I made a decision prior to 2011 that I was going to complete at least one piece of art each day during the year as an attempt to avoid artistic inactivity, the theory being that the quality of individual pieces/poems/stories etc. would not be as important as the regularity of the process; plus, you know - something of actual worth might come out of it. I made it to the afternoon of January 29th, 2011, which just so happens to be Robert Winant's birthday. Upon reviewing what I'd completed for the year to that point, I discovered I had maybe 35 or 40 items, more than one per day. So I consciously took the 29th off, and it gave me a great deal of satisfaction, I have to say. That evening, we went to dinner at the House of Prime Rib for Robert's birthday and then headed off to the Fillmore to see the Old 97s.
My original intent was to collect everything I had on December 31st and see where I stood in terms of quality and quantity, and make a variety of decisions about the items that I considered to be complete, and some other decisions about the items that I didn't think worked. As it turns out, I don't know exactly how many pieces I finished, but I would guess it was somewhere between 300 and 400 (a significant percentage of them cocktail napkins and coasters with some version of the Wounds of Christ and/or the Crucifixion included, often accompanied by song lyrics). To my mind, the year was a success, and I avoided artistic inactivity.
It's January 3rd, 2012 as I type this, and I already have 3 items completed for the new year, including a rudimentary shell game dedicated to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (because, you know, why not). If there's anybody out there working on anything daily, weekly, monthly (or on some other kind of schedule), I send you my best and wish you well. And, if you'd care to share with our loyal legion of IBL faithful, well, we'd love to hear what you are up to or, perhaps, if you were so inclined, take a peek.
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Yes,yes. Avoid artistic inactivity.
ReplyDeleteYou too, Billy...
ReplyDeleteAll the aphorisms about It being the Path and not the destination are essential to survival and continuation. Moderating the influence of ego, external opinion and need for recognition and understanding, can only be done consistently when the focus is kept to the path. [Cut to: Scene in Fosse's All That Jazz where he addresses the dancer saying: "I can't make you a great dancer, I may not be able to make you even a good dancer. But I can make you a better dancer."] I highly recommend the Art21 series available on Netflix download. What has only recently dawned on me is: Reliance on Path as protection from ague is secondary to recognition of Path as the only means of advance. Work doesn't come out of nowhere. We create our own context. Everything that holds our attention becomes part of that context. It's this idiosyncratic conglomeration that produces something unique. Pay attention to YOUR context. Ultimately, I love the momentous sense of freedom.
ReplyDeleteBryan, thanks for this. And I can guarantee you that, as hard as it might be - especially when it feels repetitious - I will pay attention to my context. Because for me (now, anyway) the repetition of crosses in my art IS my context, and by faithfully working through that I discover new levels of how and what I want to get at and/or "say"...
ReplyDeleteThen of course the idea of Series. I was reading it's a common error for an artist to present a portfolio to a gallery which shows a wide range of work. It's hard to argue with variety but the author was claiming that the gallery wants a single identity coming from the artist. At least until they are well established. I've challenged myself to think Series and it really doesn't work. My path meanders tremendously. So if the word context is not accurate, I'll say Gestalt. The sum of all your observations. When I ask myself, "What can I do to bring interest to this image?" My opinion of what is "interesting" is defined by what has caught my attention and what I've appreciated over time.
DeleteYou know, this is what they want in short story collections, too. Not a wide range of narrators and people and styles, etc. They want, to a certain extent, that "certain identity", too. Until established, as you say. (And maybe after that, who knows.) It's funny - I didn't think of my repetitions as a "series", but of course it is. Whether it works or not another topic for another day...
ReplyDelete