02nd Oct 2008
What Do the Greatest Artists Have in Common?
People have always differed vastly in their opinions about art and artists, but now thanks to the web they can easily access images and express their views to an international audience through web sites and blogs.
Google is my personal “Post Conceptual Art” post concierge. It sends me an almost daily update – for free –on any and all articles and blogs that use the words Post, Conceptual, and Art. So far, almost no one but me is stringing those words together, all in a neat little triad of new meaning. Some use the term wondering what Post Conceptual Art can be. Mainly Google sends me links to sites that use all three words in a paragraph, but not in a row.
Last night I should have ambled off to bed, Google emailed me a report that linked to a blog article entitled “Art and Meaning” and used all three words in a paragraph. It was a new blog to me, not one of the regular art blogs I enjoy. How could I resist? With a click of the mouse I was at Albert Sonntag’s Legal Blog. Legal blog? Huh? Well, “Art and Meaning” is a unique and interesting post by an attorney who clearly appreciates art.
Albert Sonntag discussed his take on Cy Twombly, Abstract Expressionism and great artists. Sonntag and I seem to share a fascination with the “scribblings”, or strokes of artists. However, I had an instant strong response to his comment: “…I think that he [Cy Twombly] will soon be considered to be one of the two or three greatest artists of the second half of the twentieth century, rivaling Mark Rothko and Robert Rauschenberg.”
Although Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg and an influence on my art, Mark Rothko, are certainly three of the best, any discussion of the greatest artists of the second half of the twentieth century that fails to mention Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali or Jasper Johns immediately seemed off target to me.
What makes artists revered as great beyond their own time? What do all the greatest artists have in common?
While artists today who have learned how to be provocative and grab headlines gain recognition and financial fortunes through aptly playing fame game, will their work remain be heralded in the future? Why? Or, Why not?
What do undisputed masters, artists who would be counted as certainly some of the greatest ever, such as Giotto, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Turner, Monet, Cezanne and van Gogh have in common?
Well, for one thing, these artists’ works bring in the crowds to museum shows. Clearly, they meaningfully communicate to people today. Wandering around in great museums that encompass the history of art, such as the Metropolitan, one realizes that the artists who best communicate in a non-linear way, call that spiritual, emotional or psychological, have the power to withstand time. However, many lesser known artists of the past and present also have this ability.
Great artists, certainly every one in our sample group of greats, had a distinctive style. Their works are easily distinguished from others of their own time. Although some of their actual signatures are famous, their works are also their signatures, portraying visions that are uniquely their own.
However, many great artists convey emotional or spiritual visual content and have a unique style but do not quite make it onto the topmost peak reserved for the greatest. What else distinguishes the greatest artists?
The work of every great artist mentioned in our distinguished group found new ways of painting, portraying light, perspective, color and/or space. They used strokes in new ways; they chose subjects that were different and sometimes controversial. They pioneered new ways of making art. This made their work influential.
The work of the greatest artists has inspired and influenced the work of other good to great artists. Their work continues to inspire and even provoke artists today. This seems to be the one attribute that only the greatest artists share. New schools of artistic thought and/or art movements can be traced back to their work. This places them in an ongoing historical context.
Copycat artists always abound and even flock together as they can earn a living seeming to plough a popular pre-ploughed field, so there are many artists today who are Warhol, Dali, Twombly, Rothko, etc., knock-offs. We even have Rembrandt, van Gogh, Monet and Picasso knock-offs. Apparently more people have artistic talent than artistic vision.
We are too close to the last half of the twentieth century to have any true perspective on how and if the next generations will relate to the works of the artists of that time. We are just beginning to learn of their influence on innovative Contemporary artists.
To discover the greatest artists of yesterday we need to find the great artists they influenced today – and tomorrow. Artists who truly innovate based on the innovations and work of previous great artists, while communicating emotional or spiritual content in a unique style that inspires other artists are and will continue to be the greatest artists whose works remain relevant and meaningful for generations.
I do not think what you call art is really art. Painters and sculpturers are a lesser artist. They may capture the essence of an emotion or feeling, that a rich person is willng to pay a lot for but real artists are: a person that uses their skills to teach, inspire, or help a person find deeper meaning in their own emotions or life. This is mostly writers, comedians, and musicians. I apologize for sounding antagonistic but the degradation of the word art is a sore spot for me.
Really interesting and thought provoking. I will be back. Thank you.