I am now 80 years young. Before COVID I had my own studio/ gallery in New Mexico. One day I looked at all my work hanging in the gallery and had an epiphany. None of it was me! It was my work, painted by me, yet none of it was me. All of it was painted for everyone in my life or clients.
I made a decision I had to paint something of me and for me, without concern for what anyone else would think or say. I had a subject that concerned me all my life and never acted on it.
So, I thought and sketched for a few days and came up with a concept. A way to paint my thoughts. My feelings. The problem was it was it had to be in completely different style than I was used to painting for it to work.
Long story short - I painted a show called “ Stolen Culture” 24 new large paintings in a style I
conceived. The idea was to paint the native past and bring it into the present day.
After teaching, I closed the studio and worked, sometimes through the night. In the end, I had accomplished something I feared no one would like. And maybe I could be ridiculed for.
I was born in Brooklyn NY of Italian heritage. I created works of native Americans I had loved and studied and read about. It had no actual contact. These were not glorified images I had grown up with. These had to be real people. Not storybook characters. Or movie Indians.
Again, to shorten this saga, the show opened and to my amazement and surprise people accepted it. Reviews were good. Native people came and complimented me. They thanked me for portraying them as they were. The images moved them. Then COVID hit.
But from this show, my life changed and my subject matter changed. The way I paint changed.
I now think much less of what people may thinker my work. It pleases me. It is more ‘me’ than ever. This is enough.
I agree with you but with a caveat. To say that people should have the freedom to say whatever they want does not mean that people should say whatever they want. Many years ago a guy at school made jokes about me and my illness when I was very sick simply because I would not go out with him. I could barely walk and didn't have the strength to defend myself. He was a bully and a putz but no one told him to stop. I don't want a law to govern what can be said and I have a problem with the cancel culture but sometimes people need the courage to speak up and say, "Hey man, that's not cool," when they hear something really inappropriate.
That’s straight up harassment. I completely agree, more people should be willing to say “that’s not cool.” This article was essentially my way of saying “that’s not cool” to those who would censor artists.
Everyone follows a different path to the top of the mountain? Nope. Some of us bushwhack our way to the top (with or without a machete). We cross many paths but follow none.
I applaud that you do not use AI for your writing but as a visual artist it is disappointing that you use AI for your images. AI has ripped off the visual arts as much as the written arts. There are many beginning artist that would probably love to be featured in your column.
I addressed this in this piece quite clearly. Use AI for the compliments to the work, not the work itself. There are no artists I know to create the relevant images for a budget of zero which is what I could offer in less than an hour. So is it better to have no images, or better to use my imagination to improve the article in the same way a visual artist using ai to assist with writing about the artworks would, imo, improve the richness of the experience. So I guess we agree to disagree.
I am now 80 years young. Before COVID I had my own studio/ gallery in New Mexico. One day I looked at all my work hanging in the gallery and had an epiphany. None of it was me! It was my work, painted by me, yet none of it was me. All of it was painted for everyone in my life or clients.
I made a decision I had to paint something of me and for me, without concern for what anyone else would think or say. I had a subject that concerned me all my life and never acted on it.
So, I thought and sketched for a few days and came up with a concept. A way to paint my thoughts. My feelings. The problem was it was it had to be in completely different style than I was used to painting for it to work.
Long story short - I painted a show called “ Stolen Culture” 24 new large paintings in a style I
conceived. The idea was to paint the native past and bring it into the present day.
After teaching, I closed the studio and worked, sometimes through the night. In the end, I had accomplished something I feared no one would like. And maybe I could be ridiculed for.
I was born in Brooklyn NY of Italian heritage. I created works of native Americans I had loved and studied and read about. It had no actual contact. These were not glorified images I had grown up with. These had to be real people. Not storybook characters. Or movie Indians.
Again, to shorten this saga, the show opened and to my amazement and surprise people accepted it. Reviews were good. Native people came and complimented me. They thanked me for portraying them as they were. The images moved them. Then COVID hit.
But from this show, my life changed and my subject matter changed. The way I paint changed.
I now think much less of what people may thinker my work. It pleases me. It is more ‘me’ than ever. This is enough.
I agree with you but with a caveat. To say that people should have the freedom to say whatever they want does not mean that people should say whatever they want. Many years ago a guy at school made jokes about me and my illness when I was very sick simply because I would not go out with him. I could barely walk and didn't have the strength to defend myself. He was a bully and a putz but no one told him to stop. I don't want a law to govern what can be said and I have a problem with the cancel culture but sometimes people need the courage to speak up and say, "Hey man, that's not cool," when they hear something really inappropriate.
That’s straight up harassment. I completely agree, more people should be willing to say “that’s not cool.” This article was essentially my way of saying “that’s not cool” to those who would censor artists.
I love to read these short, rich writings, thank you!
Everyone follows a different path to the top of the mountain? Nope. Some of us bushwhack our way to the top (with or without a machete). We cross many paths but follow none.
I applaud that you do not use AI for your writing but as a visual artist it is disappointing that you use AI for your images. AI has ripped off the visual arts as much as the written arts. There are many beginning artist that would probably love to be featured in your column.
I addressed this in this piece quite clearly. Use AI for the compliments to the work, not the work itself. There are no artists I know to create the relevant images for a budget of zero which is what I could offer in less than an hour. So is it better to have no images, or better to use my imagination to improve the article in the same way a visual artist using ai to assist with writing about the artworks would, imo, improve the richness of the experience. So I guess we agree to disagree.
Sorry, I thought you were commenting on a different piece, the piece that I addressed the use of AI was this one: https://clintavo.substack.com/p/an-ai-writer-is-no-writer-at-all