“Originality is the art of concealing your sources” – Jones.
It can be argued that there is no original art since every artist has been influenced by the art and techniques of the past. The choice lies in whether the artist intends to adopt or rebel against the style and techniques of the time. What makes a piece of work interesting is to reveal the unique way that the influences were registered and adapted with paint – to follow the sub-conscious path of ideas that sparked the thought. In our digital age, where we are constantly bombarded with ideas and content it is interesting to contemplate the art of the future.
Until the point in time where I can track my stream of consciousness/influences across my digital and physical life I will just tell you about it here. This past weekend during a visit to the LACMA I was inspired by two pieces of work.
- Irregular Forms: Creation by Frantisek Kupka (Bohemia, Opocno, active France, 1871-1957) . Kupka believed that thoughts were composed of matter like everything else and could be brought into the physical through creation. His compositions focus on form, lines and color without reference to the real world – the pillars of abstract expressionism.
- Toward Disappearance by Sam Francis (United States, California, active France, Paris, Japan, United States, Southern California,1923-1994). Francis was heavily influences by Japanese calligraphy and could do amazing things replicating the effects of watercolor using oil
From what I can remember of my Instagram searches and random walks through the internet I was also inspired by Greg Klassen’s River Collection of furniture and layers of mineral crystallization in rocks.
Below is the first layer of my painting in progress.
ARTIST AFTER HOURS 