February 07, 2010

Would it surprise anyone if I said I have NOT done my accounting?

Doubt it.

Part 1.
After a 2 hour yoga inversion workshop, I headed (no pun intended) to Pasadena for the Ruth Trotter closing and lecture. I missed the first hour of the lecture because my inversion workshop didn't end until 3:15 and it took me about 45 minutes to get to Pasadena. Even on a good day in the LA freeway system, it's tough trying to be two places at once. The show was at Project 210, an intimate project space run by Quinton Bemiller and Chuck Feesago. I missed Ruth actually talking about her work, but I was there for part of the discussion about teaching art, artist's expectations, hype, BFA's and MFA's, and gasp, even questioning the necessity of getting an MFA. Afterwards, I was involved in a mini-discussion with a couple of artists about how we (the collective we of our culture here in most of the United States, save, perhaps Manhattan) need to offer an educational curriculum in collecting art, instilling in children (I would LOVE to see a MOCA Tiny Tots collector group asking toddlers to pony up their allowance to join and schmooze with other well-bootsied toddlers) and adults, the value of collecting original, contemporary art. It was nice to see Ruth's work in person. Drawings were in the main room and a few paintings around the perimeter. Very nice.

[intermission. Time lapse film sequence of sun setting, sun rising and sun setting again]

Part 2.
I won't tell you what search words I used, but it lead me to a blog(s) I peruse from time to time, and more or less, the discussion of my search query. Along the way, I spotted a quasi-rant on what appears to be high on the list of turn-offs in the art world: work that is a highly personal reaction to some event in the artist's life. Well, this kind of sucks now, doesn't it? I mean, damn, that frigging sums up a year's worth of studio production quite frigging succinctly, not to mention current work. I also came across a post that I would have sworn I had written, had it not been for the spelling and grammar atrocities, along with a few other discrepancies. It was like I had consulted an oracle. Fascinating.

Part 3.
Not worth it.

1 comment:

Leora Lutz said...

"work that is a highly personal reaction to some event in the artist's life. "

really? a turn-off? well, it depends on a few factors how this could be annoying to someone...but from my experience, the artist puts quite a bit of themselves into their work. making it universal is always more appealing i suppose.
i see this turn-off spoken of more frequently in work done by women...especially regarding health issues or lost loves... things that women are more inclined to share openly.
i see it as something the artist is going through though, and eventually or also doing other work is important. if not for just helping them move on from whatever personal thing it is that they going through.

It's over.

Nov 7, 2020. Tears of joy and relief. It's been unreal and I'm ready to get back to a sense of normalcy. The desert has been tough.