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November 29, 2005
Walking naked through a supermarket
Just as the reason why people write a diary is for someone to read it eventually, even though the writer usually maintains it’s private, I don’t just paint pictures for the good of my health. I paint them to be seen. And not just a casual glance. I want you to look and SEE.
There are many tricks employed by artists to get their pictures seen. Using extremes in composition: Dali, Caravaggio and contrast: Joseph Wright of Derby. For Raphael it was the use of rich vibrant reds redolent of blood, never seen before and when the sunlight came through the window and struck the painting the effect was SHOCKING.
Today artists employ increasingly more shocking tactics to get their work seen. Whether it’s Damien Hirst sawing cows in half, or Tracy Emin sewing all the names of everyone she’s fucked onto the insides of a tent. IT GETS THEM NOTICED. Bit like writing in capital letters.
But being noticed is not always comfortable, a bit like walking naked through a supermarket. I’ll come back to this one.
Posted by john at November 29, 2005 11:38 AM