You are contemplating a painting, but you have no talent as a painter.
This is somewhat untrue, because you’ve painted plenty–housepainter-like. You can cut in or tape off, brush and roll, and spray. It’s not very hard work, perhaps even a little tedious, but somehow very satisfying.
But what standards are you holding yourself to in terms of vision, creativity, execution and technique, of substance? You’ve gone to enough museums to understand by way of example that you can do pretty much anything you want, to any standard you want. So you’re just going to do it, because as the old saying goes, “It doesn’t matter what you do, only that you do something.”
Questions arise:
- “What’s the point?”
- “Why are you doing this?”
- “What does it mean?”
- “Is it original?” or “Is it original enough?”
- “Is this competent?”
- “Will anyone want this?”
- “Is it necessary?”
- “Is it beautiful?”
- “Is this art?”
- “Is this a waste?”
All beguiling. You dig deeply to make sense of it all, but beyond a certain point it’s all just nonsense and vanity. How delicious.
Behold: The Concept
Gold leaf is available in ~3.25″ sheets. Cluster 9 for a 9″ square in the center of a 27″ square sheet of 3/4″ meranti ply. Call that art board. Surround this square with a circular void of 18″ in which the bare substrate is visible. Surround this circle with a red/burgundy 27″ square. Apply gold leaf to the edge of the ply.
Voila: The Glory of the Thing Itself
A part of you wants to make this. You think that the world would be better off for it, but you will hold off. You know what you are capable of and that it is good. That is enough this time. And perhaps next time as well.
Be well, my friends.
Oliver Liu 