Problem Solving

A few weeks ago the NY Times online ran this article about a group of fairly established NYC artists who get together once a week to draw from life. There was a time when this would not seem like an unusual thing.. and maybe to some it seems like the sort of thing artists do.

But that hasn't been the trend. In the past few years, decades even, art has been conceptual or digital, or an installation, or some combination of the above. The traditional methods have largely gone out of fashion, especially if the subject is a nude female. I suppose feminism had something to do with that, and I can see the point as some of those Expressionist pieces in the early 20th century were kind of creepy. (I'll post examples later.)

It's a good practice though, one of the things I miss about art school is the drawing sessions. They are a nice way to work on skills and socialize and have a nice give and take. And some of the artists in the article make good points in that it's a nice way to just do what you do and not worry about sales or the market or buyers or any of that. Actually, I think all that other stuff is imposed on art by the sellers and buyers and the "scene" and not really why artists do anything. But it can be difficult to get away from what you are expected to do.. so I'm glad that this group has the chance to just go and make art without expectations.

But the best thing about these drawing exercises, is that they give the opportunity to problem solve. Just drawing multiple poses and doing it because that's what you do.. It's great. It's never boring, even if it's the same model every time. Or the same tree. I can't afford models so I draw trees. Or I did. It's been a long time since I just drew something.

I'm glad to see this trend start again. I'm glad that the traditional methods are back again. Since art tends to be a mirrored perspective, I wonder if the reason is that we are now so bludgeoned by technology... it's kind of nice to only have to worry about a piece of paper and some charcoal.