{"id":4139,"date":"2014-10-02T10:11:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-02T14:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=4139"},"modified":"2016-04-03T20:52:13","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T00:52:13","slug":"favorite-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/10\/favorite-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"Favorite artist"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Who’s your favorite artist?” That’s a silly question, isn’t it? \u00a0If you’re like me, you enjoy the work of many artists, so how could you choose? No, it’s a silly question.<\/p>\n

It’s not that I’m easily pleased, or that I’m one of those inclusive types–hardly. I’m a tough grader; I’m judgmental. My time is important to me so why waste it on crap?<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong; I’m always exploring and I always try to meet artists on some common ground. I’m not as bad as Braque<\/a> who sent his wife ahead to scout new museums so she could steer\u00a0him away from the bad stuff. \u00a0Because why? \u00a0The bad stuff would pollute his vision? Who knows. No, I’m not like\u00a0that.<\/p>\n

Two artists I don’t care for but with whom I have found some\u00a0common ground are Alex Katz<\/a> and\u00a0Chuck Close<\/a>. \u00a0Katz has a high design IQ and I like his bold areas that eat the canvas and lock the design in place. On the negative side, like his more talented peer Phil Pearlstein<\/a>, Katz wants it both ways: he requires\u00a0real-world subjects but treats them as mere design elements. \u00a0His insistence on two-dimensionality coupled with his cool indifference to subject matter seem old fashioned; his answers to these topics lost their energy long ago. \u00a0Worst of all, Katz’s hand is absolutely dead.<\/p>\n

Close is more interesting. I very much like his anxious probing of real-world subjects that dissolves appearances into unexpected\u00a0discoveries and more questions–more probings. A strong, first-rate mind is at work here. But, like Katz, his reliance on two-dimensionality and his cool indifference to subject matter seems unthoughtful. They both approach these\u00a0topics lazily, like old married couples with nothing more\u00a0to say. Is subject matter an interesting topic? \u00a0Are you kidding me?!?<\/p>\n

I won’t waste time here on those artists who my wife\u00a0would steer me past if she\u00a0was like Braque’s wife. \u00a0The artists who make my AVOID list get there by rewarding my thirst with bitter fruit; that make me ashamed of my hunger.<\/p>\n

An artist I like, an artist who I come back to time and again is\u00a0Jacques-Louis David<\/a>.\u00a0David’s pictorial imagination is superb. He\u00a0more than holds his own\u00a0with that other titan of pictorial imagination–Rubens<\/a>. While he lacks Rubens’ fecundity and sheer joy of invention, he makes up for it with\u00a0his\u00a0unsurpassed sense of drama. \u00a0Looking at The Death of Marat<\/em>, you don’t need to know the history of the French Revolution, or who Marat was for that matter, to understand this painting. Death, untimely and tragic, has struck again. With simple-seeming means, the artist embeds\u00a0his subject in that timeless place where words are exhausted and meaning begins.<\/p>\n

\"Death<\/a>
Death of Marat by David<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David’s work is filled with drama and pathos. To understand his achievement, one need look no further than the maudlin work produced by his army of 19th-century followers. There pathos is reduced to bombast and drama devolves into sentimentality. David is never sentimental or maudlin.<\/p>\n

Like Rembrandt<\/a>, David uses negative–empty–space to great effect. In The Death of Socrates<\/em>, the space behind and above the figures provides a counterpoint sturdy\u00a0enough to hold the unfolding drama. \u00a0Socrates’ upraised arm–Socrates’ decision–divides the space pictorially and thematically. \u00a0David is very efficient and disciplined; nothing is allowed in\u00a0that doesn’t serve his purpose. \u00a0When he punctuates his theme with some pictorial device, such as Socrates’ upraised arm, it’s shown to maximum effect. \u00a0His dramatic sense and control are unsurpassed.<\/p>\n

\"Death<\/a>
Death of Socrates by David<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As might be guessed, his painting technique is also efficient and disciplined–nothing is overworked. As with his designs, everything serves a purpose; when his\u00a0purpose is achieved, he stops. \u00a0He never shows-off;\u00a0his technique is forthright and direct, the\u00a0opposite of self-conscious and precious.<\/p>\n

Like that other artist who had an army of imitators, Raphael<\/a>, other\u00a0artists\u00a0might be stronger in some\u00a0areas, but none combines his virtues into such a perfect harmony of means and ends.<\/p>\n

During his long career, David had many misfires. I am writing about one of them that is in the Cleveland Museum of Art<\/a>. Even in his misfires, he is always interesting and\u00a0original. Like other great artists, his failures are more interesting than many\u00a0artists’ successes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Who’s your favorite artist?” That’s a silly question, isn’t it? \u00a0If you’re like me, you enjoy the work of many artists, so how could you choose? No, it’s a silly question. It’s not that I’m easily pleased, or that I’m one of those inclusive types–hardly. I’m a tough grader; I’m judgmental. My time is important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":4156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,6,46,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","category-paintings","category-reviews","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/david-marat.jpg?fit=500%2C667&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":416,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/timothy-callaghan-life-slow-still\/","url_meta":{"origin":4139,"position":0},"title":"Timothy Callaghan\u2014Life Slow Still","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently paid my second visit to the William Busta Gallery.\u00a0 Busta is one of those cafeteria-style spaces where several shows\u2014about 6 in this case\u2014run concurrently.\u00a0 The artists shown represent, no doubt, an attempt to cast the widest possible net.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, you won\u2019t find a Corot, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/call1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1925,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/06\/review-virgie-ezelle-patton-at-william-busta-gallery\/","url_meta":{"origin":4139,"position":1},"title":"Review: Virgie Ezelle Patton at William Busta Gallery","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"June 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The works in Virgie Ezelle Patton's show at William Busta span the last two decades. That's a lot of time to cover in a typical exhibition, but not enough time for a retrospective, especially for an artist born in 1928. 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His lifestyle, according to this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":292,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/thumbs-up-thumbs-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":4139,"position":3},"title":"Thumbs-up: van Ruisdael; Thumbs-down: Renoir","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve loved art as far back as I can remember.\u00a0 During the summer before First Grade we moved to a farm, and while exploring the barn loft (true story), I was thrilled to discover a bunch of painting gear\u2014half-empty paint cans, rags, and stiff brushes.\u00a0 I loved it!\u00a0 I loved\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10782,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2022\/07\/protectors\/","url_meta":{"origin":4139,"position":4},"title":"Protectors","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"July 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Some artists have goals similar to my own. Among these artists are some I find especially sympathetic--my protectors. My protectors are the artists from whom I learn the most. My protector list is different from the artists that influenced me when I was young. My youthful influences include Rodin, Monet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/dav-2.jpg?fit=679%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/dav-2.jpg?fit=679%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/dav-2.jpg?fit=679%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12890,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2024\/02\/youtube-art-instruction\/","url_meta":{"origin":4139,"position":5},"title":"YouTube art instruction","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"February 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"If you are looking for art instruction videos, YouTube is loaded with them. That's the good news--videos for every taste and interest. The bad news is that the quality is--to put it charitably--spotty. You get what you pay for. 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