it's hard to believe it's december. i'm kind of in shock. the last month of the year? already? how? this week/weekend is the BIG cheese art fair extravaganza in miami. the above piece doily trees by a doily lake of mine went off to art- miami with richard levy gallery
wish i was going too - some sun sounds nice. i've never been to the fairs at miami, although i have been to and worked at art fairs in san francisco, LA, and new york. i'm conflicted about the whole art fair thing. on the one hand it doesn't claim to be anything other than a shameless commerce event. there are lots of people, and parties, and it's nice to see people excited about art. you get to see a TON of art all at once by some of the best artists making work in the world. on the other hand i think it's hard for artists to create work just for fairs - when you create work for a whole show you get to develop an idea [hopefully to its fullest potential]. when you are creating work just to fit into a booth or hotel room it's hard to keep the idea of making something saleable out of your head [not that making art for sale is necessarily a bad thing. i have just found that it can interfere with the overall process]. space is usually limited so you tend to need to make smaller work. blue chip artists always get primo spaces, and sometimes it's a little hard to stare the commerce aspect of art making so square in the face.
on a whole other note. i had a critique in my studio last night. most of the work was in progress so it's a nice time to get feedback. as i went about my very long and sometimes rather stupid day today [in a nutshell i spent over 2 1/2 hours at the permit office only to find my application wasn't complete... and then made a subsequent run to kinkos to make enough copies for my app where they were out of giant paper. so i waited for the roll to arrive and then they couldn't get the register to work. over an hour later i then missed the closing time of the permit office. sigh] i had a lot of time to mull over what was said.
so what was in my head? nostalgia - how much is too much? subtle subervisity : do i care if it's too subtle for some people? being a bit tired of overthinking/worrying about the potential political nature of some of what i make. why do we sometimes cringe when people use the word "decorative" with art? am i purposefully turning away from inserting "high" conceptual content in my work at the moment? do i want the conceptual content to be the search for beauty and space, using furniture as stand ins for relationships, and honoring historic domestic activities? is that enough for me? or am i running from something that i should be facing? and piles. i was thinking about piles again. i think i need to bring back more piles.
i am almost finished teaching for the quarter. just big mounds of grading to tackle. i think i can i think i can. i'm kind of feeling like there won't be much holiday magic around here... but you never know.
thanks for reading my art rant.
whoa - lots of thoughts swirling around. I love the trees with the doily. I would love to see the doily match the trees.
OK, I don't have an answer to your art questions but I enjoyed reading them and thinking about them. Your Kinkos fiasco reminded me of the Chapelle Show "Pop Copy" sketch. Have you seen it?
some good questions there. all i know is, you have some amazing instincts, art and otherwise, and i ADORE that doily piece. really truly.
I think I can... I think I can... go, little steam train, go!
May December slow down the pace a little for you... and for me... and for everyone.
Great work, as always. I ought to have mentioned that sooner.
So many questions and different concepts here... I'll have to stop and read and join the words and... to let the ideas you pour here inside my head and think them over.
Part of the art magic is that you do what you feel like doing, what it feels fine at that moment, what it works for you... You don't have to think if it works for others. Iguess it must be pretty easy to lose perspective if you are in the art fairs world.
:)
I, too, love the trees....like the ones you did at Little Bird last year!
Unfortunately, it takes perseverance to get through the permitting and other processes that are part of a remodel/construction job. Don't be defeated by the bureaucrats who make it challenging sometimes!
you ask great questions lisa. thanks for sharing your new doily piece with us. love it. xo
Been there and done that!
A frustrating day and lots of doubts.
I think it goes with being creative (the doubts not the wasted time). Your work does what it does exactly because you give it such a beguiling form. Stick with it!
another great post lisa. very interesting questions. also the thoughts of making art for selling..
i love your work!!
enjoy the holidays and some quiet time. hugs, xx
i don't know how december got here so quickly either. i am still in shock even as the days continue to go by. and you + e + martha are grading and i'm writing papers for others to grade. i always feel slightly guilty about that :)
i would love to chat with you (after finals!) about the questions you pose about the conceptual/ possibly political nature of your work, and what is 'enough' in terms of conceptual concept. there is so much to chew on here. and i am so curious to hear how you are thinking about resolving those issues (or if there is even a resolution possible).
only a few more weeks left of the semester... we can do it! :) xox
Thank you so much for your sharing, so interesting reading about the difference between art for fairs and art for art's sake. A Lot of thoughts swirling, hope you get time to relax and dream of fresh ideas for the holidays and the coming year!
Rant on dear friend. It seems you have much to mull over.
I think the best way to alleviate some of your concerns may be to go back to the very basic question of 'do you love making this work?' If so, as you obviously do, then I don't think the other issues matter as much.
xo lj
PS Sending a little seasonal magic your way.
PPS My promise of the first edition of my gem zine will have to wait until January as Gracia and I have sightly more ambition plans for it.
i love the art rants and am grateful for them. i could read a whole book about your art rants so i hope you keep posting them! it's just great to see the bigger questions that influence your work, and then to see the work too. cheers to you!
looking forward to our january art date. and hoping some holiday magic catches you by surprise.