Top Artists of 2013

                                             Complex Magazine article cover.


As an artist, and art librarian I have a vested interest in reading the various articles, blogs, and other information sources related to art and art making. So there I was trolling the Internet looking for new topics of discussion when I found what I thought might be a good one. Earlier this month Complex Magazine released an article describing the most influential artists of 2013. I had never heard of this publication, so the first thing I did was try to find out more about it. Apparently it is a magazine Founded by Marc Eko  in 2002.  It is a men's magazine that targets males 18-30ish in metropolitan /cosmopolitan areas. With this in mind, as I read the article I was pretty skeptical of their list. And it seems I'm not the only one based on the comments.

The article was well written and did a nice job of describing the various artists listed, where their major exhibitions were occurring, and why their work was significant. However, after reading it I was struck by the number of women artists (or lack thereof) included in the list. As I was reading through the names I made a note to myself to count the number of female artists listed when I was finished. It turns out I didn't need to do that as only 3 of the 26 were women. In addition, readers posted in the comments that very few minority artists were represented.

Given the target audience of this publication I should not be surprised. But when an article is published with the title "The Most Important Artists of 2013," I sort of expected it to be more inclusive and complete. That said, I was very pleased to see that Marina Abramovic was included in the list. She is a performance artist, and has some interesting ideas going.  I dislike most performance art and I have only recently begun to follow her work, but I have been impressed with what I have seen so far.

What do you think about the artists on this list? Who would you have included?

 

Art Melt 2013

      Art Melt 2013 has come (and gone). It was quite an event, and was very well attended. I dunno, but I think it says something about a community when they will come out on  sweltering, steamy, mid-July evening to see and experience some art.    

   Like last year's event, there were a variety of works from all over the state of Louisiana. The event was held on the grounds of the state capitol, with the art being exhibited in the State Museum. My personal picks did not receive any recognition (too bad I was not one of the Jurors), but at least they got in to the exhibition. And, if you know me, that's what I think is more important: getting your work out and seen.

   I have pictures of my favorite pieces, however the lighting wasn't great for photography. Therefore, the following pictures are not very good.  

Favorite Piece:

   My favorite piece (the one I would have given "Best in Show" was an example of book art. You might think this an obvious choice since I am a librarian in addition to an artist, but generally speaking I don't like most book arts pieces. There is a heavy print component to the book arts, and printmaking is a medium I have a love/hate relationship with. Anyway, this book was hand made and was opened from end to end. It was as if two open books were pasted together by their back covers and then left open. It was titled "A Rabbit Runs in a Circle,"  it features hand drawn rabbits on both "covers," text that wraps throughout the piece, and is just a delight to examine. It was by artist Frank Hamrick.   

Favorite Painting:

    I would have given this painting "First Place." The colors are very relaxing, and they play well on an image that I find soothing. I like the contrast of the figures in the foreground, I like the use of space within the picture plane, and I just feel drawn in and warm when looking at this painting. It is by artist Connie Kittok.

Mixed Media:

  These last two images aren't really favorites, they probably fall in to the "Honorable Mention" category. This image by David Humphreys combines photography and collage. I wouldn't have thought to combine these two media in the way Humphreys has, and the results are very good. This image looks like a painting, but when you look at it up close you can see that it is much more intricate in how it was created.     

Painting:

    This  painting, titled "Unrefined IX" reminds me of the work I have done with pipes. Living in Baton Rouge, one is never very far from the reminder of refineries, and it is interesting to see these pipes, stacks, behemoths of industrialization depicted as something elegant. This painting is by Ian Chrystal.

   The evening wasn't just about visual art. There were street performers, belly dancers and bands as well. The band I most liked was Minos the Saint. They played a fun type of Cajun/pop that got people dancing and was a lot of fun to listen to. I'll close with a picture of their performance.

    

The state of art

                                          Screen Shot from Scotsman.com

Greetings all! This post is about an article that ran in the Scotsman newspaper over the weekend. In it  acclaimed Scottish artist Ken Currie discussed the current state of artists, and his thoughts on the academicazation of the art world. This is a topic that I have given a lot of thought too, and have even posted about it here in the past (here and here.).

Currie is an artist who studied at the Glasgow School of Art and was a member of "The New Glasgow Boys" movement. He went on to win the Turner Prize for painting in 2005. He has remained an active artist and has a new exhibition planned to open soon. 

In this article Currie stated that he thought too many art students have neglected traditional art media for the likes of New Media, installation, and conceptual art. He added that this was happening because of the belief that this would put them on the fast track to being a recognized artist. He furthered by stating that this has adversely affected what was happening at the Glasgow School of Art. He said that the school was overcrowded and that students weren't really learning anything about art or art making, and were instead caught in a situation where New Media, installation, and conceptual art were churned out by professors increasingly focused on academic advancement over the development of future art and artists.  

He went on to describe a career path where he likened art school to kindergarten, and the following 20-30 years as developing a voice before achieving a level of success recognized universally . He said it takes many years of hard work to become an established and recognized artist, and said that many contemporary artists just don't have the drive or energy for the long haul.

I agree with Mr. Currie that art schools have been given over to academia, and I also agree that there is far too much New Media, installation, and conceptual art as a result. However, I'm not so sure I agree with his statements about developing artists. One thing that it is important to keep in mind is that we live in an entirely different world than the 1980's in which Mr. Currie was in art school. Ideas, art, and ways of communicating them develop at a much faster pace than they ever have in the history of human development. Access to technology and New Media is also more freely available. I think that these ideas combined with the drive to create and be the first to express a new concept are as much an impact on these new artists as the issues Currie spoke to. Art is communication, and we are living in a world filled with a cornucopia of communication methods. It is how we integrate the new with the old and move forward that is the more important issue.

That's my take. Please leave your thoughts in the comments, and perhaps we can have a discussion on this issue.  One final thing before I go: The 2013 Art Melt is this Friday.  I will be discussing this exhibition next week, but if you are in or around Baton Rouge you should plan on attending!   

McGinty, S. (2013) New Artists Neglect Hard Graft, Says Ken Currie. The Scotsman 7/14/13



        

Exhibition happenings and update

      So the last time I posted here, this is the image I was working on. I have since finished it and thought I should post the completed image. I am still in a transitional phase and still working largely with the figure (shoulder and head studies to be specific). I'm not  sure how long this will continue. I have always used the figure as a means to practice, and I feel like staying in this practice phase for a while.

     In other news, I have exhibition updates. On June 1st I had an exhibition of recent works at the  Central Park Zoo in New York. Had I been up on my blogging, I could have notified you and perhaps you could have come out and seen it. The next opportunity begins tomorrow at the Lessedra Gallery in Sofia, Bulgaria. Tomorrow begins the Annual World Art print exhibition, of which I am participating. I wrote earlier about how I was working on some intaglio prints for exhibition and it turns out they were accepted. The reception is on June 13. So, if you are in or around Sofia, you may want to stop in and have a look. Unfortunately I will not be there. Perhaps another time. Those are all my updates for now. I'll keep working, post your comments!       

Painting in progress

     My last post was about printmaking. I finished those prints, and sent them off. I got word last week that they arrived nice and safe. We'll see if I actually get in the exhibition. I set by best two, but I was still unsatisfied with them.

     Since finishing the printmaking I have returned to the figure painting. The above image is what I am currently working on. The weather has been really great lately, I keep thinking I will need to go and do some plein aire painting. Combining the figure in the foreground with information gathered locally in the background might make for some interesting imagery. 

The printing continues

      Here is the latest print I have run. I'm still doing intaglio, and not real sure how it's going. I think this one is a bit more inventive then the last. I think also that the other one that I showed here was more recognizable as a steam engine. This one is based more on the very early steam engines from the mid 19th Century. I will keep going, and we'll see what develops.

     There were a couple of art shows this weekend that I had planned on attending, but I got really lazy and just wanted to stay home. So I missed those. I was going to take pictures and tell you all about it, but since I missed them both I'm just going to tell you what was intended. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Printmaking

      I have been working on a series of intaglio prints, like the one above, for a show that invited me to submit some work. It's a printmaking show, and while I don't normally use that medium, I always try and submit work for exhibitions that contact me unsolicited. I have no guarantee that my work will be accepted but I think it is a very positive thing when they seek me out, rather than the other way around. We'll see what happens!

      I really need to get back in the habit of posting here once a week. I don't think I realized that the last posting I did was for Surreal Salon V. That was so long ago, that when I just went to find a link to that show there weren't any to be found. It's over. It was a pretty good show though. I found the work to be lacking from the previous year. Which is why there are no pictures (or probably a wrap up of the show on this Blog). But it was fun. New Orleans Bingo Show was excellent. I danced with one of the dancers when she came out into the audience, so that was fun. All-in-all, it was good.

That's it for now. I will try to start posting every week again.