"Cogito, Ergo Sum I think therefore I am"
Descartes I art therefore I am.
Documentary
about the late artist Robert Lenkiewicz who spent most of his
working life in Plymouth, England. By Jonathan Goodwin & Kieran
Clubb.
Tanya M. Richey
Artist mixed media a must see for true
collectors
You are what your deep, driving desire is.
As your desire is, so is your will.
As your will is, so is your deed. Painting note: Don't
be afraid of color or mixing media. This was done by completely
wetting a piece of paper and dropping water color into it, letting
it spread then when dry, adding a few strokes of gold and silver
pen.
ACME Art 711 North 5th street Wilmington, North Carolina
Precut Stencils to help you express your spirituality.
The hot peppers are hand painted , the cross is a stencil which can be
purchased from DuVeau
Stencils.
Go to www.stencilit.com to
purchase this
precut decorative wall stencil from DuVeau Stencils.
Authenticity
November 13, 2007
In a public gallery the other day I came upon a tailored young
woman and her equally tailored mother. They were admiring a
painting by an artist I happen to know. As I lingered to see
what they were seeing, the daughter turned to me and said,
"It's the only good one in here." While I was mulling her
dangerous pronouncement, the word "authentic" slipped from her lip
gloss. She invited my agreement with her considerable eyes,
and I gave back.
She had been struck by that indescribable something that says
"quality." Beyond quality--more like "presence." The
real goods
as opposed to the ersatz. It happens. Suddenly you see and you
trust. If you have an open mind, any type of art can do the
trick--realistic, abstract, a lofty installation or a practical
craft. And as creative people, wherever we're coming from, we
intuitively know authenticity is something worth having.
I've always thought that authenticity wasn't an add-on but the
best effort of an authentic person. This person may have acute
powers of observation or an eye beyond the ordinary. You can
sometimes tell the authentic by seeing something else nearby
that isn't. In a way it's sad that people will actually pay for
this vacuum. Intuitively or unconsciously, finer eyes see
virtue beside subject and rendering. As I said, it's
indescribable. "Casual, confident, understated, refined," may
be words these eyes use. Some simply feel an underlying ego
force or the power of intended design.
Folks with finer eyes are not always authorities or critics.
They may be quiet ones who think and feel for themselves.
Neither schooled nor influenced, they may have deep pockets or
shallow. Maybe they're just adept at spotting phonies or have a
distaste for the artificial. What's left is what we sometimes
call "taste."
A good looking fellow came by--blue suit, striped shirt, shiny
green tie. Perhaps the boyfriend--he brought the ladies' coats.
After some encouragement, he too looked long and hard at the
painting--up close, like a lawyer examining evidence. "There's
less to this than meets the eye," he said. Perhaps unknowingly,
he was quoting Tallulah
Bankhead. We've illustrated the
painting in question at the top of the current click back. See
url below.
"I get it," I said to myself as I left the gallery, "No
matter
what anyone thinks or says, 'authentic' is still a matter of
opinion."
Best regards,
Robert
PS: "He is only an eye, but my God what an eye." (Paul
Cezanne
was speaking about Claude
Monet)
Esoterica: Think of what authenticity isn't: poor conception,
faulty rendition, bluff technique, crudity, lack of feeling,
failure of understanding, overworking, grandiosity. Yep, one
small passage may have more authenticity than one great
thundering opus. Furthermore, what about the joy of just doing
it? Writers to the twice-weekly letter often tell us how
important it is to simply enjoy the work. But what about that
good-looking guy in the blue suit, or the canny Tallulahs of
this world? Does authenticity exist?
