dougwestendorp.com
Doug Westendorp
Contemplative Art
  • Home
    • Resume and contact information
    • Gallery of Student Work >
      • The Blue/Orange Project
      • Student Work (2) Yellow/Violet
      • Student Work (3) Final Project
  • Art Statement, 2023
    • Art Statement 2021-2022
    • Artist Statement, 2018-2020
    • Artist Statement, 2011-2017
  • New Work, 2023
  • Blogs
    • Thoughts on Contemplative Art
    • Poetry Journal
  • Drawings, 2020 - 22
    • Biomorphic C, 2022
    • Biomorphic B, 2022
    • Pencil 7.5 x 7.5
    • Pencil 2020 22
  • Square Mandalas
    • Ten Inch Squares
    • The Overspray Series
  • The Remnant Series
    • New Remnants
    • Early Remnants
  • Gallery of Past Work
    • Oil Pastel and Oil Stick
    • Geometric Designs >
      • The "Scythe" series
      • The "Whisper" Series
      • Lattice Windows
      • "Ghost" Geometry
      • Panel Paintings
    • Graph Paper Drawings >
      • Pencil, 2014
      • Pencil, 2015
      • Pencil, March 2016
      • Pencil, June 2016
      • Pencil, October 2016
      • Pencil, 2018 and 2019
    • Stone Poems
    • Disappearing Journal Series
    • Oil Stick on Paper
    • Early Still Life Work
    • Dreamscapes
    • Themed Sketchbooks >
      • Monoliths, 2022
      • Biomorphic A 2022
      • Feathers, 2019
      • Geometry, 2019
      • Geometry, 2015
      • The Crucifix Book, 2012
    • Installation Views
  • Self Published Books
    • Short Stories
    • Poetry Books
    • Existential Coloring Books
    • Portfolio Books
    • Book Design
    • Illustrations >
      • Turf-domed Hermitage Community
      • The Hermitage
      • The Sphere of Life

Of opinions and appreciation

12/30/2022

0 Comments

 
A few days ago a friend sent me an image he liked that was posted on Facebook, a painting. I liked it too. But as I scrolled down and read the comments that accompanied other that and other images I was reminded why I left Facebook a few years ago. Opinions. Opinion, opinions, opinions. Too many opinions. Mostly unsupported opinions, of course, but even the well-supported opinions are tiresome. I ask you, is there anything less contemplative than judgmental statements? I find them exhausting, frankly. Which isn't to say that people are not "entitled" to their opinions -- they are, of course they are -- but to what end? Opinions about artwork, whatever their value to art critics and other individuals who enjoy struggling with discernment, whether "good" or "bad" for whatever reason, serve no contemplative purpose. They don't enlighten; they only distract -- and usually discourage, demean and depress. Or so I experience. I know, I know, there is art that thrives on controversy, art that is made for art-critical review, insights of dissection to ponder and reflect upon, and who am I to say there is not value in such things? I imagine there is. To someone. But not to me. Contemplative Art lives without judgment in a gift economy, where appreciation is not dependent on the weighty dualism that passes for intellect, where one value is forever pitted against another. Nothing disrupts contemplative appreciation quicker than the critical approach. 

Well, you may ask, what is the alternative? Do we need to dismiss all matter of discernment? If we are not to approach art with a critical eye, forming opinions about what we like and what we don't like, how are we to look at art? Must we abandon all distinction between one thing and another? No. The contemplative eye is not undiscerning. But the approach is different, as the end is not to judge but to value. If one is presented with a gift one does not say, "I like this, but I don't like that." One simply says thank you, and accepts the gift on the face of it. Appreciation is rooted in whatever can be found of value, without complaint. And art, like life, is a gift. As every tree you see is a gift, a visual blessing whatever its shape, so is a work of art. I taught college level art for 26 years, and never once found a drawing or painting in which I found no value. Does that mean that all art is "good?" Did I give all As, as I've heard some art teachers might? Of course not. Some art is more successful than other art. ...But all art has value on its own terms.

Last night I was reading in an old (1998) book on art called Portraits: Talking with Artists at The Met, The Modern, The Louvre, and Elsewhere, by Michael Kimmelman. In it, artists, one by one, are interviewed by Kimmelman about the art they see together as they walk through galleries. Last night I read the chapter on Brice Marden, and it was a joy to follow along as the two conversed. Marden was full of insights into different pieces, discerning, yet appreciative. He criticized nothing, but enthused often about the varying aspects he discovered in a great variety of art. It was a very different experience for me, taking that all in, from scrolling through Facebook.
0 Comments

Art Share

12/5/2022

0 Comments

 
My colleague, Erica Bauer, was intrigued when she saw my sketchbook and picked out three! These are her three choices.
Picture
Picture
Picture
I hope they bring contemplative life into your world for years to come, Erica!
0 Comments

NATHAN TERBORG

12/3/2022

0 Comments

 
https://www.anothergallery.com/nathan-terborg

I'm proud of my cousin, Nate, for the work he's doing, and happy he is getting the attention he deserves. He's featured at Another Gallery in Denver. Click not he link and take a look at the video embedded that shows his process.
0 Comments

    Author

    I am an artist. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

    Archives

    March 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    May 2013
    March 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.