Old Men series

Old Man series by JJ Davis 

Old Man series, by JJ Davis 

Old Man series, by JJ Davis 

New man to love?

Maurizio Cattelan.
The weekend of January 18th I'll be going to New York to see the "first comprehensive overview of Cattelan's production" at the Guggenheim.

More to come.

artists make...

Reinhardt mocked "the self-conscious pretension of artists who thought they were doing something 'more' than making art." 

I came across this passage in my reading about Reinhardt and it struck a chord with me. Partly because I'm quickly learning that my new found obsession not only had a sense of humor he also had a sense of humor about himself.  It also struck me because I may agree with him. 

It seems so simple that artists would make art, nothing more but it's a hard statement to commit to. For me to firmly place my fist down and say that's all artists do is make art, nothing more, is a scary thought. It's scary because I can already see the conflict that could arise if I made such a bold statement but maybe I'm arriving at the time for bold statements about what I believe in this murky world of 'art'. 

Artists make art. Nothing more.

Beginning to explore Reinhardt

February of this year I spent some time in New York while I was there I went to the see the Abstract Expressionist show at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). The show carried some serious show stoppers and heavy hitters in the arena of popular abstract artists like Pollock, Rothko and Motherwell. Sadly, the gallery was so busy and crowded that I felt rushed, squashed and I didn't get a chance to experience the show to it's full potential. 

Currently showing at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) until September 4th is the same show with the same collection of works titled Abstract Expressionist New York: Masterpieces from The Museum of Modern Art.

AGO website with info

I went to the AGO to see the their version of the NY Ab Ex show where I got to assess the collection at a leisurely pace and spend real time with the works. 

This is when I met one of Reinhardt's black paintings.

At the MOMA Ab Ex show I took note of the Ad Reinhardt work from across the room but by that point I had to escape the crowd and left. 

My interest in Reinhardt started when I first saw a reproduced image of his 1966 solo show of his black paintings at the Jewish Museum. A room full of five foot by five  foot square canvas' evenly painted black. 

Installation shot of black paintings on exhibition at
the Jewish Museum, New York  City, 1966  (Photo Gretchen Lambert)

All I really knew about Reinhardt was that he "turned out the lights". A partial quote from critic Harold Rosenberg popularly used among the "Ab Ex crowd"

"Newman had closed the door, Rothko had pulled down 

the shades, and Reinhardt had turned out the lights."

When I had the opportunity to sit with his black painting at the AGO I stood there thinking that there must be more to the work than black. Even with the little I knew about Reinhardt's work I was convinced that he couldn't be an another cheeky Duchamp laughing at how he's tricked hundreds of people to stand and stare at a flat black canvas making them believe they're cultured looking at 'fine art'. 

I watched this video provided by the gallery:

Reinhardt's process

Giddy with delight after seeing his technique I stood in front of his work and saw an entire new world. Ann Temkin the Chief Curator of Sculpture and Painting at the MOMA said he makes "paintings that take time to unfold". Spending time with the work as Reinhardt and a number of the Abstract Expressionists intended changed my experience with the pieces. 

Since spending time with Reinhardt's painting he's quickly become somewhat of an obsession. I've borrowed books from the library, searched and Googled trying to learn whatever I can about him.

As the title of this post says this is just the beginning of my exploration into Reinhardt. So I'll stop here and leave you with a poem he copied into one of his sketchbooks. 

The move loving one

By W. H. Auden

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well

That, for all they care, I can go to hell;

But, on earth, indifference is the least

We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were stars to burn

With a passion for us we could not return?

If equal affection cannot be,

Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am

Of stars that do not give a damn,

I cannot, now I see them, say

I missed one terribly all day.

Were all the stars to disappear or die,

I should learn to look at an empty sky

And feel its total dark sublime,

Though this might take me a little time. 

Zine 'Role Play"

These are select images from the Zine I created titled Role Play about the stereotypical roles women are expected to and aspire to play.

Be Pretty

More to come.

Advice for the day

"Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight."
- Phyllis Diller

I heard this quote earlier this week and it's not one of those quotes that is only reserved for a couple that has stumbled into a tiff as the night closes. It's an idea that should be taken into account for any relationship. Let us not forget that friends and family need maintenance too. 
And in all seriousness, it works. 

Vulnerability

A friend of mine left me a little gift in my inbox a couple days ago and I've just spent the time to sit down and watch it.
Brene Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share. 
With the work I try and practice within my day to day life, she gave me a new definition to ponder on. She defined courage as the ability "to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart".
Now is that isn't something beautiful.

Brene Brown on vulnerability

I believe what she says and I will follow her lead.