Qualia at the National Gallery of Art

Taken from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy website (http://www.iep.utm.edu/qualia/Qualia), qualia is the subjective, conscious experiences we get that have a uniqueness about it. For example, on a very wintry day, sitting in a café and taking down a cup of coffee. That intimate time of enjoying coffee- the sense of smell, taste, and touch during that moment in time coming in from out of the cold as opposed to making coffee from home is that experience catalogued in your mind (called sense-datum) and contributes to your memory.

Incidentally, qualia is the plural form. Single instances are known as quales. With that said, Jill and I went to the National Gallery of Art yesterday and the below picture is a perfect example of a quale. It is Jill appreciating Andrew Wyeth's "Wind from the Sea" painting. She had just referenced it in a video piece she is working on and was joyfully surprised to see it. Unlike most other paintings she pondered over that day, this one was a quale. Other paintings that added to her qualia came from artists like Cuyp, Monet, and Sargent. It was an enjoyable day.

 

 

 



Looking at Art with Indifference

The positive definition of Indifference is an impartial, unbiased view of something.

This post refers back to the page I wrote on painting like the Masters, etc.. In that post, I compared Jill's techniques and skill to a couple of famous artists to demonstrate that creative and high quality art is produced today. Of course, my post has prejudice.

Below are two paintings, one is Jill's and the other a well-known artist. Select which one belongs to Jill and the undisclosed artist and then look below for the answer.

 Jill's is on the left and on the right is Monet's "Flowers in a Pot." I hope you are surprised, or if you selected the correct order then I hope you are still surprised at how much on par the two works are. For reference, I pulled the image today from the WikiArt website: http://uploads6.wikiart.org/images/claude-monet/flowers-in-a-pot.jpg!HD.jpg.

Now, if possible, open your mind and be indifferent to the fact that Jill's painting is not a noted masterpiece. Does it seem like it should? I expect someday it will. Perhaps that is how we should approach all art. Before making a decision, identify prejudices and try to look with fresh eyes.

Was William Blake Spot On? Do we limit ourselves or are we limited?

As Jill is in continued debate on LinkedIn over whether making prints is a loss of some level of professionalism, I'm reminded of a poem by William Blake, called the "Garden of Love."

I believe the poem is about how man-made limitations or boundaries are put on us and limits our ability to grow (and wonder) outside of the constraints of civilization. It is necessary to have obedience (to the law) but what a shame what is lost in the process.

Here's William Blake's "The Garden of Love":

 I went to the Garden of Love,
 And saw what I never had seen;
 A Chapel was built in the midst,
 Where I used to play on the green.

 And the gates of this Chapel were shut
 And 'Thou shalt not,' writ over the door;
 So I turned to the Garden of Love
 That so many sweet flowers bore.

 And I saw it was filled with graves,
 And tombstones where flowers should be;
 And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
 And binding with briars my joys and desires.

How this relates to Jill right now... well, I suppose it relates to all artists that find themselves limited by one thing or another. In Jill's case, it's divergent perspectives from society and peers that define an obscure normative and what is lost is some of self depicted by the graves in the poem. But c'est la vie, non?

Jill initiated a debate on LinkedIn yesterday that stirred the pot for many opinions regarding selling prints of original artwork.

The problem: artwork that is mass-produced hurts the art industry. Artists struggle to put out originals only to be in competition with much cheaper reproductions that would be inferior in quality to an original. So, does making prints hurt the artist's status?

IMHO: Conditionally No. That is, I believe making prints are fine in that it affords others the enjoyment of art they like that would otherwise be limited to one owner. However, I believe care should be taken on how prints are made. There needs to be quality control to ensure an equally high-standard is met with regard to the material (canvas, paper) and the color-matching. Additionally, I think it would be good to do limited editions in order to create value.

The art industry is hurting with the digital age. It is much easier for people to create, which is great; however, true masters of art are left as relics instead of cherished as caretakers of their art.

Painting Like the Masters Today (Added As A Page Link)

I added a new page today on a topic I've been working on leisurely over the past two weeks. It may sound like a stretch and non-objective, but it is based on a study I did of Jill's work as compared to artists both past and contemporary.

Therefore, I invite all to read my page topic called "Painting Like the Masters Today: A Study of Jill Poyerd's Use of Lights, Darks, and Reflections."

I do reference her art as impressionistic and realistic comparing her to Monet and Rockwell with the thesis that it is the combination of her technical skill and the qualitative use of lights, darks, and reflections to tell a compelling story.

When I look at the other artists in this breadth that include greats like Wyeth, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Homer, I am confident that the analysis stands on its on.

Be mindful that I am not equating her status to theirs. I am comparing many of her finished products though.

Please comment constructively, please. Thanks.

JPWatercolors offered prints on SAATCHI - then took them off

Jill added some of her works as prints on SAATCHI now...she was reluctant to do this as she's concerned that her art would transfer well, but we got some prints to compare and they are very well done.

SAATCHI did a great job reproducing her images.

With that said, there's a lot of work in getting a high quality image. Not just a good camera and lens, but lighting and distance and, in Jill's case using Photoshop, to ensure color accuracy.

She decided to remove the print capability because they were cropped due to fixed sizing requirements and, therefore did not relay the art as well. We have a high-end printer (Epson Stylus PRO 7880) that does reproductions just as well without the sizing restrictions, but have not used it much out of availability to reproduce high-quality prints.

So, right now, she is selling only originals with her online galleries. I would guess this is a tough realm to cross as it now ventures into doing art for money vice doing art for art.