Art I like
At the beginning of the millennium, my first year at university was coming to a close, and I had a problem. I couldn’t answer a very simple question: “what artists’ work do you like?” When Hess, professor and demi-god, asked me this seemingly innocuous question, it unleashed a powerful urge in me. I had always been an obsessive image collector, but now I focused my gaze on the works of other artists.
Egon Schiele’s Portrait Of The Artist’s Sister-in-law, Covering Mouth With Hands 1917
Schiele’s angsty line fit right into the teenage melodrama that I was living in at the time (still live in today…!).
André Derain’s Self-portrait With Pipe 1953
Along with Schiele, Derain was one of my first loves, one of those that I’ll never fully get over. When I discovered that snippets of Derain’s mostly unpublished writings were available, I consumed them along with his work. They were my introduction to an artist’s mind, to the thought and intuition that go into making a painting.
Derain made one remark in his theorizing that stuck with me more than the rest of it. He said “there’s something in the lame man’s face which limps.” When I first read that, it was a revelation: a person’s whole self is manifest in her-his face, it’s so true! At some point though, I understood that this is where Derain and I would go our separate ways. I mean to show the something in the lame man’s face which dances.
Arnold Mesches Anna Mesches 13 1995
I met Mesches’ work in person before I knew a thing about him or it. Immediately, I began devouring any information that I could find about the artist. Today, I couldn’t tell you what the paintings mean to him, but I do know what they mean to me. His work helped me understand that portraits of real people are important despite how undervalued they are in contemporary art.
Carl Hall’s The Moth circa 1963
When I discovered Hall’s work, I was an intern at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art (an institution associated with my university). The Museum was putting up this Oregon artist’s retrospective, and I fell in love with the work primarily because I was handling all of it. Familiarity did not breed contempt! In reproduction, the work looks a little design-y and 1950s, but, in person, there’s a depth and a mood to it that’s lovely.
Rick Bartow’s Stories Roll Out Like Water 2001
Another major show at the Museum introduced me to the work of this Pacific Northwestern artist. Installing the work was like playing with paper dolls and puppets: each piece had such a personality that the Museum staff (some of us anyway!) started making up what the characters would say to each other! I’m a sucker for a well-turned line, and Bartow certainly knows how to make a mark.
William Park’s Talking With Myself, Behind My Back 2003
I happened upon this work as I was finishing up my degree. Park is another local artist, one who can make a painting move and breathe.
Nelson, Robt A’s Repairing A Frankenstein Dog, Unrecorded Events In Oz, Number 1 2005
Nelson’s art is a more recent discovery. I like the intricate iconography of it. Far from shutting me out with infinite details, the works make me want to live in their world!
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CATEGORIES: - Philosophy - Featuring artists - Reviews -
