Van Gogh’s paintings and, as much so, his drawings, are compelling (according to the Vincent van Gogh Gallery “..As a post impressionist painter and one of the most famous artists of all time, Vincent van Gogh has become an icon“). 

Meanwhile, a WikiPedia post on Van Gogh points out that “…Vincent and his friend Emile Bernard, who lived with parents in Asnières, adopted elements of the “pointillé” (pointillism) style, where many small dots are applied to the canvas, resulting in an optical blend of hues, when seen from a distance. The theory behind this also stresses the value of complementary colours^[53] (for example, blue and orange), which form vibrant contrasts and enhance each other, when juxtaposed.^[54]“.

 

I meant to go over to see Van Gogh letters to Émile Bernard at the Morgan Library & Museum tonight but didn’t make it (and I bet it would have been closed after 6 PM on a Friday night anyway); the New York Times has a pretty good article and slide show on the Van Gogh show.

“…You will encounter Bernard, too, though far less directly. A minor French painter, prolific writer, tireless networker and van Gogh advocate, he’s present in a few early paintings and prints and a book, but primarily in van Gogh’s salutation, which opens nearly all the letters: “My dear old Bernard.”

The two men met in studio classes in Paris. Van Gogh, a 30-something Dutch ex-art dealer and ex-preacher, was trying to figure out a place for himself in contemporary art. Bernard, a precocious Paris teenager, was trying to do the same. Despite their age difference, they became friends.”

Should be interesting to see Van Gogh’s writings along with his drawings; I’ve read his letters, translated into English several  years ago and they’re inspiring. 

Will make it a point to visit this show before it closes next January.

Reminds me of something I was thinking about today (several hours after starting this post) - the value of an artist is in how meaningful their work is to people who did not know them.  

When I behold this sketch/painting of Van Gogh, done with love and given in a letter to his friend, Émile Bernard, I’m reminded of how good, how true and powerful Van Gogh’s painting is.  Yet this is the same Van Gogh that my favorite painter, Paul Cezanne, didn’t like - for that matter, most artists that Van Gogh hung out with felt he was too radical, too crazy for them….as I recall by reading and seeing material about his life.

Does it matter?  No.   Whatever your contemporaries think of you, even the great artists it matters not - because the relationship of the artist is with the viewer, across time and space ..and that is the covenant one wants to keep - not other people’s opinions, even if, they, in themselves, are great artists.

The validity of work… is the work itself outside the reality of it was created in.

I meant to write about this earlier - I’ve always wondered if Second Life could be used to recreate Great Paintings and then move around in the painting.  One of the all time favorite paintings is Van Gogh’s Starry Night - I wonder how that would look in Second Life.

I suppose this is the closest thing to that idea that I’ve seen (above).

On Monday night I was walking home just before dusk and was caught up with how magical everything looked, especially the clouds.  Lately I’ve been sketching whenever I can - it balances out my Web Analytics work and keeps me rooted in what I fundamentally aim, an artist.

In fact, I’d challenge anyone tell me that eyes of an artist aren’t needed in almost any field.  I was at my doctor’s office on a routine visit and I noticed how many people were calling for advice and consultation.  I asked the doctor how he managed to deal with so many people on know what to say over the phone.  The doctor replied: I like to talking to people over the phone, I get to know them and I can pick up things about how they’re doing and what they need just by talking to them.

Especially today, with so much data, so many inputs, so much information hitting us from all sides and even though time and space …. the ability to synthesize, to filter out, to abstract and get the essential meaning ….. it vital in Medicine, as is in Art.

That’s why, when I visited France last month, and stood in front of Cezanne’s mountain in Aix-en-Provence, I remembered how he took in all the data - all that information -and made it his own.   Slavish imitation is not Art…any more than a Doctor rattling off a bunch of medical tests and diagnosis ….. what you want for Doctors and Artists …. is the story….the synthesis … the meaning of what you there for.

Fundamentally, Art is about “seeing” - it always was and it always will be; everything else grafted on it may be valid, or not, but it’s the vision thing….the Artist “sees”…..and that’s where the synthesis arises.

Also, after reading The World Vision of Paul Cezanne and Delacroix’s Journal, I can say that Art about feelings that can’t be verbalized - the images are but heliographs into the feelings of the Artist.