What Is Art?

I recently attempted to enter several 20 x 30 inch prints (framed) into an art competition and after explaining to the director of the art competition that I was submitting "Giclee" prints that I had framed, I was told that they would be accepted.

When I arrived to drop off the art, I was told that this was NOT art because it was a print on canvas. I explained that these are known as Giclee prints and some are hanging in the MFA in Boston. Having started my art career sitting in a field and letting flies and mosquitoes add texture to my painting while the wind blew dust over the wet canvas to compound the problem, you can see that I was insulted. The "director" (if that is what she wants to call herself) refused to acknowledge that these painting/giclee prints were in fact art, so here's the question:

What is art? The fact that you photograph or scan your painting and then reproduce it onto canvas as a Giclee print make it any less art? I always thought this made them Limited Edition Prints. Should she have allowed me to enter them into the competition or should she have stated that they were not allowed at the beginning when I first contact them.

Playing at Being an Artist or Being an Artisan

There is a difference between someone playing at being an artist and a true artisan. I say this because having viewed David Greenbaum’s art (pottery), I would have to put myself in the “playing at being an artist” column.

Let me explain; what was to be a simple photo shoot of the peek colors in the Pocono Mountains turned out to be a complete surprise. I would have never thought I would experience such a collaboration of art and artists as I found in the small town of Milford Pennsylvania. Of all the galleries visited, two stood out. They were the Blue Stone Gallery (Fine and Functional Art) and Highlands Photographic Guild and Fine Art Gallery. In both galleries, the talent displayed was superior to other galleries I’ve visited or seen on the web, especially the BlueStone Gallery. Even the placement of the art was done in a sophisticated and artistic manner. However, what was really impressive was David’s pottery.

For me, it was like going back 50 years ago and experiencing my then brother-in-law’s work, which he had created for the LA Art Center. Like David, he had burnished his work (spending hours and hours to create the exact look) instead of glazing the final art piece.

This burnishing process (polishing the unfired clay surface with a smooth stone) includes several firings to create the smooth surface and exact look the artist is trying to create (all which can destroy the piece) and only a true artisan (in my view) can accomplish this to the artistic quality, sensitivity, and creativity displayed in the pieces on display in the BlueStone Gallery.

All of David’s pieces provide the viewer with an emotional experience. For example, his three bells which are approximately 4 feet tall, when struck produce a deep unbelievable pure tone.

As David states, a glaze was used on the bells but the majority of his pieces use “the coloration that is created through multiple firings, including a “sagger” firing where the pieces are exposed to intense carbon in the kiln and a smoking or pit firing where grasses are burnt in contact with the clay surface to produce variegated colors”.

The bottom line is that until we can get the MFA in Boston or New York to display David’s work, I feel that if you are interested in viewing a true artisan’s work, you must visit the BlueStone Gallery, meet David, and see/touch this incredible work.

Milford Pennsylvania is approximately four hours from Boston just off Hwy 84 and three hours from New York.
You can view some of David’s art by checking out his website. http://www.greenbaumpottery.com
Email David at: dave@greenbaumpottery.com

Robert Gividen (aka pachëk) can be reached by email at:
pachek.fineart@yahoo.com and to view pachek’s art, go to:
http://www.pachek.com

Art Critics

In my opinion the only person(s) that can provide an honest critique of a piece of art is the artist or the individual purchasing the art. The reason is quite simple as they are the only individuls with a proprietary investment in the art.

I came to this conclusion after asking two "credible" individuals to dinner with the idea that they would review several of my paintings, which they agreed to do. One individual was an art critic that worked for the local museum and the other was a interior designer and art critic for the local news paper.

After dinner and several bottles of my best wine, I took them into the kitchen where I had placed several paintings. Their comments were more than gracious and with that the evening ended. All was fine until they both agreed (while exiting the front door) that the one piece they really liked was the piece hanging on the wall behind the stove. I thanked them and closed the door absolutely livid because the "piece behind the stove" was a piece of linoleum. I had put it there to cover the hole in the wall where the stove exhaust pipe would have gone had there been an exhaust pipe.

After this episode I decided that if I were ever asked to reviewed someone's art, it would be an honest critic based on design, structure, lighting, texture, a feeling or sense of emotion, and overall composition; for are we not all attempting to present our personal reality through our art?