Hot Country, by Elmer Schooley I was introduced to the work of Elmer Schooley (1916-2007) through my friend Colleen Burke. Colleen has a legendary nose for great art, and she came to know Elmer (known to his friends as “Skinny”) after becoming a big fan of his work. We took a trip together to Santa […]
The Machinery at Hand
Donna Summer, RIP Donna Summer is gone. The queen of disco will never be forgotten by anybody who was alive in the 70’s. Come on. Admit it. We all danced wildly to her music. And it was fun. Disco doesn’t make it onto any of my playlists these days. But Summer is the sine qua […]
- Aesthetics
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Breaking it Down
Peter Plagens and Jerry Saltz (Photo: Art Forum) I’m not that worried about people in general liking my painting (de gustibus, what makes horse races, etc.) because I’m more or less used to their not, generally speaking. My abstract paintings are, I think, too craggy or disjointed or garish (although I have gone through a […]
Guston as Hafiz
From the tomb of Hafiz at Shiraz, Iran Gurus and teachers. Having one is a given in most spiritual paths, common in many cultures and certain professions. But because I was never a good candidate for the disciple path (according to my mother, my resistance to authority was well developed at three years old), I […]
Two Chords Are Enough
The cast of Woody Sez (Photo: Wendy Mutz) One of the things I love about India is that the stories most sacred to the culture are preserved everywhere. From street shrines to oversized temple statues, references to the ancient Sanskrit epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are ubiquitous. After a while even interlopers like […]
- Aesthetics
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Color Dogmatism
Josef Albers, the Color Czar (for some folks anyway) “In visual perception a color is almost never seen as it really is—as it physically is. This fact makes color the most relative medium in art.” –Josef Albers “If you don’t do it my way, I suggest you commit suicide.” –Josef Albers How humans perceive color […]
Bruce Conner: Authentic Tomfoolery
Bruce Conner The archetype of The Fool has been written about at length. The permutations are many, but the most common variance for most of us is from Shakespeare’s plays. Fools are never what they seem. And they are certainly not “fools.” Art history has its fools as well, even (and especially) in recent years. […]
Rapt with Satisfied Attention
“Pale Pair (for Malevich)”, hand dyed wool on linen, by Altoon Sultan (Photo: Altoon Sultan) In recent years I’ve begun to think of all my various endeavors — painting, textiles, photography, blogging — as part of a whole artistic life, broader and more ordinary than my New York art-world life. I want to make art […]
Making, Matter and Unity
“Surfaces seduce and entities evolve: It is exquisite getting lost in the mysterious pageant of the making.” (Close up of a recent piece) I spend a lot of time alone. But being isolated for most of the day doesn’t mean the mind stops chattering. It chatters constantly, but the dialogue is either internal (between entities […]
- Aesthetics
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Willing Magic
Agnes Martin at Dia:Beacon The etymology of the term “jaded” surprised me. It has been traced back to a 14th century Middle English word for a worn-out horse, one that can no longer pull a cart or work the fields. It is about being wearied, exhausted, spent, bored, out of juice. While the roots of […]