September
2001
The
Wittig Report - on the
interface between Life and Art
Welcome to the Wittig
Report. On the one hand there is ‘Art,’ and on the other hand, there is ‘Life,’
and somewhere in the middle, they meet.
August continued the
themes begun in July, of the derelict inner-city wasteland, and it’s
inhabitants. This month, the buildings seem to be faring better than the
inhabitants. Much of the architecture I am painting is already gone, and has to
be done from memory, and by modeling different pieces from remaining structures,
(a window here, a doorway there, clapboards over there, bricks from a different
wall), as gentrification sweeps through the neighborhood. Some of the people,
however, remain… homeless now, foraging the alleys in almost completely rehabbed
neighborhoods, now. The contrast is downright eerie…First and Third world
conditions, now cohabiting the same space.
If
you hear a voice within you saying,
"You are not a painter,"
then by all means paint... and that voice
will be silenced...
Vincent Van
Gogh
Stoops –
two inner city clapboard houses… with front stoops: http://www.robertwittig.com/full212.html
Ethics
in Art: Option or Necessity?
There is no
way that I could buy into such a notion. I mean, what's the deal, here, am I
supposed to get tactical... am I supposed to 'play' the public... like a bunch
of saps?? Am I supposed to hold back work to drive up the price? (this is an
especially amusing notion, because I am selling very little of my work, as it
is, in fact, almost none. Am I supposed to pretend that I am selling more than I
am? Am I supposed to become some sort of deceiver?? Is that the price of
financial success in the fine arts… that I have to lie to the public, in one way
or another, in order to entice them into buying my work through some sort of
sleight of hand??
I don't
think so. I can't do that; it is not in my nature to behave in such a fashion. I
would rather have to eat broken glass… “
“Possibly
the most valuable lesson I have learned since beginning to paint, is to quit
while I am ahead. Never finish a painting. When it is almost done, sign it, and
set it to dry. Painting is after all, most especially in the fine arts, a
process. No single painting ever made a person's career. You are probably going
to paint until you die anyhow, so what's the hurry? By quitting just as your
level of incompetence is being approached, you will screw up far fewer canvases,
thus having much more presentable work to pack away in cases (and occasionally
sell) during your lifetime.
And in
closing, take your work seriously...but not your
self.”
To read the article, click here: http://www.robertwittig.com/paper33.html
____________________________________________________________________________________
Featured Website: Billy
Morrow Jackson
This is one fellow who
I think a great deal of, but who I can say very little about, except that he is
one of the painters who opened my eyes. I would suggest that anyone who has an
affection for realism check out his website thoroughly. He is the real
deal.
http://webs.soltec.net/jacksonstudios/overview.htm
_________________________________________________
Another featured Website: StickYourNeckOut.Com
This is a very interesting site that I discovered just a few days ago, that encourages people to submit their work to the Site/ Newsletter. In the words of Tom Cox, owner and editor:
"StickYourNeckOut, a new online literary and arts magazine, welcomes your submission of artistic and literary works for free publication on our website. "No strings attached--you retain all rights." We're small and cannot accept all work, but try to make up for it by giving the works we do accept the loving attention they deserve. For submissions details, click on the blue "Publish" icon on most pages of the website. (Thanks, Robert!)"
To visit StickYourNeckOut.Com, follow this link: http://www.stickyourneckout.com/
_______________________________________
Reader
Feedback
A newsletter reader posed the following question in response to Emily Townsend’s Open Letter in the august Issue of the newsletter:
“It occurs to me that the reactions of the (human) subject of a painting, drawing, or sculpture to the depiction might be of interest. More specifically, if you have ever been the subject of an artists' depiction, and the artist made that fact known to you by showing you or giving you the piece, what have you thought the artist was trying to communicate.... about you and to you (if anything)?”
Please direct any replies to this question to: wittig@robertwittig.com , and I will publish the results in next month’s issue.
Questions,
comments, submissions
I’d be glad to hear
from you. If you have any questions, comments, rebuttals, ideas for future
articles, or submissions of your own, contact me at wittig@robertwittig.com and I will reply
promptly, and include your response in an upcoming issue, where
appropriate.
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For further
exploration, my website address is: http://www.robertwittig.com/
, or simply click the ‘Home’ link at the bottom of any article you have
accessed. thanks, -wittig