Dec 28, 2023·edited Dec 28, 2023Liked by Franklin Einspruch
Nice write-up, and that Amy Casey piece is fantastic! If you are not aware of it, check out The Cage by Martin Vaughn-James (originally published in 1975), which is similar in its highly realistic draftsmanship and coupled with the truly surreal. There's a PDF excerpt available- by page 20 you'll see just what I mean.
The book is well worth buying BTW (available on Amazon). Below is an except from my review:
I found my first copy in a museum shop in Washington DC in the late 80's, and though it had been thumbed through quite a bit, I bought it immediately. It felt as though I had found some artifact dropped off from an alien craft, or a dire message left from a time machine. As I was in art school at the time, it was poured over, analyzed, dissected and lovingly read (and reread) by most of my friends. No actual answers ever really could explain it all. I doubt that will ever change.
The first reactions to reading almost always followed a certain arc: Curiosity and intrigue. Delight at the meticulous detail and fantastical landscapes. Deep concentration coupled with vague confusion. And finally...stunned silence. Somewhere during that first read is the question: "What IS this thing!?"
It seems to compel reading it all in one breathless sitting, yet it is so opaque and disorienting, so insanely detailed, that it takes a real effort to actually go all the way through without stopping. You feel changed somehow by it in the end. A sense of unease certainly, but also some kind of existential freedom is being declared here as well.
But Franklin, what is the Ashtabula Art Center doing to address social problems? Shouldn't that be its prime concern? I mean, it's fine to use art as a pretext or tool, as one can see being done all over the place, but really, just focusing on art as such is very, you know, problematic, not to say petit bourgeois. Just trying to be "progressive" here, though I'm probably not being obnoxious enough.
The joke's on you - First Place for abstraction went to a painting made in honor of Pride Month, and First Place for realism went to a painting informed by climate change. And they are good paintings!
Not good enough. They should be doing social work, setting up soup kitchens and homeless shelters, and getting things ready for the massive immigrant influx. The art bit should just be icing on the cake, like a secondary sideline. Where's the virtue in painting pictures?
It was a pleasure to have you as a juror. Thank you for your time and contributions. We look forward to seeing you again.
Nice write-up, and that Amy Casey piece is fantastic! If you are not aware of it, check out The Cage by Martin Vaughn-James (originally published in 1975), which is similar in its highly realistic draftsmanship and coupled with the truly surreal. There's a PDF excerpt available- by page 20 you'll see just what I mean.
https://chbooks.com/content/download/4822/64173/version/1/file/9781552452875_Cage_excerpt.pdf
That's really cool, thank you for sharing.
The book is well worth buying BTW (available on Amazon). Below is an except from my review:
I found my first copy in a museum shop in Washington DC in the late 80's, and though it had been thumbed through quite a bit, I bought it immediately. It felt as though I had found some artifact dropped off from an alien craft, or a dire message left from a time machine. As I was in art school at the time, it was poured over, analyzed, dissected and lovingly read (and reread) by most of my friends. No actual answers ever really could explain it all. I doubt that will ever change.
The first reactions to reading almost always followed a certain arc: Curiosity and intrigue. Delight at the meticulous detail and fantastical landscapes. Deep concentration coupled with vague confusion. And finally...stunned silence. Somewhere during that first read is the question: "What IS this thing!?"
It seems to compel reading it all in one breathless sitting, yet it is so opaque and disorienting, so insanely detailed, that it takes a real effort to actually go all the way through without stopping. You feel changed somehow by it in the end. A sense of unease certainly, but also some kind of existential freedom is being declared here as well.
But Franklin, what is the Ashtabula Art Center doing to address social problems? Shouldn't that be its prime concern? I mean, it's fine to use art as a pretext or tool, as one can see being done all over the place, but really, just focusing on art as such is very, you know, problematic, not to say petit bourgeois. Just trying to be "progressive" here, though I'm probably not being obnoxious enough.
The joke's on you - First Place for abstraction went to a painting made in honor of Pride Month, and First Place for realism went to a painting informed by climate change. And they are good paintings!
Not good enough. They should be doing social work, setting up soup kitchens and homeless shelters, and getting things ready for the massive immigrant influx. The art bit should just be icing on the cake, like a secondary sideline. Where's the virtue in painting pictures?