All artists do not make work from the same place. This does not mean that a particular form is privileged. But it does lead to a particular aesthetic. Work made from chaos and work made from the still and silent can produce two opposing forms. Beyond the “place” from which the artist works is the […]
Epiphanies come. (I would offer, however, they come more often since I have started a rigorous yoga practice). Last night on the eve of my 57 birthday I reviewed. It quickly came to me that it is not that I dislike birthdays – but, I do not like them either. The attention is misplaced. I […]
It is always a startling moment when I recognize what a disruption a show of work is. There is, now, a realization that I was stopped in mid thought, mid sentence, mid stride, vision interrupted, trajectory rocked, etc. The feeling of getting it all back into the space and to continue working is grounding. I […]
In 1961 Ad Reinhardt described his work in these words: “A square (neutral, shapeless) canvas, five feet wide, five feet high, as high as a man, as wide as a man’s outstretched arms (not large, not small, sizeless) trisected (no composition) one horizontal form negating one vertical form (formless, no top, no bottom, directionless). Three […]
Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them. -From the Four Great Bodhisattva […]
Many could and are welcome to add to this. It is entirely out of the context of art making; then again – nothing is out of the context of art making. My most loved friends are at the point in their lives when they are touching the tip of the iceberg that is the end […]
In September I wrote about not writing or speaking publicly about my work for a year. More specifically what I was referring to was forms of abandonment. Abandoning complexities in a studio practice. The psychological and physical hoops that one puts themselves through to make work. Most, if not all, are of our own making. […]
Among the rules of our game is talking and writing about our work exhaustively. Proposals, exhibitions, talks, interviews, articles, the list goes on. It is an expectation of the field. Then there are historians, critics, theorists, who are writing as well. That is their role in the field – a form of translation. The practice […]
I looked at the work I was making and felt the need to sit down with my journal for a discussion about what was happening. The journal holds many spontaneous thoughts that at times become posts for my website. I wrote: As you can imagine the new work is responded to with; “Well, it is […]
5am, tea-water boiling, cats up. I am on sesshin time. As the water boils, I think about our need to make decisions about how we will live our lives. Some people never do make those decisions. Others are deliberate. My guess is that many – most- are not deliberate. They move through life – no […]