Lesson 17: See As Much As You Can
This passage stood out to me as I recently went to an art gallery and took an interest in Lorna Simpson’s, Earth & Sky, an exhibition that showcased massive paintings of minerals in motion alike to mimicking the movement of bullets. From afar the paintings of these minerals are impressively large and were so detailed yet when stepping closer you could see the different strokes and mediums used to achieve this. Due to the scale of the paintings, it was hard for me to imagine how Simpson was able to figure how to execute such detail on a large canvas since the closer you got to it the more it looked like random paint and texture.
I agree with how Saltz’s says artists “steal” and take inspiration from other artists because everyone has their own art style and flare. Taking elements of other peoples work and seeing how it could apply to yours to make it better means that you’re always open to learning and improving your craft. By experimenting and seeing what works to portray your unique vision you are also pushing the boundaries of your creativity. Additionally, he ends off by saying “Great art is often the enemy of the good; it doesn’t leave you enough room to steal.” To me this means that some artist’s are so good they are put on a pedestal and their style can’t be replicated to the same popularity.