I was reading Tinkering with “Finished” Work in Edward Winkleman’s blog this morning and thinking about artists who are compulsive and aren’t able to let go, to complete anything.
In a way, nothing ever is complete, and probably, just about any work can be improved - but to what end?
“…But the greatest threat to Mr. Niemeyer’s remarkable legacy may not be the developer’s bulldozer or insensitive city planners, but Mr. Niemeyer himself.
It is not simply that his latest buildings have a careless, tossed-off quality. It’s that some of his most revered buildings — from the BrasilÃa Cathedral to the grand ceremonial axis of the city itself — have been marred by the architect’s own hand. And this poses an uncomfortable dilemma: At what point do we — that is, the public that idolizes him, his government and private clients — have an obligation to intervene? Or is posing the question an act of spectacularly bad taste?”
In architecture, work done isn’t really owned by the Artist, in most cases, and I’m surprised that anyone, including Mr. Niemayer, would be allowed to go in and modify his older designs.
Since nothing ever is done - the best thing to do is to make an arbitrary decision and stick to it.
I did two works this weekend - or studies - and I really don’t know what to say about either - are they done?  Maybe they don’t need to be finished any more than this:
I did my own version of the Death of Sardanapalus and I was going to work some more on it today, but a friend who paints at the studio thought it was done and I decided to just leave it as is.  I got frustrated with it yesterday and went home, not photographing it -but decided to, today.
The second painting is larger and called “Explosion #42 begins with a “V”; I’ll let you decide what this painting is about:
I also went to an opening Friday night at Broadway Gallery, it was fun though I was hoping to hang out after the show with Melonie and her friends - that didn’t happen. I liked the work and especially, the way works were hung, using Plexiglass - and the whole thing wasn’t expensive to frame at all, which is giving me ideas of doing something similar for work like those I’ve shown in this post.
Reception: Friday December 21, 2007 6 - 8pm
Broadway Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition - Through Her Eyes, an exhibition of paintings and drawings by the artist Melanie Prapopoulos. The Show will feature paintings and drawings from several of the artist’s bodies of work. The series “Rooms of Thought,†portrays abstracted depictions of night shadows and reflected light, and symbolizes the search for forbidden knowledge. “Myth Translated†is a series of figurative charcoal and pastel drawings inspired by Afro-Cuban myths. “Shatterings of Light on Paper†are acrylic-on-paper paintings, representing the penetration of light – or hope – through darkness.
