Dorothy and I were reading about Melissa Zink the other day. Melissa Zink is an artist who attracted me years ago with her lushly patinated and highly textured relief bronzes. She says in the article that artists are either "miners or explorers".
"Which one are you?" Dorothy asked me. I am a miner, I have decided after giving it thought. The reason I revisit this question is because my work has become process-driven, the result of a process itself.
Mining. This piece I started this weekend is pivotal for these reasons. First, It started with a fusion of a title (A Shrine to My Beloved) and the optics (in the style of the inestimable Saul Steinberg). The compulsion to memorialize is somehow embedded in us, but why? Does it serve any rational purpose? Does the deceased (God rest their soul) know the difference? Does it make us think they are still with us?
Saul Steinberg's name was casually dropped to me by an erstwhile teacher. This was ten years ago; about 8 years ago, I bought a book of his work. I knew when I glanced at it then, that it was going to be important. So I saved it. I finally took a closer look, and there is something he does with his compositions that is wonderful. First of all, he can draw, and he is not afraid of showing off, but its understated. He collages at different points in with his fragile drawing, a substantial well rendered element, that draws your eye to it, and the rest becomes very interesting noise that is forgiving of the sloppy mistakes I love to leave in the finished product. Ralph Steadman has a similar shtick, but with spatters. So I have been mining my old work, and reappropriating it the way that hip hop producers do with old rock songs.
This piece is small. Why have I been working so big? Why overlook the poignancy of small works? Thank you Ms. Smith for putting this in my head at Rubulad, where real art lives.
The other thing I wanted to mention about this piece is its on a chunk of hardwood I found on the street. Its dense and heavy, and i am excited about the prospect of chipping away at it, and making it a relief. The drawings are moving into the wall and the wall is reaching out to grab them. Its an interesting fun project that I am giving to myself.
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