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A College Loan on Taste? "Cubism is no different than any other school of painting. The same principles and the same elements are common to all. The fact that for a long time, cubism has not been understood and that even today there are people who cannot see anything in it means nothing. I do not read English, an English book is a blank book to me. This does not mean that the English language does not exist and why should I blame anyone else but myself if I cannot understand what I know nothing about." Pablo Picasso - Artists on Art from the XIV to the XX Century 1945 I cannot say with any type of conviction or honesty that "I know what I am academically referring to when I am talking about art." However, it is quite another thing for me to say that "I do not know what I am talking about when it comes to art." The two statements have drastically different meanings for me. Granted, I never attended one single class on the subject of art history. Though I did take a basic drawing class once during my undergraduate degree days. I dated a girl once who was studying fine art. I own a book on fine art, seen many movies, have read various passages concerning art and have attended many art museums in various cities. I had a friend once who was an "artist" too. All of these experiences have their own unique intrinsic value. When I was dating the fine art painter, I would spend a great deal of time in the studio with her, reading whatever book I was reading while she struggled with her unconscious desire to rebel against the standard art world, and against herself at the same time. It was a great war taking place in four barren cold walls somewhere south of Boston. Her brush vs. her. Her world vs. the brush. The canvas vs. all. The intensity behind one single stroke would some days bring her to tears. The basic drawing class: What a way to escape the real world pressures of having to take hour after hour of dry lecture concerning financial theory. Hours spent sitting somewhere on a rock sketching trees or benches. It didn't get easier than that. I also had the privilege of sketching a nude model for a couple of weeks. What better way to get away from those other academic pursuits. Suffice it to say, I shed no tears in that class. That friend I had who was an "artist" was actually the inspiration for this small ramble and I have never even gotten around to the topic: graffiti. Small factoid of the week: Did you know that "graffiti" is actually the plural of graffito? (Surprisingly enough, my spell checker did.) I had an old friend who was a graffito artist from New York. Each graffiti or graffito artist has their own tag (like signing their own name). His was SupaShaka and he had some really cool pictures of work he did on the top of a train. You could only see it by looking down from the surrounding buildings. Cool idea. I don't know, do you consider graffiti art or a scar on our cities? Up until I met Shaka, graffiti mainly meant it was time for me to lock the doors on my car and not make any random stops in the neighborhood. Actually, it still does trigger that response for me. However, I harbor a bit more respect for good graffiti. Interestingly enough, I do notice the occasional "Jesus Saves" graffiti these days. Now there is no art involved in those messages though. Shaka would not be impressed. They have as much impact on me as the "Dave + Sharon" I see when I cross under an overpass. Art is truly a subjective thing. Today, I sit in Barnes and Noble and I notice crowds of middle aged women with red high heeled shoes and aqua tight fit leotards (of questionable taste) lined up with their daughters for a book signing by Kevyn Aucoin. I am not sure why Kevyn spells his name with a 'Y' (neither does my spell checker) and I wonder if it is an artistic way of making his name unique. Well, Kev has written a book on make-up with step by step instructions on how to turn Gwyneth Paltrow into a James Dean look-a-like, or Tori Amos into a Cherokee Indian. This is art to these women I guess. I guess it is even art to me, although you will very very rarely find me applying blush. All of the experiences I originally listed serve as semi-interesting stories about my life but they do not qualify me at all for "knowing what I am talking about" when it comes to art. What does qualify me for making this statement? My taste. I find Kevyn's name kind of lame but not his 'art.' Same with graffiti. I know what I like to see, hear, taste, smell, touch. I never really needed a class to teach me either. Found this really cool graffitti webstie the other day (flash): |
