Burton Dickerson, A Blog

Hey- Ruhl, GKG, … Check out Anselm Kiefer on the web. I had forgotten all about him,have only seen one painting, but a powerhouse! D

Anselm Kiefer

More about this realism nonsense : The Armory Show of 1913 in Brooklyn, introduced modern European art, particularly Cubism and Surrealism to America, notables, Marcel Duchamp, Georges Braque, others. The Armory Show is amply covered on the net as well as in books. However worth noting is the effect this show had on the American art public and artists . Some progressive American artists saw it as a liberation and hotly pursuid it. Others worked against it and attempted to create a strictly Americanized art, namely Realism and Regionalism….. often trying to capture the natural majesty and beauty of the land and never quite succeeding. Others seeking beauty and meaning in the ugly ( Ashcan School ) What seemed to remain eternally was an unyielding attitude of realism versus interpretive art, an attitude which denied many artists and viewers the pleasure of diversity. Incidently, Impressionism came late to America at the turn of the century. pretty much overwith in Europe.

Whenever you get a chance to see a” retrospective ” exhibit of any notable artist, do so. The shows usually cover the artist’s entire career, often several hundred works, over 30 to 40 years… and they tell it all. No matter who the artist is you will admire him. His life’s work stretched out before you is impressive. I have seen a few. I’ll never forget them and the impact of the massive volume of work. : Ellswort Kelly, David Hockney, Marcel Duchamp., just some of them. Currently, there is a retrospective show featuring Robert Rauchenberg at the County Museum in LA

I posed a topic of conversation to the luncheon group… the discussion of “realism ” as it pertains to art. After much vigorous chatter we were soon dozing off. But not before we considered a few thoughts. One member offered a workable definition: Realism is a manner, not a style of representing the visible world with relative objectivity. But when we rattled off the names of a number of realists, the term began to fall apart. How do some of the following artists hold together under one catagory ? Whistler, Hart Benton, Hopper, Wyeth, Homer, Eakins, Hockney, Cassate, Etc. The answer is they don’t need to . We insist upon pidgeonholing everything from pidgeons to artists. Lets not carry on our art discussions with one liners… except me, of course. D

The art department that I am familiar with has taken on radical changes over the past ten years. Enrollment in old fashion painting classes has almost disappeared. Graphic arts (com) dominates the department now. The gallery exhibits, showing undergraduate and graduate work, appears slick and highly sophisticated, far above what the student is actually capable of. One can see the intense input from the instructor. Conceptualism is all important… the idea is more important than the product. A noticeable absence of color in the total gallery view prevails. Black, white and gray is dominant. Photography and its influence permeates most work. “Multi media,” the mixing of graphics, photography, fibres, and illustration is very active. There is the appearence of a “STAPLES” product. What traditional painting there is (on canvas) is illustrative, message concious, and careful. The student that I recall could live with trial and error, not so today’s student. He expects his instructor to lead him through safely. Personally, I feel a sterility mixed in with baffling sophistication. In my day, if anything, we were guilty of allowing the student to drift. The talented ones sought us out. The not so talented kept their distance.