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September 06, 2005
Anything goes
In olden days a glimpse of stocking,
Was thought of as something shocking.
But now, God knows,
Anything goes.
Cole Porter
I have often talked about the difficulties of abstract painting now that, as above, anything goes.
We’ve had the blank white canvas exhibited
We’ve had the back of the canvas exhibited
Hell we’ve had whole exhibitions where there is no work in the gallery, just a white painted gallery. So the scope for abstract, conceptual, de-constructed post-modern art is infinite.
And figurative painting is supposed to be easier. Well let me tell you the choice, though not infinite, goes from one extreme to the other, from
Bouguereau’s Baigneuse
following the grand tradition of Classical Realism, to
Dubuffet’s Corps de Dame
and
de Kooning’s Woman I
at the other extreme, with Abstract Expressionism. Here, I should point out, Willem de Kooning is expressing the expressionist element of abstract expressionism more than the abstract elements. though he clearly isn't ignoring these.
So when I say I'm a figurative painter don't jump to hasty conclusions.
I don’t do any of these
And may I say – not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I do it my way.
apologies to Revaux and Claude François, trans. Paul Anka
On the chair, sideways oil on panel 1200mm x 1200mm
any resemblance to Whistler's: Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother, is purely coincidental, honest.
Posted by john at September 6, 2005 09:01 PM