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Intellectual Affectations
Today a press release arrived via email. Here it is:
In his first solo exhibition at the Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Timothy Buwalda presents ambitious, large scale paintings, and several mono-prints that investigate the theme of hope in the negative; or, to take it a step further, hope in negation. They are reminiscent of what Richard Diebenkorn wrote in Notes to Myself on Beginning a Painting: "Mistakes can't be erased but they move you from your present position."
Buwalda uses wrecked cars as a metaphor for potential being squandered or not realized, but is ironically hopeful and quiet. The images weave back and forth between photorealism and abstraction. The use of various painting techniques within the same painting points to a search of painting language and the exploration of its limitations (this too at times explores negation).
Buwalda writes, "These paintings arrived from two distinct places for me. Firstly, reflection of my own life and how there are these 'check points' you are supposed to arrive at by certain time constraints (what do you do if you miss these?). Secondly, the process of paint itself. I feel these things overlap along the way, that there is a parallel between the process of painting and life, how you have to work with the negative, oftentimes, to get somewhere further than your original vision."
The exhibition will be on view at the Fredric Snitzer Gallery 2247 NW 1st PL Miami, FL 33127. Hours are 10am to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday. There will be an opening reception held on Saturday, September 8th, from 7:30 - 10 pm.
For some time now people have been exploiting the potential of art and its discourse as signs of intellectual prowess. In my experience of the contemporary art world, the desire to be brilliant trumps most other whims and vanities.
In this brief entry I will not explore why this might be the case. Instead, I will suggest that there are better ways to give the impression of intellectual rigor than this press release. It should be apparent that, even if poorly executed, a strategy is at play here: the press release could have mentioned Robert Bechtle or Charles Ray instead of the somewhat puzzling Diebenkorn reference (that R.D. is sharing space with the claims in this press release shows no one is safe in the art world), or the emphasis could have been on the choice of subject matter or on another other topic that the artist and his representatives actually understood. But instead they chose to write of negation, painting language and its limitations hoping to decorate what is obviously fairly thin content with the afterglow of Saussure, Baudrillard, et.al.
This gesture is, unfortunately, commonplace—it is a strategy of choice.
Intellectual ornament is popular because it only demands minor understanding of the ideas at play (perhaps as little as just the names) and it works because it only requires recognition, not understanding, from its audience. It relies on fast reads on the hope of getting away with statements like, “The use of various painting techniques within the same painting points to a search of painting language and the exploration of its limitations (this too at times explores negation).”
The "hard thinking" which has been de rigueur in the last forty years (just to pick a time) is at best amusing and at worst pathetic. Wasted time. I wonder how much could be done by Timothy Buwalda if he were to actually consider and work within the complexity of painting, without the tiresome escape of theories he has heard mentioned. Authentic engagement might show him, as it shows us all, that it is easier to hit against one’s limitations than those of painting.
In his first solo exhibition at the Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Timothy Buwalda presents ambitious, large scale paintings, and several mono-prints that investigate the theme of hope in the negative; or, to take it a step further, hope in negation. They are reminiscent of what Richard Diebenkorn wrote in Notes to Myself on Beginning a Painting: "Mistakes can't be erased but they move you from your present position."
Buwalda uses wrecked cars as a metaphor for potential being squandered or not realized, but is ironically hopeful and quiet. The images weave back and forth between photorealism and abstraction. The use of various painting techniques within the same painting points to a search of painting language and the exploration of its limitations (this too at times explores negation).
Buwalda writes, "These paintings arrived from two distinct places for me. Firstly, reflection of my own life and how there are these 'check points' you are supposed to arrive at by certain time constraints (what do you do if you miss these?). Secondly, the process of paint itself. I feel these things overlap along the way, that there is a parallel between the process of painting and life, how you have to work with the negative, oftentimes, to get somewhere further than your original vision."
The exhibition will be on view at the Fredric Snitzer Gallery 2247 NW 1st PL Miami, FL 33127. Hours are 10am to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday. There will be an opening reception held on Saturday, September 8th, from 7:30 - 10 pm.
For some time now people have been exploiting the potential of art and its discourse as signs of intellectual prowess. In my experience of the contemporary art world, the desire to be brilliant trumps most other whims and vanities.
In this brief entry I will not explore why this might be the case. Instead, I will suggest that there are better ways to give the impression of intellectual rigor than this press release. It should be apparent that, even if poorly executed, a strategy is at play here: the press release could have mentioned Robert Bechtle or Charles Ray instead of the somewhat puzzling Diebenkorn reference (that R.D. is sharing space with the claims in this press release shows no one is safe in the art world), or the emphasis could have been on the choice of subject matter or on another other topic that the artist and his representatives actually understood. But instead they chose to write of negation, painting language and its limitations hoping to decorate what is obviously fairly thin content with the afterglow of Saussure, Baudrillard, et.al.
This gesture is, unfortunately, commonplace—it is a strategy of choice.
Intellectual ornament is popular because it only demands minor understanding of the ideas at play (perhaps as little as just the names) and it works because it only requires recognition, not understanding, from its audience. It relies on fast reads on the hope of getting away with statements like, “The use of various painting techniques within the same painting points to a search of painting language and the exploration of its limitations (this too at times explores negation).”
The "hard thinking" which has been de rigueur in the last forty years (just to pick a time) is at best amusing and at worst pathetic. Wasted time. I wonder how much could be done by Timothy Buwalda if he were to actually consider and work within the complexity of painting, without the tiresome escape of theories he has heard mentioned. Authentic engagement might show him, as it shows us all, that it is easier to hit against one’s limitations than those of painting.
Labels: Caution
posted by EMC at
7:16 AM
4 Comments:
A dog is hungry. He smells a bone buried underground. He digs and digs for sometime - he finds the bone? - he does not find the bone? What he leaves behind is a testament to his limitations, his vision, his poetry, his sense of smell and his hunger.
This is painting.
I agree with EMC’s posting, but have my own take on the dynamic at play here. The release states that Buwalda’s works “investigate the theme of hope in the negative; or, to take it a step further, hope in negation.” The metaphor of the steps is an apt one, as the release does nothing so much as engage in an intellectually dishonest dance. “Hope in negation” neither sheds light on nor advances the concept (if there is one) of “Hope in the negative.” Both are little more than turns of phrase—a turn, like a step, being another integral component of dance. In this case, the turn is followed by a dip: “Buwalda uses wrecked cars as a metaphor for potential being squandered or not realized, but is ironically hopeful and quiet.” The sentence doesn’t make much sense (grammatically or otherwise), but, then, it’s only a flourish to impress (or distract) the judges. (What, exactly, is unrealized potential to a car? The tragic knowledge that it will never grow up to be an SUV?)
Ultimately, the most depressing aspect of the release is the reader it imagines: uncritical, easily impressed, overly eager to connect (regardless of how superficial the connection may be). Of course, that may be our own fault. It takes two to tango.
i wonder if anyone who has taken the time to pick apart this press release has even taken the time to see the work and compare the statements to the work. "hope in the negative" has everything to do with the work. i remember the first time i saw tim's paintings the irony of hope was all i could think about. and, the snarky comment about the potential of a car aspiring to be a suv shows an unfortunate inability on your part to understand the use of the word metaphore and how a car is ripe with attributed potential . the point is, you saw a press release and went after it without (i am guessing here) talking to the artist, seeing the work, or even fully understanding what was written. that is just sad and a waste of everyone's time.
you have some valid points, some not so much. i don't want to waste anyones time getting into all of it. i guess i would have to agree with sarah when she asked if you took the time to look at the work or tried to understand what was trying to be said, even if it was poorly done. i think maybe some of the press release agrees with your critique on what should be done instead. paintings language being just and exploration of painting itself. the limitations being the artists inability to use it as a language. i think timothy is very talented and maybe he was not represented that well with the statement presented. the work has complex emotions, many self critical. anyway, i would just encourage you to write a entry on the work and not something as meaningless as the press release. after all, most artists hate press releases and want the work to do the talking. i think a critique of that would be more fair.
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