Boundaries of Painting
“Boundaries of Painting” is a rather fancy sounding way to describe working within the established parameters of the medium of painting. There is such a storied history in the act of painting that working within the restrictions that exist, is where I think the most interesting work can come from. It doesn’t mean derivatively working of the status quo or established narrative, it means the most valuable innovation will come from working within restricted playing fields. This is important in the age of technology as the horizon is ever expanding and offers so many opportunities in which to create. The is abundant means to create new artistic expression and a lot of it is fascinating. Working within the boundaries of painting is a conscious intention to focus on one area. To take inspiration from new technologies, but to frame it within the context of art history. It means forgoing shiny new mediums, for older ones. But, my belief is that by trying to innovate within tighter confines, that pressure leads to the most impactful developments.
In art, sometimes restrictions are good.
It is much more difficult to innovate within a space that has been occupied for 1000's of years, than in a new developing frontier. With relatively the same tools; oil paint on canvas or board, brushes and palette knives, paint, paper are still what we use when creating painting.
To me the restrictions here, the lack of space to maneuverer with and the playing field that you are on a very well worn path. Innovating within that area is much more difficult and as a result i feel can be more valuable than to create something in a rapidly evolving or developing field - for example in new types of technological art. When new types of technology comes along, we can always innovate quickly because the platform is so new, so open and so untouched. There is a freedom there that is seductive and thrilling. There is fantastic art coming from these new frontiers right now - look at Generative art for example.
And indeed it is likely a new technology will birth a digitally native art medium that rivals the traditional fine art world, maybe it is already here. Even a new medium that in future years, bears the same weight in art history as painting itself. It is likely that this will happen in the digital realm.
I think it is hugely exciting, but what is interesting to me is not to chase that possibility, to be the first or early mover there. I am happy to be a laggard in the art world. I prefer an altogether more boring approach of trying to stay rooted to the past in some way, while absorbing the influences of technology. That is where the most interesting developments will come in the near term for me - the intersection fo Analog vs Digital.
1x Step or 10x Step?
I am not interested in trying to make a 10x step in art. The 10x step would be a move so far away from that we completely disregard any connection to what is valuable, of quality right now. Ironically in Design. or technology the 10x step is what you aim for, that propels society forward. However in Art, I am interested in the one step from here , two steps from here. One step in my framework is radical. One step is Picasso rejecting formalism and painting like a child, one step is the impressionist rejecting the establishment, one step is Duchamp with readymades. ANd of course, will all art this framework is subjective and very little is gained debating what is 1x vs 10x. The only useful part of this is to give me a clear model for my art practice, and for viewers of my work to understand the intention.
I think right now are at an interesting point in the history of analog vs digital painting goes from here. We have digital painting in one silo and we have traditional fine art painting in another category. Largely they are still being treated as separate entities and one of the big themes i see forming is the merging of the two.
Analog vs Digital.