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December 17, 2003
possibilities and responsibilities
Tricky things, possibilities and responsibilities. Potentially a picture I paint could last 400 years, alternatively it might struggle to get past next Thursday, in its present state.
It doesn’t do a painter any good to contemplate these things. But, equally, they can’t be ignored. It’s no good painting a portrait with cheap paint that will fade to a pale blue-brown stain in six months.
Up until the point that a painting leaves the studio its worth is mutable. It’s interesting to note that an artist may hurl paint and tin cans at a painting, kick it, throw it to the floor and generally manhandle it roughly about the studio; but in an art gallery, the same picture is handled with ultimate care by men in brown coats and white gloves.
The key to a painting’s worth is its leaving the studio. It only begins to realise its potential when it has left the artist. The act of creation is not of immediate value. [It’s trying to address this dilemma that has created much of today’s contentious art.]
Posted by john at December 17, 2003 11:04 AM
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