Short Version- A debate about what realism and expressionism means to me, and how I made the decision to designate myself as an expressionist.
My view of art has expanded significantly, and unsurprisingly, since I first started being an artist. With my work, I've danced the dance between realism and abstract art, starting out with the preconceived notion that realism, for its more established provenance, had a stronger claim to my devotion. However, part of my maturing into an artist was making the realization that I draw more to express feelings than taking down the facts- letting the emotions overflow and take me to places that don't exist in this physical world. It's probably a reflection on how I think of things, in general- unnamed possibilities contain more facination than concrete details.
My view of art has expanded significantly, and unsurprisingly, since I first started being an artist. With my work, I've danced the dance between realism and abstract art, starting out with the preconceived notion that realism, for its more established provenance, had a stronger claim to my devotion. However, part of my maturing into an artist was making the realization that I draw more to express feelings than taking down the facts- letting the emotions overflow and take me to places that don't exist in this physical world. It's probably a reflection on how I think of things, in general- unnamed possibilities contain more facination than concrete details.
Detail of Banana Queen. Completed Dec. 2014.
Group exercise in freehand drawing. Swim Pony residency, Dec. 2014.
To know what the general shape of something and to appreciate its beauty on a retricted space such as a canvas or photo of another artist- that's awesome. Such editing can help me to zero in on a truth or element that the artist wants me to see, and is trying to illustrate. Some artists have the literal ability to translate what they see in an interesting way, and draw on a place of technical proficiency, and the results are often beautiful and thought-provoking. For me, making such a commitment to record can get confining and uncompromising in meaning at times- a snake is very often a snake and MUST look like one to be appreciated. A rose is simply the image of a rose. A beautiful face with nothing behind it. That's the main annoyance I have with a good deal of realism- it gets to be a style that is a slave to technique rather than about showing actual feeling or spirit. I can only take so much of constant exposure to skulls, roses and hot girls.
On the other hand, abstraction works much in the same way Rorshach tests do- you make whatever you want out of what you're seeing. It doesn't have to be a person, place or thing- it just is. Such an approach to creation can become disorienting and a bit over-reliant on happy accidents than actual deliberate skill; but such is the risk you take when creating or looking at art in the first place. One thing that I have had trouble with is admitting how often my emotions take me far away from what I've originally envisioned for a project; but I would rather this randomness then to know exactly what I'm going to put on paper, every single time. In addition, I'm starting to discover that expressionism is often one of the best things to start teaching students, due to its stronger connection to the experience of pure drawing and the naked unconscious.
On the other hand, abstraction works much in the same way Rorshach tests do- you make whatever you want out of what you're seeing. It doesn't have to be a person, place or thing- it just is. Such an approach to creation can become disorienting and a bit over-reliant on happy accidents than actual deliberate skill; but such is the risk you take when creating or looking at art in the first place. One thing that I have had trouble with is admitting how often my emotions take me far away from what I've originally envisioned for a project; but I would rather this randomness then to know exactly what I'm going to put on paper, every single time. In addition, I'm starting to discover that expressionism is often one of the best things to start teaching students, due to its stronger connection to the experience of pure drawing and the naked unconscious.
With abstract art, it's very often more than the reality as it is presented on canvas. I truly believe that abstraction has more of the innate freedom of expression that I believe art should espouse in the first place. Mixing in elements of "realistic" drawing and shape only enhances the gamut of expression. I'm a contemporary expressionist, and quite proud of being so.
So, realism anchors, abstraction frees. Both styles are needed and should be appreciated for exactly what they are. And they both helped to form me.
So, realism anchors, abstraction frees. Both styles are needed and should be appreciated for exactly what they are. And they both helped to form me.
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