My first art career 1981-2001

“Pleasure is the root of all art appreciation” – Baudelaire

THE SHOCK OF THE NEW

Most of the bourgeoisie in 19th century France admired and bought Salon art. The Impressionists and the other artists who made the art that we now value and remember were often ignored in their lifetimes. Artists that are now revered, like Van Gogh and Munch, were hardly known and lived lives of hardship and struggle. There are exceptions though, Whistler and Sargent, for example were successful and their work is still respected.

Those who set out to cause shock and sensation are not always remembered either. For every Tracy Emin or Damian Hirst there are hundreds who do not get that recognition. Humans generally want what’s familiar and comforting – or think they do. The real “buzz “of art is in the unexpected – the message we need to hear is not the one we think we want to hear (or see).

At any time there are always innovators – those who make art from a deeply felt need – not for a market. These creators are unable, even if they try, to merely please the preconceptions of the public. Their truest expression comes from somewhere deep inside, and is not purely individual. It’s as if they tap into some more profound collective consciousness.

WARNING : ‘SAFE’ ART WILL NOT FULFIL YOU.

Of course much art will merely be a status symbol, or a safe haven for wealth. In the case of the most valuable works from the greatest masters of the past they can be both artistically fulfilling and a sound investment. It’s a really good idea to look beyond your preconceptions of ‘beauty’ and try to find art that ‘speaks’ to you at a deeper level. This will deliver a much more lasting pleasure and can continually reveal more of itself over time. As you go on in the course of developing your  taste your own individual personality starts to emerge and manifest.

However much we can today admire, say, Renaissance art or impressionism, those who work in those styles now do not have much of value to give us. The insipid and kitschy depiction of a pink rose with a realistic drop of water on it lacks, to me, the real thrill that art can deliver. Somewhere there’s a balance to be struck, for all of us, between purely sensational & shocking and that soothing beauty that lulls us back to what we know. As with all things aesthetic, what pulls us and ignites our enthusiasm plays a large part.

AS a buyer of art you must always follow your own taste and your heart. If you like something that’s a great place to start. Many people keen to start collecting go to the degree shows of art colleges or follow advice from critics and dealers or ‘gallerists’ ,(a word I detest). I would not advise following trends in a copycat way, far better to be BRAVE and follow your own instincts !  !

 

SO WHERE DO I START ?

First; how do you find art in these times? Unless you know artists in your area, look online, on platforms like Pinterest or Instagram or Facebook or even Tumblr. After exploring these for the last few years, I find Instagram is the best but all of them can be good. It really depends which one you like best. I have had to dive deep into a few platforms before finding other artists that were anywhere close to my niche.

 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR :

You will know when you see it. Because you have been unconsciously forming your tastes since childhood, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DRAWN TO WHAT YOU LIKE.

Find an individual, someone who stands out, to you. Any age or background, if you like their work, that’s what’s important.

There are many so-called artists in the world, and unfortunately there is much really bad art. For now, let’s focus on the positive.

You need to find an artist with the necessary skill  –  depending on the type of art.

Find an artist with their own individual voice and something to say.

 

GETTING STARTED :  Some Ideas

§  It’s a good idea to start small. Obviously you will be making a smaller investment, and  works that are not so big are easier to display.

§ Look for online shows like “Incognito”- google it; it’s an annual Charity exhibition in aid of  The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation with all works priced at €50. There are small paintings by many well known artists as well as thousands of amateurs.

§ Be brave ! Believe in your own taste and judgement.

§ Educate yourself.

§ Following your instincts will lead you along the road to learning more and growing your passion. There’s so much out there for you to find!

 

Art is a language

Art is a form of communication, a language. An artist can convey feelings and a message. The truest art forms can bring us into the soul of their creator. That can be a painting or sculpture or a piece of music. For example, I have found  deep and unexplainable feelings when I stood in front of the large paintings of  Mark Rothko. I have had similar feelings with sculpture, music and architecture. Because there is limited space in one article I hope to write more about this in future.

It may be too ambitious to think that you can acquire and own great works of art like this yourself, except for a reproduction of some museum masterpiece – unless you are extremely wealthy!

The many and the few

Some art communicates universally , and some to only a few. But the pathways are often opened up by several passionate enthusiasts without whom the many might never get to know them. Iconic masterpieces become world famous- (Van Gogh Sunflowers , Leonardo Mona Lisa). However, many of the thousands who congregate and take selfies in front of a famous work may not get a very meaningful communication with the mind of the artist. So you may need more time and some solitude to get a full experience.

And Finally …

I encourage you to just get started, if that’s what you want to do. As I finish this I’m listening to one of Beethoven’s last great string quartets – to me a perfect example of great art that triumphs over all obstacles and that can reach into your heart today- 200 years after it was written.

I plan to write more around the topics that I’ve touched on here so please stay tuned! I invite you to join my mailing list to get updates when there is a new post.

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“HAVE you built your ship of death, oh have you?  …”

 

If you don’t know this poem by D.H.Lawrence you may, like me, find the subject off-putting or depressing. But give it a chance and consider it. As humans the fact that we all must die is one of the things we all have in common. Much of the wisdom passed down to us over the centuries has aimed to help with this transition.

I have illustrated this post with a painting “Owlship” because the poem has a connection to the story of its creation. I was made aware of the poem while I was working on the painting. I am grateful to Dr David Louis Magee for this.

On a June morning in 2014 when David came up to my studio, my beagle Rolo, then a puppy, was tied to the walnut tree while we worked and talked at a table outside. Katherine (Kitty) Joyce, my late mother in law came outside with a chair to sit in the sunshine and a memorable conversation happened. Kitty had just been diagnosed with cancer and had had a stroke a few years before. We talked about the painting, which Kitty seemed to like. David had brought a photocopy of the poem and I  did an impromptu reading. We spoke of death and I think she found it comforting. She had  been preparing herself for this for a while.

Three months later I read it again at the “removal” (it’s an Irish thing) for Kitty the night before her funeral. It was moving and seemed and seemed a significant way to say farewell.

When I researched the poem online I found that there are many versions – the poet kept revising. However I prefer the one below.

 

THE SHIP OF DEATH

 

HAVE you built your ship of death, oh have you?

Oh build your ship of death, for you will need it.

 

Now in the twilight, sit by the invisible sea

Of peace, and build your little ship

Of death, that will carry the soul

On it’s last journey, on and on, so still

So beautiful, over the last of seas.

 

When the day comes, that will come.

Oh think of it in the twilight peacefully!

The last day, and the setting forth

Om the longest journey, over the hidden sea

To the last wonder of oblivion.

 

Oblivion, the last wonder!

When we have trusted ourselves entirely

To the unknown, and are taken up

Out of our little ships of death

Into pure oblivion.

 

Oh build your ship of death, be building it now

With dim, calm thoughts and quiet hands

Putting its timbers together in the dusk,

 

Rigging its mast with the silent, invisible sail

That will spread in death to the breeze

Of the kindness of the cosmos,, that will waft

The little ship with its soul to the wonder-goal.

 

Ah, if you want to live in peace on the face of the earth

Then build your ship of death, in readiness

For the longest journey, over the last of seas.

 

There is another poem which is relevant to  this painting. This is “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear. Another painting in this collection with an owl in it which also seems to refer obliquely to the nursery rhyme is called “Owl’s Failed Shipbuilding” and is an assemblage on breadboard too. There are no guitars or pigs in either piece, so they are by no means literal illustrations.

In this one (Owlship) there is not exactly a silvery moon (unless you see the owl’s head as a stand-in), and the boat is not exactly pea-green. However, unusually for my practice, I must have known from early on in the process what the subject was going to be. I hope it’s evident somewhere in the magpie-like accretion of found objects in this post-apocalyptic, ridiculous vessel that I really enjoyed the making of this. The construction of these assemblages always challenges my ingenuity and sets puzzles of making that I love solving. Objects randomly found and picked up, or whose original usefulness has passed, are incorporated into a new purpose.