Accepted into Unseen Art Show, August 8

I just got the message that I have been accepted in the Unseen Art show at ArtPoint Gallery, on August 8. I spoke to the organizer, an extremely friendly lady named Elizabeth. She said she would like to sneak me into the show, even though I'm not really an "emerging artist." (I thought I was!) She said that I really should be in a gallery instead. That was extremely flattering to hear. I haven't approached any galleries, and more or less assumed that I am not ready for that yet.

...But it does make me think that if I could get into a gallery, maybe that would be a way of partially supporting myself in New York. I'm not sure what the rigors are of working for a gallery. It seems to me that you need to somewhat crank out the product. Which could actually be a very practical way of making me work harder and learn faster! On the other hand, if I am working realism and figure/portraiture at the Art Students League, and I envision getting together with other students after class and painting at home, maybe hiring models together, or at least working on still lifes (that's my dream while I'm there: to get a circle of hardcore Classical painters together, to hang out and paint together with them, have crazy dinners, have shows, have crazy adventures, fall in and out of love, get drunk, have spats, publish our ideas, etc), then it would be hard to make the time to work on my abstract stuff, too. It's a difficult balance.

Last night, Sherry agreed that I should spend more time on my abstract art - since, she said, it is more recognizable and "special." I agree to some extent, and it may be the ticket to making a splash, which would help me to support myself through my art only. I think it is a much easier way for me to make a recognizable contribution, since my realism is still developing.

I think the only reservation I have is that if I spend all that time on abstract stuff, then my realism (which is much harder) will suffer. And the way I see it, abstract/conceptual art is the pursuit of the ego, the self. It may be one way to further understand oneself (I'm not sure...), but it seems more likely to be a path towards self-glorification, or, at best, an entertaining distraction. It seems to me that abstract art at its best is pretty (or maybe ugly, or possibly shocking), but there's not much else behind it. I'm not sure what the artist as a human being would learn from painting abstract art, nor what the spectator would glean from viewing abstract art. (I'm also not sure what the value of being shocking is in itself, nor am I interested in advancing a political message through my art - certainly not my abstract art. A lot of what is called Art these days incorporates things that I am not interested in pursuing: social commentary, political activism, etc. I am interested in a certain kind of aesthetics: the pursuit of beauty.) Abstraction seems at the core to be an artist convincing the public to accept his or her point of view. Of ramming (perhaps gently) one's style down the throats of the public. (I do enjoy some abstract art, and I wouldn't even call it a guilty pleasure, because I don't feel guilty about it, but it seems to be the artistic equivalent of a Twinky dinner.)

The pursuit of realism, on the other hand, can lead to real wisdom and understanding of the world. David Leffel says this, and I agree. At the very least, it demands that you see clearly, which is a rare thing in and of itself. It causes you to see relationships accurately, and if nothing else, forces you to understand how light works. Realist painters need to understand light (ie: physics, to some degree), colour, space, balance, movement - not to mention the purely artistic concepts of composition, edges, brushstroke, etc.

On the other other hand, though... I simply like my abstract stuff, and that seems to be enough justification on its own... It seems somewhat ridiculous to think about such things - but then again, it's my life I'm talking about, what I decide to devote my time doing, and I want to make the most of it.