Professional Gambler

The art world is a funny one. I’m boothmates with a great artist at a show and we’re talking about the ins and outs of being a working artist nowadays. He comments to me that being an artist is like being a professional gambler. I laughed but he’s essentially correct. You make work in your studio, spend money to apply to shows, knowing you don’t get your money back if you don’t get and you don’t get feedback either. If you do get in you have to figure out travel and hotel and mostly hope for good weather, big crowds, and a few people to buy. Now your goal is to equally to build your name in a crowded marketplace, not the easiest of tasks. All in all, it does feel more like being a professional gambler rather than a professional artist. I laughed and went on about my day but it’s stuck with me. So to any who come across this think on his sentiment, what do you think?

The Hudson River School and Jon Bandish

In 1825, Thomas Cole moved to New York City. Several years later he would come to be known as the founder of the Hudson River School, widely regarded as the first American artist’s guild. They followed in the footsteps of the Romantic painters in Europe, capturing the wildness and immensity of landscapes across the Americas which had, until now, remained mostly unacknowledged in the world of fine art. They explored themes of the sublime, and the contrast between the enormity of nature and the relative insignificance of humans by comparison.

Jon Bandish works this same subject matter into his own art. He has long been captivated by the awesome power of the natural world, and he illustrates this in his oil paintings by juxtaposing elaborate landscapes with to-scale human figures.

Nature is massive in a way that is difficult to comprehend. It is all too easy to get caught up in our own small lives and forget that we are just one small piece of the puzzle. On the flip side, we may get caught up in the many unbreachable issues that plague our modern society and the world may seem cramped and overcrowded.

But it does not take much to reconnect with nature. Lie beneath the stars and you will see how the sky reaches around the edges of the earth. Stand on the top of the highest hill and follow the ridgeline as it fades into the distance. Walk deep into a forest and watch the many layers of trees shift as you pass. And notice, in each of these situations, how every inch is steeped in details. Air particles fill the space between you and the edge of the atmosphere.

Nowhere is the vastness of nature more apparent than in the ocean. The ocean makes up more than two thirds of the earth’s surface. Workers on night boats cannot see a foot past the gunwale before the beam from their flashlight is swallowed by the impenetrable darkness.

It is understandable, then, that the ocean would serve as great inspiration to an artist like Jon. Indeed, it is his special focus. He moved to Delaware to be closer to the beach, and he often depicts scenes from beaches in Hawaii. This is where his love for bright colors shines through. Sunsets, tropical waves, and sunny sands distinguish his work from the masters who preceded him. Where the Hudson River painters were dark and moody, Jon is playful and fanciful. His paintings bring light to even the darkest East coast winter days.

Jon seeks to immerse his viewers in his work. He wants to convey the majesty of the ocean even to someone who has never been to a beach in their lives. Details are vital to this pursuit. Jon uses the smallest brushes available, with little more than 5 hairs each, to enhance the tiniest features on even his largest paintings.

Written by Gwenn Meyers Independent Writer

Transcendentalism and the Age of Status Quo Art

Transcendentalism and The Age of Status Quo Art

By definition Transcendentalism is the means to navigating oneself to a higher plane of thinking, feeling, and understanding by way of allowing all of the senses to experience the world.  American and European artists in the past have claimed that such experiences can permeate the work of artists and the subsequent enlightenment within the work most definitively leads to better art.  Furthering ones artistic endeavors to better outcomes I believe is and should always be the chief purpose of the artist and thus Transcendentalism I believe is an integral tool for the artist. 

I grew up along the East Coast of the U.S. and spent much time looking at long, grey skies for weeks on end during the winter months only to enjoy the first warm spring days to such an extent that it still feels criminal, after 40 years of my life, to remain indoors.  This is a basic rationale for Transcendentalism.  Everyone who experiences true winter cold for the entirety of the winter season appreciates the warmth of spring and summer and this can best be demonstrated during those first few days of warmer weather.  I would invite you to the Jersey Shore or Delaware, Virginia or Carolina beaches to see just how many people flock to resort towns with nothing but smiles and towels.  It is not to say that various weather patterns and different climate conditions are not conducive toward an improved lifestyle or for the artist better work though.  I mean only to point out that the people who do not experience climatically desired weather conditions year round fully take advantage of the weeks and months when the conditions are as desired. 

The reason that they do this is because they feel an inherent or innate connection to the elements; to Nature, which they do not necessarily feel outwardly during the colder seasons.  They therefore decompress their minds and bodies and instinctively allow themselves to be at peace with the world.  Essentially they are becoming one with Nature.  The point that I wish to make here is that we as animals on this planet have an intrinsic relationship with the natural world.  Because artists and other creative oriented people draw inspiration from diverse sources the natural world very often is disregarded in the contemporary world of art making however I believe that this is a perilous error on our parts. 

I do not however mean to make a point of claiming that all artists and creative people should only pay homage to the natural world in their artwork however I also do not believe that it should be disregarded.  The popular ideology that artists should live and work only in the city atmosphere is not particularly conducive I believe toward a well rounded artist.  Consequently existing in part with the world that we create has benefits as well and those should not be overlooked either.  The main focus I am trying to discuss currently is that Transcendentalism has become a dated component to the creative process by the vast majority of contemporary artists not in large part because the belief that artists should be urban inhabitants and free from the realm of coexistence within Nature.  I believe this to be a flawed philosophy and I believe it is why the work of contemporary artists, as a whole, in large part lacks credibility and vitality.  

Dare To Be Great

In the Age of Status Quo Art a lacking concept for artists to be concerned with is the desire to create a work of grand significance.  This is a strong statement I know but the type of work that I see in the gallery setting today suggests that my contemporaries are satisfied with permeating a type of work that is more of a study or relatively completed piece.  I think that this type of effort stems from the education received in today’s art schools.  We all must very much be concerned with the type of looseness necessary for good painting and a certain type of freshness of application and stroke that employs a sensibility of freedom throughout the composition. 

I charge my contemporaries however with employing a sternness of conviction to become greater than what they are as artists and thinkers.  Perhaps it may be suggested that there is a possible connection between the type of education received today and the lack of conviction in one’s work.  Furthermore it may be suggested that such a connection also derives its existence with other variables that include other social patterns, like self perpetuating regurgitation art as well as the lack of obscurity in the artist’s living situation so as to ponder one’s own thoughts and allow various forms of transcendentalism to grow innate beliefs. 

Through such forms of living truly great art and artists mature.  Unfortunately though this is not a primary objective of contemporary artists and the work therefore suffers as a result.  Instead of seeking out the best gallery representation and the best showcases artists should seek to become closer with their own individual thoughts so as to become a uniquely identifiable artist with particular and almost private work. 

I believe it is through such processes that unique connections to influential artists and their work develop into more precise and intellectually provocative relationships.  Isn’t that the hierarchical ambition that every artist should experience?