Sunday, December 30, 2012

Art Critique with Honey McMoney

I received this e-mail posted below and picture of paintings that are in progress from my artist friend Honey McMoney today:

Still at it. At some moment it will go back to being about the other side. Are you planning your projects for next year? Should I really buy enough 36" and 48" stretcher bars for 12 paintings?? Still got an awful lot of pink tissue. Art is weird man. Painting is weird. I am definitely having one of those spells of o m g w t f am I doing with my life?? Am I completely daft? So we put a little paint down and take a walk. Hope you are having a good holiday. Where are you?

























Here was my response:
I can't help but compare this to some conceptual works dealing with the meaning of materials and supports. I'm not sure aesthetically it's your strongest work. Is it completed?
Watercolor (often considered as a female medium)...structure and supports as a conceptual underpinnings...perhaps slightly dated? Could be seen as post modernism because of it's strong appropriation of common art symbols?

Here was Honey's additional thoughts:


I agree with that. I am also hoping that it talks about paintings as objects and what is the picture plane anyway? Is it completely discrete? If it is, is it inherently symbolic? If we submit to the illusion are we charmed? What makes one submit? Must one be in a state of submission to accept a picture plane? Does acceptance of the painting as object constitute domination over the picture plane? How do the picture plane and the painting as object - as illusion or as reality - coexist? Can we both dominate and submit? Does discussing painting in this way allow us to better understand image culture? Why else is painting relevant? Does discussing painting in this way better allow us to understand value culture? Is it the object or the illusion that has value?
The back painting also gave it this additional performance value of turning the painting over to see the hidden side. The effect I wanted - a bleed through has not happened. I think it is because a) it is drying differently/faster than the others where bleed through has occurred b) it is green with another paint that breaks through the sizing c) tannins in the maple seed pods helps to leech the color through or some combination of all three. On with the show. Will keep experimenting down the road. I'm going to do a little back drawing now. Secrets....... 
This was a nice critical exchange, which I plan to continue adding to. What do you think? 


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