May, 2009

Originally posted on October, 3, 2008

It no doubt sounds a bit mundane to talk today about artistic vision. World events dictate the need for something much more utilitarian. It seems, however, that for a good long while moralistic political economic concerns have contained the limits of dialogue. And within those limits we move from one crisis or war to the next. It has been said that without a vision people perish. How true. Moving through life from one goal to the next is in fact crisis management. It is not the full engagement of life.

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Originally posted on September, 15, 2008

In the artistic realm of things we turn our gaze towards higher values. Or, so we tell ourselves. Humanity has for millennium turned towards the future for meaning and salvation. I mention this because I find myself endlessly amazed at how some things always remain the same in spite of all the professed advancement. Nowhere is this more evident these days than in the artistic domain.

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Originally posted on June, 27, 2008

If, what we are loosely calling contemporary art demands that the artist be free, can he arrive at some point to liberate himself? Today this painting animal is the most un-free of individuals. His only choice is to which of the latest zeitgeists he shall temporarily conform. Yes the artist painter is in most respects an animal like everyone else. But we must note that he (or she) is in contact with natural forces of a refined order. Society forgets this simple fact to their peril.

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