Friday, June 11, 2010

Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913 - 1917


"When the student is ready, the master will appear."


Although Henry Matisse is a well-known artist, his name would never come up in a conversation — when talking about my favorite artists. I've always perceived his figures as appearing clunky and at times amateur. His use of black outlines are annoyingly childlike and crude. (

At least this is what I thought, until last weekend.)


"top secret photo" taken by me, while viewing the show

During the show "Radical Invention 1913 - 1917” in Chicago, while viewing a tiny etching he made of Notre-Dame de Paris, I thought to myself:

"This etching is completely absurd. He took a complicated and beautiful piece of architecture and reduced it down to a few half circles and a couple roughly cut rectangles!"

At this moment of art criticism, I caught myself, and quickly realized that Matisse isn't drawing or painting for an audience at all, but generating art for his own self-discovery.

So much art that surrounds me on a daily basis has been made specifically to generate a profit. So much so, that I am conditioned to believe that this is ALWAYS the case when I look at art.



Make it. Sell it. 

Make more. Sell more.

Make a lot. Sell a lot.

On the other side of the coin, there is a belief that, in order for art to truly be a genuine artistic expression, it cannot be made with the intention of selling it. Because when art is created under circumstances of profit, the artist's mindset is about pleasing someone else, and when a creative mind does that, they start to restrain their inspiration, which in turn compromises their vision.

What I discovered while viewing Matisse's work, is a strong sense of what being an artist is really about. As a viewer of his work, I can witness a journey of self discovery and exploration. But Matisse is rarely out to please me; although at times, he might meet me half way.

Original

Jan Davidszoon de Heem, A Table of Desserts, 1642

Interpretation

Henri Matisse, A Table of Desserts, 1893

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