the empty frame

I enjoy a good conversation about art and aesthetics and for this reason I attended the recent talk at Tufts University entitled, "The Value of Art: The Place of Art in the University Today." The panel was made up of scholars, art historians, sociologists and even an artist. The language was heady and prompted earnest ears and busy pens. There was some very good intellectual terms used that wet my whistle for the "creative word" (see previous post). Such language as empty frames (think Isabella Stewart Art Museum), canonical artist (Warhol), rubric (just a cool word I heard used), public vs. private domain, etc.  Of course the catalyst for the discussion was the recent Brandeis University debacle which I feel may end up providing us with a much needed lesson and benefit before it's said and done.

But as I left the discussion to return to my workaday world of art and photography I felt a void. Although all of the discussion was about art I felt deflowered of ideas and verveless. I realize for me, this comes about whenever one talks about art and money. I am not so naive as to think that one is totally divorced from the other. But for me, I do see that as an artist I need to create in a fashion that is divorced from money.

Art has at its origin a virginal state, a soulful place where creativity flows. From this place an idea forms and mechanics follow. Money is not located at that place of origin. Money is much further down the chain. So at its inception one creates and if the creation is good, money follows.

So in the end I'm redefining "the empty frame". No longer does it stand for stolen art at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or can it be used as a metaphor for a university selling off its art collection. Nope, I'm reclaiming "the empty frame" and it now means that creative ether where nothing but artistic potential lies.

Now I feel better. 

creative words

Words.  Sometimes one good word can set you off into a new line of creativity, or simply open up a whole new field of thought.  For this reason I have a word book: a book of words that I find cool and creative, words I want to know.

Here are some words with their meanings and an invented sentence:

1. lapidary: having the elegance and precision associated with inscriptions on monumental stone.  His prose, although seemingly off the cuff, had a lapidary quality that proved unforgettable.

I love this word because only those words that have special meaning to a person or culture would ever get recorded on stone.  It signifies longevity, a phrase or line of poetry that we want to remember over many lifetimes and generations.

2. habitue: a regular visitor of a place.  While I travel I am an incessant cafe habitue. 

This word is simple, however it captures a certain lifestyle for me.  It makes me want to park myself in the nearest cafe with a cup of tea and a nice book.  

3. sotto voce: under the breath - in a private manner ( in music: softly).  In a manner of sotto voce he revealed his darkest secret.

Borrowed from the Italian it literally means "under the voice".  I think of old times, under the dark eaves of a mountain-top castle, planning intrigue.

As an artist, a good word can set you off in a new direction.  One good word can lift the fog of thought and open up a large field of ideas and inspiration.  If a word isn't fun or interesting I don't get caught up in it too much, but if the word has a special meaning or feel I make a point to write it down and give it some time.

Do you have any creative words?

Stieglitz on Style

Key West 2009, by Robert Castagna

Alfred Stieglitz is well known as the father of art photography.  His marriage and art-partnership with Georgia O'Keefe only helps in solidifying his legacy.  His prints are masterful renditions of black and white and many have become iconic.  Boston's Museum of Fine Arts has several of his prints which they periodically put on view and have available in their print room. 

Here's an important point: whenever you encounter an artist or muse that inspires creativity, such as Stieglitz, it is always appropriate to search for and find his or her original words on the subject.  To do so is to find inspiration and valuable key information.  I stress this because you will always find hundreds of biographies and scholarly studies but none of them compare to the original words expressed by the artist.  Autobiographies, journals, letters and articles are simply the best.

  

For this reason some years ago I acquired a book entitled "Stieglitz on Photography, His Selected Essay and Notes" compiled and annotated by Richard Whelan and published by Aperture.  The book is full of essays and articles penned by Stieglitz. 

There is one article entitled "Simplicity in Composition" which is a gem.  I have read it over and over throughout the years and continue to draw vital data from it.  My most recent reading a couple days ago left me again in awe.  I wondered how I could have missed so many points before!

The most powerful words come about in his description of how to acquire "style".

"...study the best pictures in all media - from painting to photography - and study them again and again,  analyze them,  steep yourself in them until they unconsciously become part of your esthetic being.  Then, if there be any trace of originality within you, you will intuitively adapt what you have thus made a part of yourself, and tinctured by your personality you will evolve that which is called style."

One of the key words in the above passage is "tinctured".  The word means to imbue something with a quality and comes from the idea of tinting fabric with color by dyeing.   Lastly, he ends the article by restating the above:

"Observe the work of recognized artists - I do not mean look at it, but observe it - make it your own.  Then study the appearance of nature more closely than ever before everywhere.  And there is also one simple and direct warning I would like to give: Avoid books on composition as you would the plague, lest they destroy in your mind all other considerations than the formulae which they lay down.  If you must be taught by others, not being able to teach yourself, seek out a broad-minded teacher, but guard your originality as the one precious possession which may save you from turning out machine-made work." 

As one can see the first step is to truly look at accomplished art work.  Go to museum exhibitions, galleries and take out books from the library by the armful.  Then create your own art and study nature and life.  Do this as a constant activity and everywhere.  Learn to be a self-learner, an autodidact.  An artist is a beingness and way of life.  And finally seek and expose that spark of originality and style that develops within your own creativity.