M. Duchamp and His Toilet

It was shortly after the turn of the 20th century. The world seemed renewed, ending the Industrial age and moving into the age of autos, flight, and major art movements; the like of which had not been seen. People were changing, society was changing, social standards were changing. It was a time flapper girls, organized crime, and art activism. Read more

Integrating Sculpture Materials in Drawing

Artists, dating back to the time of the cave drawings at Lascaux, have consistently looked for new materials to work with and to produce art with. Today is no different. Artists are always (or should be) looking for new media to work with or a new way to use that media and implement other media with it. It has certainly become an age of Mixed Media. It’s part of why Picasso is considered, by some, the most influential artist in history. Read more

The Myth of Progress: Finding a Treasure

My great grandfather Greacen Black was a “collector” around the late 19^th and early 20^th century.

His collection seemed to have no rhyme or reason; he just collected anything that took his fancy. Many of the artifacts later went to the Gisborne, Napier and Christchurch Museums but his book collection stayed in our family. Read more

The Generosity of Artists has always astounded…

The generosity of artists has always astounded me, though there are exceptions in every art, just as there are in the world; we are, after all, human beings, and some are just a bit more human than others, which means, in my cognizance that they exemplify the best that humanity has to offer. Before I present an example of such generosity, I should make it very clear that I do not support the American war effort in Iraq. I have followed this war as closely as anybody can in the media and I am certain that America’s position is wrong now, and was wrong in the beginning.

The war is about the oil, and it is not a war about democracy, which can never be created at the point of a gun by another nation, but must arise from within. But there is a human cost, that this fine artist, Hancock, has elected to honor and remember with her work to honor those who have fallen. And it is good work, I hope it succors those who have lost their loved ones, and reminds generations to come of what is lost.

Quality & Compromise

We live in a world where mediocrity has become the overall condition of our world. Where “good enough” is too often the highest goal of an increasingly indiscriminate and careless culture who are too willing to accept too little. What happened to Quality? Do any of us today really know what this word means, and its effect on our lives?

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