Artwork of the month by Piet Mondrian

There are two artists that I look toward for their mastery of the philosophy of abstract oil painting. Wassily Kandinsky, and Piet Mondrian; both masters of their craft and shaman philosophers of modern art.

There are four Mondrian paintings at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts that I have spent years meditating on.  I have read everything Mondrian has written, and rarely disagreed with his thesis.   His work has inspired me and pushed me to be honest with my work, helping me see my visual language as my own.

Piet Mondrian

Dutch, 1872-1944

"Composition with Blue, Red, Yellow, and Black"

1922, oil on canvas

"Red Gladioli"

1906, Oil on canvas

"Irises"

1910, oil on canvas

"Composition with Blue and Red"

1932, oil on canvas

The MIA hardly ever puts this painting out on display.  I have only seen it twice.

"All painting – the painting of the past as well as of the present – shows us that its essential plastic means we are only line and color."

-Piet Mondrian.

Artwork of the month by Wassily Kandinsky

Kandinsky is and always has been my biggest influence in abstract art (aside from Caravaggio).  I have read everything he wrote attentively.  I have traveled to museums simply to view his works of art.  I have visited the Guggenheim in New York 17 times to spend only a few hours in front of "Composition #8," his finest work. I studied his life, his works, and his impact so completely that I feel as if I knew him personally.

I can conclude that I truly admire his work, but I would never have liked him as a person.  Kandinsky was a spoiled rich kid infused with the misguided plight of privilege.  Albeit, his works of art and his thesis are more insightful than any artist in our recorded history. Bold statement, yes it is, and I stand by it.

I have been studying this painting periodically since 1996 at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Wassily Kandinsky

Russian, 1866-1944

"Study for Improvisation V"

1910, oil on pulp board.

Kandinsky painted on both sides of the work.  It was a common practice for artists of the early 1900s to paint on both sides of fiber board, and then split them up and sell them as separate pieces.  I have painted on both sides of a canvas several times.  The sibling to this painting is in a private collection as far as I know.  I have only seen it in person once (in 2005), when the two paintings were exhibited together for the first time.

"Two Riders and Reclining Figure"

1910, oil on pulp board.

So the original paintings, "Two Riders and Reclining Figure" and "Study for improvisation V," were separated until 2005 when exhibited as "Kandinsky: A Relationship Revealed" at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  The money tier made a huge international deal about how amazing this was and how great to have the two works reunited again, even if for only a moment.  The reality is that Kandinsky was poor at the time he painted these works and it wasn't because he wanted the extra money from a double sale for the cost of one...it was because he had to paint no matter what the consequences.  Historians, curators, directors, and investors love the tales but lack the understanding that an artist has about another artist.  

"The artist must have something to say, for mastery over form is not his goal but rather the adapting of form to its inner meaning." 

-Wassily Kandinsky.

A new year for a fresh study of oil painting

I normally don't take the passing of the new year too seriously.  I have never set a New Year's resolution and I don't make great plans for change in my life, as I like the direction its going.  I don't party until I puke like the rest of the pot-bellied vacationers taking a night off from life.  

This year is somehow different.  I have a real job, and its in a museum where I will be surrounded by works of art five days a week.  I have been visiting museums for study for nearly ten years now, and this opportunity to truly become familiar with a museum's collection is one I can't pass up. 

This time as the new year comes about, I set one goal for myself.  To empty the cup and refill it with a better understanding of art history.  I intend to study the works of art here at my new job at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and perfect my craft as an artist.

I want to keep my employment for five years.  That should be enough time to perfect my craft, set myself up for working as a professional artist full time, and refill my cup with a better understanding of art history.  

So enjoy your new year and make some art...

...why not right?

Artwork of the month by Egon Schiele

Egon Schiele was an expressionist during a time when expressionism was new and innovative.   For the most part, expressionist works today are worthless decoration.  I explored the ideas of expressionistic oil painting early in my career and eventually rejected it.  Expressionism is an ism that I grew to detest, then appreciate, then pass off as a phase, then start to enjoy again.  Nonetheless, Schiele was clearly an innovative artist with uninhibited erotic desires.  The majority of his subject matter are erotic nudes.

Egon Schiele

Austrian, 1890-1918

"Portrait of Paris von Gütersloh"

1918, oil on canvas.

Egon Schiele died from influenza in 1918 before completing this painting.  Regardless, this unfinished painting is a masterpiece.  The subject, Paris von Gütersloh, a painter, writer, actor, producer, etc, was a friend Schiele admired for his prolific and expansive career in the arts.  This being the last painting Schiele worked on, it is a treat to look at because we have a chance to see the process of his work.  It is display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

"I do not deny that I have made drawings and watercolors of an erotic nature. But they are always works of art.  Are there no artists who have done erotic pictures?"

-Egon Schiele.

I got a Job at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts!!!

I was finally hired on as a Gallery Guard at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts after three years of applying.  

I have spent the last ten years living in areas where I was close enough to walk to the museum in under five minutes.  I truly love this building and its collection of art.  It's better than the Walker anyway.  I was told that it took me three years to be employed at the MIA because it is a seniority-based job where people rarely leave.  The health and dental benefits are crazy good, and crazy cheap (less than you pay anywhere, I swear).

My goal...

To truly familiarize myself with the permanent collection and convert what I see into my own works of art.  I have been doing that for ten years, but its not the same.  Now I will be surrounded by works of art for 40 hours a week.  With the nature of the job, I won't be able to just pick where I am posted, so I will be forced to look at works of art I have never considered.  

I announce now that I will complete my study of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in under six years.  So let's say that my employment has a shelf life of five to seven years.  That is a good projection, hoping that everything goes according to my plans for my work in the future.  No expectations, no worries, here we go for another major life change.  

I might be fairly busy this first year, so the posts will come...

...maybe not as often as I would like, but they will come.

Artwork of the month: "The Village"

I simply love this oil painting.  Cubism had its moments, that is for sure.  Albert Gleizes is considered a founding father of cubism.  He has an overwhelming amount of good paintings in his portfolio, but what he lacks is self control, as his work is rarely edited.  This painting is one of my favorite works on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Albert Gleizes

French, 1881-1953

"The Village"

1913, oil on canvas.

Thanks for reading...
...more to come soon.

Artwork of the month: "Bacchante and Satyr"

I love the cheesy rococo art movement.  It just sings about over the top taboo desires.  One of my favorites is this marble sculpture at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Jean-baptise Aguste Cleainger

French, 1814-1883

"Bacchante and Satyr"

1869, marble.

I find this sculpture to be sexually charged with mischief and intent; just look at the expressions on their faces. The Bacchante is a party girl.  She drinks, fucks, and has a good time all the time in the naked name of a mystery religion.   Her facial expression is one of intoxication, as her body language is inviting the faun to play.  The faun is posed just as provocatively, just look at his left leg.  He knows what to expect and has no shame to it.  All this sexual desire bottled up in the virtue of good taste and opulent decoration.  Bravo rococo!

Everyone likes sex...

...everyone like art about sex.

Artwork of the month: "Reply to Red"

Tanguy has been one of my favorite artists since I was in high school.  His use of light-source is strict and as uncomplicated as his compositions.  Albeit, his work is not simple.  The forms appear to be wrapped in fabric, containing his personal subject matter and eluding to your own experiences.

You can see two of Tanguy's paintings on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Yves Tanguy

French, 1900-1955

"Reply to Red"

1943, oil on canvas.

"I believe there is little to gain by exchanging opinions with other artists concerning either the ideology of art or technical methods."

-Yves Tanguy

I also believe the opinions of my contemporaries are without value...

...in that I can only trust myself.

5 reasons we all might like Goya

In lieu of "Artwork of the month," I give you Goya.

I like Goya, maybe you do too.  I have been looking at one of his paintings for years now.
So why do we like Goya?

1.  Francis Bacon and Goya would have been great friends. 

2.  Goya's work is dark, realistic philosophically and visually, and honest.

3.  Goya is a war hero of sorts.

4. Goya's historical prowess is accurate. 

5.  He is not boring all of the time.

 This oil painting is on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  I enjoy looking at Goya's work for the visual record of his times that it gives us.  Albeit, I do not really like his work.  It is boring to me.

Francisco Jose de Goya Lucientes

Spanish, 1746-1828

"Self Portrait with Dr. Arrieta"

1820, Oil on canvas.

“The dream of reason produces monsters."

- Goya

Artwork of the month: Fernand Léger.

I have been contemplating this work of art at the Minneapolis institute of arts for several years now.  Up close and personal this oil paining looks vibrant and alive while muted and soft.  Compositionally this painting is bold and subtle.  The subject matter is plainly laid out for the view to understand through the abstraction.  

The impact that this has had on my own compositions is telling in my art three studies.  The example that Leger leaves behind for abstract painters is one of simple bold daily life.  Besides life is more interesting than stories, and this painting tells us no mythology, but only presents its subject.

Fernand Léger

French, 1881-1955

"Table and fruit"

1909, oil on canvas

Thanks for checking in with the blog...

...I will post more of my ink studies soon.

Artwork of the month: "The Doryphoros"

This month I want to write about one of my favorite sculptures at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Doryphoros.

This sculpture is a Roman copy of Greek bronze sculpture.  Wealthy Romans had marble copies of Greek sculptures as a status trend.  This copy of the Doryphoros is one of five left in the world, and this one is almost completely intact.

The proportions of the Doryphoros are in perfect balance between tension and relaxation.  

Take a good look at the pose he stands in, it looks familiar doesn't it.
We all stand this way, we rest while we stand.  

The man is not simply standing, he is in motion as the sculpture shows us the balance of his gait.

Roman 

The Doryphoros

120-50 B.C.E.

Marble.

I have spent 11 years admiring this sculpture...

I have yet to tire of its visage.  

Artwork of the month: "The Attributes of the Arts and the Rewards which are Accorded them"

Throughout my life, there have been a few paintings that heavily influenced me to become an artist.  As an artist, I partially blame my career choice on this painting.

Jean-baptiste Simeon Chardin

French,1699-1779

"The Attributes of the Arts and the Rewards which are Accorded them."

1766, oil on canvas.

I saw "The Attributes of the Arts and the Rewards which are Accorded them" for the first time while on a grade-school field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It changed me forever (as powerful paintings do).  I already wanted to be an artist, and after seeing this painting, I was convinced that being an artist was the most important work a man could aspire to do.

This painting is currently on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Go check it out and enjoy its truth and lies.

"You can be sure that most of the high positions in the country would be empty if one were admitted only after an examination as severe as the one we painters must pass."

-Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin.