in this blog. I am not well versed on the subject but feel the urge to comment after my recent visit to a Smithsonian contemporary portraiture exhibition. About half of the show was photography. My main takeaway, at least for this venue, was that advanced digital photo devises are suffocating and consuming fine art photography. This digital assault is different from the one being waged on photo sourced drawings and paintings but the result is the same - the life is being sucked out of the art form.

Dan McCormack, Tricia_P-01-10-16--13AB
Pinhole camera-digital pigment print, 18" X 24"

How can clear and flawless images created using the most advanced technologies fail as fine art? The answer may lie in the question. Just days after visiting the portrait show I came across the above pinhole camera photo in a small local venue. It evokes an emotion beyond just the subject matter. Somehow its low tech origin allows the image to resonate.

William Eggleston, dye-transfer print
21 5/8" X 14 5/8", 1970
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

William Eggleston was a pioneer in fine art color photography. His images, at least in part by virtue of their relatively primitive processes, now stand as icons of the genre.

The Walking Dead

For the two and a half years of this blogs existence I have dealt with relatively specific topics regarding the human figure. If I have preached any broader narrative it would be the benefits of working from life vs working from photos (which now include digital images of all kinds). I have come down clearly on the side of life but have been reluctant to firmly dismiss the photo source side. Until now.

Nude Study, oil pastel, 10" X 7", 2016

I recently saw a large juried group exhibition at a major Smithsonian museum. The theme of the show was contemporary portraiture. Drawings and paintings made up about half of the show. I toured the exhibition with a group of friends whose combined art knowledge could fill a dense volume. The consensus opinion was that the show failed in some deep-rooted way. The reasons given were varied but for me the main explanation was clear. Virtually every drawing and painting in the show shouted photo sourced! Many were expertly rendered but almost without exception they were lifeless.

As disappointing as the drawings and paintings were the photography also came up short. I will explore that topic in the next post.

Virtual Reality

Someone recently showed me on their smart phone a number of private Facebook figurative sites. I am not on Facebook so the existence of this universe was a revelation. It is possible, in fact quite likely, that this virtual world eclipses my reality based one many times over and has for some time. Who knew? Probably everyone but me.

Thirty minute figure study, oil pastel, 11" X 9", 2015

The main problem I have with these sharing sites is that they don't discriminate. My brief encounter showed that most anything and everything gets posted. One even included a failed painting attempt of mine. I'm guessing the model took and posted the picture without my knowledge. Unless there is some educational purpose for doing so, posting flawed art just lowers the discourse.

So now the question arises: To what extent does, (would, could) the real world of figurative drawing and painting exist without the virtual one?

Dynamism

Exhibitions that deal with the Renaissance period often include figure study drawings. Most were done as practice or preliminary studies for paintings or murals intended for churches or cathedrals. Designed to be viewed from a distance the poses are often exaggerated with bodies twisted into all manner of extreme positions.

Male Nude, oil pastel on toned paper, 8 1/2" X 12 1/2", 2015

The difficulty encountered by the model in these situations is obvious but the artist also faces a test. Gone are the familiar conventions of a seated or reclining pose. Awhile back at a group figure session the model in the above drawing held this pose for thirty minutes. This particular model takes his craft seriously and works hard to perfect and hold seemingly impossible poses. He may be onto something. Perhaps I should seek out some cathedral commissions.

Competition

There should be a competition of sorts playing out in my small town arts community but I am at a loss as to the rules of engagement. The arena I've chosen to compete in is different than most - my primary focus is on drawing and painting . I have great admiration for anyone who puts paint to canvas and over the years have been mindful of not criticizing their efforts. But apparently for most local artists wrangling over sales and status is the main event, actual painting comes in at best a distant third.

Reclining Nude, oil on canvas, 14" X 17", 2011

I find myself standing, brush in hand, in a nearly empty coliseum. There is a great deal of noise and commotion coming from a packed arena right next door. The visual arts should offer a clear and graphic scoreboard tracking ones relative progress. It is through an exchange of ideas and techniques that we get better but too little of that is in play. I have no desire to defeat any fellow painters but I wouldn't mind sharpening my game with an occasional combatant.

On Exhibiting (part two)

This post is appearing in the aftermath of my first exhibition in four years. The show I managed to mount was both in scale and in scope a quantum leap above anything I had done previously. Standing in the gallery rooms before the first visitors arrived I felt a warm sense of fulfillment. The opening drew a full house of artists, models and friends. Surprisingly even a few nudes sold. By any metric I value it was a resounding success.

Portrait Study, oil pastel, 6" X 5", 2016

Exhibition Wall

In a post a month ago I said it is essential for visual artists to put their work on display. This show now stands as a vivid marker in my art career. It also provided a needed sense of finality. Now I can start on the next phase of my artistic adventure and just like when facing a blank canvas I have no idea where I'm going.