Thinking about why I work in the method I work in, I think
it has very much to do with the fact that I am indecisive and self-conscious
about the decisions I make. Thus, works
that look unfinished arise. However, as
many have said this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Actually I found an article
exploring details of famous paintings that confirm that these seemingly
finished paintings where in fact unfinished works.
However, this doesn’t give me any consolation considering
these artists were true masters and I am not. So, I did some exploration into
unfinished art and I actually found a website dedicated to it where you can
submit your unfinished work. http://unfinishedartists.wordpress.com/
This site offers artists the chance to discard their
unfinished work so that someone else can finish it. The site also follows the
process of the work as it evolves. I
find this idea very interesting and I see it as centering on the philosophy of “one
man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.
However, it seems as though the people who submit their unfinished works
do so because they are burdened by them and want someone else to finish the
job. I understand how the work is now
about process and not content, but for who? When I set something aside, I do so
in hopes of one day “salvaging” the work but I never feel burdened by it. If I did, I would just throw it in the
trash. So, I wanted to find an artist
that intentionally created unfinished work to see what that looked like and if
they felt burdened. In this search I found Agnes Toth, a painter, who creates
unfinished paintings. They actually look
like pieces have been torn from them because the parts that are showing look
complete. What is interesting about her work is that even though it looks
unfinished, it really isn’t. So, maybe
unfinished work can be just as valid as finished work.
I mentioned this in class the other day about this school of thought decades ago on this process of creation for the artist as it relates to an inward journey. As that school of thought went, everyone does this except when artists engage in self-reflection/discovery, things are created. Some would consider the process of creation a byproduct of introspection, other might say that creation WAS the process of introspection but either way, things are created as the artist engages in a personal journey.
ReplyDeletePeople call that "stuff" that is created "art" but the people who followed this particular school of thought viewed the process as art while the "works" were just evidence of that journey. Or more simply: art is what the artist does, not what the artist makes. I think that's profound.
I say forget about whether or not something you do is finished or not and just create. The work will just be a reflection of whether you're personally dealing with or finding out about yourself or whatever. Instead of making it about the end piece, make it about the going through it.
I'll see if I can find it, you might find it interesting (sorry for the lengthy comment).
-Jay