Thoughts About the Art Life
Gallery Hopping
Not Your Usual Pottery Barn
I have been travelling these past two weeks. One of my trips was to Phoenix,AZ. A friend and I went gallery hopping in Scottsdale on a beautiful Sat afternoon.We didn't have time to hop into every gallery, so selected a few of the well-known ones as well as some new ones to visit.I was a little disappointed in the lack of variety.Seems big color-field abstracts are everywhere...nothing to knock you to your knees except price. The galleries that deal with more traditional work had the artists you see in all the big galleries.A couple of galleries don't put prices, artists names, etc. out.I hope that isn't a trend, because you have to find someone to help you and in one gallery no one was to be found.
I didn't see any galleries that have work that is in a medium price range...probably because of the high rents there.
I wish I had had more time to explore that district, because my first impression was that the art overall was not too inspirational,not that exciting,and catered primarily to very high-end collectors.
It was fun to see some artists' work I have only seen in books and magazines in person, and I like some of their work now because of that.
Any thoughts about your gallery hopping?
Decorating?
"A Peaceful Morning"
It is interesting to me to see that many people rely on interior decorators to decide what they hang on their walls. I have nothing against that in general except that I sometimes question why does art need to be decorative? Posters, mass art cranked out in China for the designer market, giclees, are all decorative.. period. They add color to the wall. After a few years the trend changes and so the work looks dated and has to be replaced.
Not so with original art...it has a spirit that can't be found in decorative art...I don't think that we trust our instincts enough, our art eye is untrained thanks to poor funding for art in the schools.Most people haven't been to an art museum, gallery, or show...they rely on others to determine their taste.
I challenge you to work on your art eye...get out there and find out what stirs your soul.There are no rights or wrongs...Art is personal. And there is art out there for everyone.
