Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What would be simply an academic discussion has become a more significant issue which boils down to, “Are books a form of art?” Perhaps I should give some background. I volunteered to put my matted prints in the Artisans on Main Gallery. One of the organizers suggested I investigate wire racks that she had heard were at Habitat for Humanity. The only ones left were quite unusual ones, but I found one assembly that could fit several rows of pictures on 4 sides with about a 3′ x 2′ footprint. Since Wood Islands Prints has long ago branched into publishing, I decided part of one side of the rack could be dedicated to showing (and offering for sale) (only) the books I have published. After all, laying out books and editing pictures for insertion is a sort of art. Well, this has been a bone of contention from the first week. I think the ‘spiritual’ nature of some of the books was a problem for one individual, but when someone pointed out that many paint-artists would view their works as having spiritual dimensions, the next move was to argue that any books are not an appropriate item in an art gallery. I think block prints would start to push that boundary since they are a form of printing, and the term ‘artisan’ seems to me to have a somewhat broader use. Part of the problem is that the ‘artisans group’ had no defined membership nor any mechanism for deciding such issues. Nevertheless I expect my books will be voted out. As one of my professor associates said decades ago in another context,
The intensity of the argument is inversely related to its importance.
As I commented here some days ago, there are thoughts of setting a minimum price for items based on size…is it fear of being undercut by other artists?…I’d like to purchase 212 square inches of art today. Since all of my matted prints are priced far below suggested thresholds, I am thinking of preempting any vote, shaking the dust off my feet, and moving everything to the boutique across the street (if as I am told, the owner over there is now open to taking them). Then I don’t have to spend a day cutting mats or could even drop the photography classes…I don’t wish to do that at this point, but the climate does not enhance the desire to help.
One good result of this kerfuffle is that I have decided to resume painting. I realized last night that all the paintings on display in the gallery are quite realistic…nothing even slightly abstract hangs on any of the walls. Since I really enjoy painting with palette knife on big surfaces, I have set up today to do a whole batch of pictures with a goal of being quite abstract. Half the garage is full of about 20 hardboard panels and I am going around to all of them in a round robin fashion carrying out steps to create pictures that are abstract but slightly scenic. If it was good enough for Turner, it should qualify now. So far I have done the skies…or at least the first draft. With acrylic paint the dry time is fast enough you have to keep going if you want the blending that can come while paints are still wet…perhaps an hour vs days with oils! I am intrigued at something after Pollock, but there isn’t enough wall space to hang even one of those! My intent is to offer up the best these for the jury process of the gallery…if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.