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| From the top |
My next new workshop (abstraction!) will be debuted at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee in August, and I'm deep into research on abstract design. I'm fascinated by the abstract art movement that began at the beginning of the 20th century and seems to have become the focus of much contemporary art. Of course most traditional quilts were abstract in nature - but more in the decorative sense of an abstract pattern rather than in any attempt by the maker to convey something that was not a direct representation.
Nowadays you find few artists who want to make a direct representation of a scene. It's always said that this change in art was a result of the development of photography but it was probably a lot more than that.
Some critics suggest that abstract art came about
as a way to legitimize design – to raise it to the level of art beyond
the mere decorative. Kandinsky was a forerunner struggling with the
question: what should replace the object?
He wanted his works to be pictures of emotional or spiritual states, not
just a design or a doodle but a deeply felt and significant work of
art. The artists at the beg of the C20 wanted to paint spiritual
truths, not just representations.
Malevich wrote: “the artist can be a creator only when the forms of his pictures have nothing in common with nature”.
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| A Summer Day Long Age |
The
term abstract in relationship to art really has two different meanings:
one is where the intention of the artist is not to portray any aspect
of reality at all, and the other is where the artist has taken some
aspect of reality and
intentionally changed it in some way.
Of course some people say that all art is
abstract for it is not actually boats and rivers and mountains etc but
rather pieces of cloth stitched together, or flakes of paint adhering to
a background. Whistler commented that the forms he
used in his paintings were not dictated by the appearance of things in
the world, but rather were the forms best suited to the arrangement of
his composition.
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| Overture |
And these ideas are just the beginning! I actually decided to focus on female abstract artists - there are many wonderful ones and nearly every book you see on Abstract Art doesn't even mention them..so I'm really enjoying researching and building a huge Power Point presentation about this. It will be the basis for the August class in Arrowmont - which is full, by the way. But also for a spring class at Alegre Retreat (I'm replacing poor Libby Lehman who last month had a major stroke. She's recovering but it will be a long, slow journey).
Meanwhile my next available class is in the Falmouth area of Cape Cod. There are places available and we'll be dyeing as well as designing! It's a great venue, lots of space with an excellent lunch provided right there. For more information: contact Linda Gallagher (508-477-0057, 800-537-5191 ).
So - if you have been- thanks for reading!! Happy to answer any questions if you comment...or respond to any comments!! Elizabeth
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9 comments:
Currently reading "Lee Krasner: A Biography" by Gail Levin. Gives good insight on her being an artist in her own right (she was married to Pollock), her views on women in art, and her relationships with other artists. Your class sounds fantastic.
Thank you for the recommendation, Lori - I've put in on hold at my public library!
Actually, I moved to making abstract art because if I could capture a moment with a camera, I had no interest in trying to do it in textiles.
Excellent and thoughtful post. And of course, the non-recognition of women is a sore point. A male lit critic recently told my daughter ( a lit professor) that Arabic women writers were only studied because they're women. Oh, please. So now she has to prove him wrong. Wish I could see your powerpoint and take a class. It sounds very exciting.
best, nadia
It's appalling and they don't see anything wrong with it!
I know my print work is heavily influenced by the abstract expressionism style, particularly Diebenkorn and Rothko. My art quilt work is less influencedbut is still very abstract in style.
After reading this - I'm thinking that I'm glad I have a lap top for the class abstract lectures that are coming up - the last time you got inspired like this - it was working in series and I ended up with 12 pages of hand written notes (which I still refer back to!) So glad the class filled.
I notice constantly too that women are over looked in the art history. You know darn well that they were creating along side their dangle parted partners. Its such a shame that 50% of artists are over looked due to their reproduction organs.
I do know that I'm more interested in women artists and what they want to express (especially in abstracted work). I'm sure its because by our very nature we think so differently than men.
I'll make sure I look extra hard for female artists' inspiration.
Hey Nina!!do bring the laptop - they have wifi all over Arrowmont and it's great to be able to look up folk as we discuss them. You'll be able to take the class on many different levels, but I do like to have some solid art history and technique in there when I can for folk to get their teeth into!!!
I love your statement about extracting the essence of what intrigues us.....that really speaks to me, thank you.
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