Once upon a time Picasso was one of the few artists everyone knew about or at least the one artist whose name everyone knew once you got past Da Vinci and Michaelangelo.
WHO UNDERSTANDS PICASSO?
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Sculpture
THE CULT OF THE NEW AND THE OBSESSION WITH NOVELTY
Much has been written about the idea of originality in art but in the end just what does ‘originality’ mean? Before the 20th century it wasn’t a term much considered. Artist studios were places where apprentices went to learn from the master and with the advent of Art Schools, nothing much changed. The cult of originality is a 20th century obsession and yet it ignores or neglects that much great art was produced within the western tradition using traditional techniques.
ENCOUNTER
Today I re-read Joan Kee’s book on Korean contemporary abstract art in the light of seeing Jonathon Kim’s work at the West Thebarton gallery and on the back page of the recent edition of Artist Profile.
WHO’D BE AN ARTIST?
Do I measure myself against the past? Yes and no. I am conscious of everything that has gone before me and the approaches and successes of artists. I’m also conscious of the huge volume of art being put online across the world every day, every hour. It is simply intimidating. For all of that though, none of those artists are me.