The new year is here and I have been thinking for a long time to post more frequently and to begin to both articulate my own thoughts on painting and art and to open up a forum for discussion.
As always I am almost constantly reading and recently picked up The Writings of Robert Motherwell (The Writings of Rober Motherwell @ amazon.com) off of my bookshelf. I've tried several times to read selections from it but have never been drawn in. This time however it seems that almost every piece I read I get a couple of awesome nuggets.
The following is from an essay titled "Preliminary Notice to Apollinaire's The Cubist Painters."
"Some speak as if all cubism had been a mode of showing an object from four sides. Apollinaire saw more deeply: 'The canvas should present that essential unity which alone can elicit ecstacy.' He understood that the unity of a work depends on its internal relations, and consequently why the cubists were led to deny the claims of representation in favor of structure."
What painting in the 20th century has shown us is that the life of a painting is in its surface and its structure not its content, be that representational or non-representational. If the surface-structure of a painting is weak the painting feels dead to the viewer. In other words, the relationship with the viewer culminates in disappointment or worse indifference.
Gordon Fraser
14 January 2007
©2008 Gordon Fraser.
All Rights Reserved.
www.gordonfraserfinearts.com
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