An Artists Statement,
As an artist of the twenty first century, my work is a multiplicity of mediums, starting with pen and pencil, oil paint on canvas, photography, watercolor and digital art. There appears to be some ill-conceived and mistaken bias regarding digital art. It generally comes from people whose limited exposure is the banality of “Photoshopism” or the triteness of fractal geometry. As with all prejudices there is a sliver of truth that outlines the origin. The fact is a great deal of digital art is extraordinarily bad. It must be understood that computer generated art is in its infancy. As with all prejudices in the end it shall come to rule. As long as mankind progresses, the future of all creative works will eventually become digital. This is inevitable and when people see it as a medium and an assured reality, they will start to view the work differently. Because of my strength as a designer along with better than average programming skills, I have been able to take digital to a different place. In so doing I have been criticized as being on the so-called cutting edge. It is such cliché and a misnomer. There is nothing more profound here other than following my nose to the next step.
I have only been at this for a short seven or eight years. I often have to retell myself this when things aren’t going well. My background as a commercial artist has been somewhat beneficial. As a graphic designer it wasn’t personal, I always suspected most clients lacked taste. On rare occasions, however, I was able to work for some very gifted people who understood the relationship between marketing and good design, Most of the time I was able to work around any conflicts, which is the cornerstone of being a good graphic designer in corporate America.
Fine art is a different animal altogether. I don’t always know why I create what I create. I generally get why I choose a certain method for a specific piece and I trust my design sensibilities. What makes fine art more difficult is that it is intensely personal. ”Love me, love my art. Love my art, love me.” Without being pedestrian, I believe that what we are marketing is less art and more signatures. This is regrettable but it’s a truth that I have come to accept and by all appearances is validated. Picasso, Pollack, Warhol, Dali and numerous other artists relied on the cult of personality to propel them into fame that historically deemed the fortunate ones unique. If artists let their art speak and no artist could sign their work it would level the playing field and the value of a Picasso and a Warhol would be totally different. Regretfully this will never be nor should it be. For a long time I refused to sign my work because I felt it was promoting the corporate deception that if it came from Picasso, De Kooning, Motherwell ad infinitus it was valued as great art. That the signature was no more than a collectable autograph and it protected the art collections of the rich and famous. There are quite a few Picasso’s I wouldn’t pay five bucks for. Regretfully my idealism is self-defeating. Knowing that we aren’t marketing the artwork as much as the person creating the work is an important distinction. Since I began my journey as a fine artist it became clear that everything I said or did was all part of the creative process. Every word I write, every song I compose, every scribble I scratch, and every word I speak is all my art. It was a difficult surrender to accept the notion that the stage I was on was life itself and for me there is no intermission.
The Internet is helping to level the playing field of famous twentieth century art and the contemporary twenty-first century artist. There are a growing number of artists who are benefiting from the exposure the net has afforded them. No longer is great visual art, musical accomplishment under the purview of Time Life, CBS or NBC. No longer are we assured untold fame and wealth because we made the cover of Time Life or People. The Internet has shifted the paradigm. There are a growing number of artists musical, visual and written who are experiencing modest fame because people have become more adept at finding artistic choices that are more personal and accessible on the net. Musically I am listening to a very mixed group of contemporary musical artists because I can go out and sample some obscure artist I really like. This again is unprecedented. We are on the edge and we are making history. Greatness is just not under the influence of a few magazines and national media. In this country we have the illusion of a free press however the reality is that a very significant small group of people have for many years decided what was real and what wasn’t beginning with Hearst, Rockefeller and Luce. I can still remember the black and white photos of Pablo Picasso on the cover of Life Magazine as they introduced Picasso as one of the great artists of the twenty first century. He made his first publications in 1949. I was two years old. The magazines were saved like gold and before I could read I would often go through our home made archives which consisted of boxes upon boxes of Post and Life magazines. Some how I knew at a very young age that what I was observing was significant for me. It was so because Life Magazine said so. Many years passed as I came to understand that most authority operated under a faulty illusion. It is true because they made it so. Now it’s time to say. ”Move over Picasso, R. Eller, is on his way over.” People are starting to exercise their choices beyond fame and big media.” Because the Internet has remained an essentially free and unfettered exchange of knowledge big media no longer has a strangle hold on the dissemination of information. Because the Internet is a grass roots medium people are making choices about fame and art that is more refined and personal. Historically this is unprecedented.
People who buy contemporary art want to know the artist. They want to put a face to the work. The Internet is not a great place to buy art. I would never advise anyone to buy an artwork sight unseen in the first person. However the Internet is a wonderful place to get acquainted before one becomes committed.
Looking Ahead,
10 months ago
