An Emphasis on Substance
For the last few years I have been painting in a way that places a greater emphasis on the stuff of which paintings are made. I enjoy this mode for a number of reasons. Mainly, this sort of approach allows for a rich enjoyment of both the material of painting and the process of painting. These are two elements of painting that have become paramount for me as an artist. Even so, the end result is no less important than the making. In this mode I am interested in what the paintings are rather than what they might be a picture of. In this sense the term real is turned on its head. Don't get me wrong about real and realism; both are equally of interest and value. The topic of real makes me think of meaning, and regardless of the state of these paintings or the metaphorical devices employed, meanings still abound.
The title of this exhibit An Emphasis on Substance is meant in a number of ways. I have already spoken of the substance of painting, the processes and materials involved. On one level, the paintings are about these things. In another way, on the other side of process and making is looking. The works are certainly about looking, and looking is really about you, the viewer. You are an important part of the art experience. Another part of this experience to consider is what the paintings represent, a murky area for me. I say murky since what the paintings represent at least partially exists in my head. I am cautious of divulging too much about this topic to the viewer for fear of spoiling all the fun. If I say the work is about one thing and you take offense at the idea, the conflict stands to spoil the entire experience of looking. So, I withhold information and title works with serial numbers and phrases like Stria 33 (Charcoal and Zinc White) . I do this in hopes of encouraging looking and discouraging a certain kind of conflict since conflict can so easily get out of hand.
What I will tell you is that the works are informed and respond to environmental stimuli. Landscape, be it striations in hillside cutaways, rice fields along the Mississippi or a guy with orange hair walking down the street in the most quintessential of urban experiences, the environment is a major player in shaping these works. Music, from traditional Yoruba bata drumming to popular and unpopular pop music the world over, plays another important role. There is rhythm and emotion conveyed through high and low forms of music, or whichever art form, and I respond to such stimuli. In this light, the work could be seen as a picture of emotion, taking something without form and giving it form. This is an especially exciting for me and is an essential function that art performs. I am fond of the writings of Susanne Langer, a 20th century aesthetician. In her essay Expressiveness she says wonderful things like, "art objectifies the subjective realm [and] expresses a conception of life, emotion, [and] inward reality" and that it is "a developed metaphor, a non-discursive symbol that articulates what is verbally ineffable." While she is probably seen as an outdated outsider to really high-minded art theory, I couldn't agree with her more.
Some time ago I asked myself what is essential for me about painting. I came to the well-known conclusion that it is ultimately material, or substance, on a surface. That substance, whatever it may be, is very important.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/34445160_N03/
donniecopeland_gmail.com
Stay featured or remove this badge.
