The Death of Painting?
Will history show us that this is true?
Can it really be so, or just out of fashion for a while. I trained as a painter at St. Martins. Later I learnt loads of stuff about pigments and binders. I even painted a freso in a museum once. I had to weave willow and make a partition wall then mixed horse hair with my mortor and did all those layers and lime putty. It was a cut away display revealing the layers of construction including the top pigmented layer.
I love painting materials the pigments. I love making images, and painting them is the initial reaction…but oh yeh, paintings dead. I will have to find another medium. This is what I have done for over twenty years now.
But should I explore it again, but here's the thing.. An inbuilt guidence system in me says 'Its a waste of time'. 'You had to throw away a skip full of paintings because you had nowhere to keep them'. This is true I did. They are bulky serve no purpose and waste time producing them when efforts could be made doing something to ern money instead.
Painting is still there. It can show and commontate on our world, just like other techno media. What might have really changed is that collectors used to buy them and hide them in collections. That was the destiny of a good painting. Does that still happen or are paintings suposed to be out there for all to see on, or in public buildings, or are they like a pre war collection of personel writings, revealing inner worlds and stored away in dusty places. Painting is a thing with no place, abit like the Palistinian People……… destined to be, but where?
Recently I found the set of headphones for my mobile phone and these activate the radio in my phone. This has radically changed the nature of dog walking. Before I would to talk to anyone about anything however mundane and enjoyed the trivialness of it.
Now I walk along listening and keep my head down. Totaly insular and avoid contact at all costs, other people are just a such a drag in my new world.
Listening about the poet laurette Andrew Motion talking about writing poetry to commission as part of his duty as poet laurette. The poems he says are no lesser for being commissioned, he is just as sincere about them and they contain as much of him as his non commissioned poems. The only thing being he would not have chosen to write about these things.
This is me and my public art work, exactly the same, only I rarely produce non commisioned work anymore. Well sometimes when I have time I make things which are kind of hybrid map/diagram things. I dont know what they are? All you artists out there probably feel quite comfortable with producing stuff, and develop things with intelect and it moves along ok.
I have this thing where I cant understand what comes out? It is not going to contribute financialy to bringing home the bacon I understand that.
And painting? This is the greatest thing for exploring ones own inner world, but what can paintings do in todays technodigital inter connected user generated content world of e this and i that. Twittering, Flickering HD blue ray Hooray.
The Kent Wildlife trust are the new owners of the woodlands where Cosmo goes on dog walks.
Very large areas of pine trees are being chopped down. The plant machinery required are very large. 100's of tones of concrete rubble has been spread over the access tracks to enable veichles to move through more easily. The wood is being stacked and removed on trailers, the arrisings or loose stuff is being burnt, the opperation leaves the woods in a total mess and users of the woods seem shocked.
The long term plan is to plant native trees and plants to encourage wildlife back into the woods again. The policy seems as if 'cruel to be kind' is what is happening. The pine trees were too close together and not enough light reached the ground. Its a long term project and I'm very interested to see the changes. The pine was I believe planted as a crop and fenced off. Now, it looks like Nagasaki. So it is a change of use, from produce for industry to leisure.
My chidren are growing up. GCSE'S and 16th birthadays. They seem happy though. Life was just getting really good for me at that age.
My kids seem sharper than I was, I was a bit confused before I was 16. I never really got the point of anything. They seem great to me and dont speak Chav. (well, only a little)
I have just been offered a residency in a beach hut in the autumn. I am really glad about this, as I can focus on the wind farm I see walking with Cosmo every day.
Cosmo has a very tender foot, that claw on the side and up a bit. Dew Jew claw something like that, a dog thumb. I think he's bent it back.
My hand is developing many calouses from the mosaic nippers. It is turning into a dogs foot.
And why do driving instructors wear Hi Viz vests?
My wifes new car will be Manitoba Grey. Great name Manitoba I would like to go there, near Hudson Bay in Canada. I live in Herne Bay, which is fine and I am very happy.
Tommorrow Cosmo is having his hair cut! 10am.
Some weeks ago I recieved a letter from a student wanting a work placement position with me. She outlined her graphics/computer and web skills and explained she liked working with groups and was a kind team player and wanted to focus on teaching GCSE after her degree studies.
I did not reply. She emailed me asking why had I not replied?
So I explained that I thought she could find a more relevant artist to suit her interests as my practice was practical, hands on, with a craft skills base. I work alone (no team) and am workshop based with no real interest or experience in teaching GCSE level art.
I feel slightly bad not offering. Would it have been a waste of time? I could offer work placements, but to someone with the right type of starting points. How bad could it be, after all I do work with animals and children.
No I think the real reason was, I do want to work with someone, but more with an apprenticeship model in mind. Am I allowed to say that? Are they good things or just exploitation. I can not tell anymore. The world is too deconstructed and people have forgotten how to piece it back together in the right order. The rules are lost and the lines rubbed away.
