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WHAT IS ART AND IS IT EVEN A QUESTION WORTH ASKING?
However, a definition of art is more fluid than ever with multifactorial influences shaping human experience in particular with the invasive and destructive tendencies of social media overriding the positives of it as a creative tool.
THE END OF CIVILISATION
A combination of dystopian narratives that can also evoke feelings of despair and a degradation of language could lead one to believe that civilisation is on the brink of collapse. The distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between truth and lies no longer exists
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE AVANT GARDE
Can anything being produced in this era of pluralism once again shock the audience as did much of what occurred before the age of post modernism? Is there anywhere left to go artistically or have we reached the limit of artistic breakthroughs or the possibility of another venture into radical form? Innovation seems a long way off when anything and everything can be considered as art.
THE TINY BRUSH SYNDROME
Perhaps the answer to the question lies in two areas. One could be a nostalgic yearning for the era of craftsmanship in the face of factory-driven mass production. The other could be what might be called a simplifying of life. The photorealist image arrives without emotional entanglements, complete within itself and defying interpretation. It simply is.
BEAUTY OR THE LACKING OF IT
Every time I hear that old chestnut of a cliché that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I am left wondering.
TITLED OR ENTITLED
Recently I have seen any number of artists,...
YOU CAN’T BE ANY GOOD IF YOU ARE SELF-TAUGHT. GET YOURSELF TO AN ART SCHOOL!
The fact though is that self-taught artists abound today with endless online tutorials and discussion groups from which to choose. Whether they progress to an individual vision and approach beyond just technique is another matter but attending an art school is also no guarantee.
DOWN THE DRAIN – a SALA review
One of the theoretical divisions of modern and contemporary art recognises that the object can assert its own meaning and exist as a purely aesthetic statement or conversely reflect an ethic standpoint which refers to a socially motivated desire to change or affect the social order.
IS VISUAL ART IN 2025 IN A STATE OF DECAY?
Artistic relevance and purpose will always be called into question and while the world continues to marvel at the prices paid for art at auction, any condemnations of decadence are more squarely pointed at those who see art solely in monetary terms.
LIFE AND DEATH IN THE LANDSCAPE
Time and place are obvious triggers to both memory and experience – rendering light though colour at a specific moment in time to capture a moment of beauty is not a new idea but such moments are rapidly superseded. Such is the nature of light.
PANIC IN THE STREETS
Few artists have mentioned city green spaces in their work other than as romanticised places from whence they came, such as a remote rural village in an area of Russia that no longer existed in the case of Chagall
OF IDEAS, INFLUENCES AND SELECTIVE MEMORY
When I see the work of someone like a Phyllida Barlow with an installation endlessly taking over a gallery space there is a distinct feeling of amazement because what has characterised my art from the outset has been the self-enclosed limiting factor of the edge of a canvas or sculpture with a definitive outline.