Perfection

Re: Perfection


Islamic art had an imperfection included 'because only god could create perfection'. Is that what you are thinking of?


ooops - wrote this before reading all the posts [/color]

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Lightwizard, I agree that the concept of imperfection is like the notion of utopia (no-place); and if it has any value at all, it is a very abstract utility like the notion of "infinity". Rather than perfect/imperfect I think I respond to applications of line or color or shape in terms simply of yes/no or good/bad. Serendipity, while not pursued by me (I'm a bit too anal for that) IS something that, when it happens, requires my yes/no or good/bad response. Otherwise, I cover it over and "correct the error".

There is a kind of perceived sublime perfection -- I see it in a Canaletto Venice scene, a Rembrandt portrait or taking painting to the extreme realism of Ingres. However, there's what could be called a perfection in a Vasarely optical painting or even a Campbell Soup can with its label pealing off by Warhol. Depends on how perfect ones definition of perfection is. An error (or flaw or imperfection) in a painting may be something the artist is concerned with but the viewer would never see. We do have to do some restoration of the more valuable prints we sell -- scratches in the surface or crimps and wrinkles in the paper which effects the ink in the image. I just did a colored pencil touch-up on a print and with a little fixative, it dissapeared.

Very few people possess true artistic ability. It is therefore both unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort. If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat something sweet and the feeling will pass. ~Fran Lebowitz

(Called "involuntary imperfection in art.")

or...

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams

Moments can be perfect, art can only strive to capture them. Just throwing that out there....

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LW, the Adams quotation is perfect--because it is true.
If the painter does not allow herself to make mistakes she stands there paralyzed. Allowing errors and correctly assessing them (what I referred to as the yes/no response) = the creative process.
I'm really enjoying your input here.
As Gaylord Simpson used to say,"When you are beset with the urge to exercise, lie down until it goes away." I'm thinking, of course, of the Lebowitz quote.

Of course, Fran's always indulging in beautiful sarcastic humor.

Like this one, too:


An artist never really finishes his work; he merely abandons it. ~Paul Valéry

I suspect perfection is in the eye of the beholder....
like the mother who when watching an army march
past says, "My son was the only one in step."

Well, if it's like Voltaire, the son runs into a tree!

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Shepaints,

I think Cav's idea that only a moment can be perfect is pretty swell. There've been a lot of interesting thought & quotes...

Here's a moment that might be perfect. Picture this. An artist has been painting for hours this day and for many days before. The idea has percolated and the dimensions seem right, the piece is saturated with his spirit. Is that bit of green there too blue? No, is it green enough, good enough. The work is complete.

When did the artist know? There has to be a moment when there comes a satisfaction of the work from within, assuming the artist is still feeling honest with himself and is (ahem) not in a hurry to get a show together.

We once bought a small piece and afterwards the artist asked to come in and add something that he'd planned on doing, but hadn't gotten around to it before it left his studio. We liked it both before and after the extremely minor addition, but it bothered him.

Jules Olitski, the artist/collector, owned a Pollock that was damaged while moving it. He called Pollock who took the canvas back to repair it. Jackson returned the canvas. Olitski said he would be think seriously about ever sending a painting back to an artist for repair. Pollock had improved on the painting.

Great story, LW. Looking at his work above, it is hard to imagine any improvement that could be made.

I could see a colorways alteration but the composition and the way the form hang in space is realy brilliant. I believe the Olitski-owned Pollock was more finely textured so it may have been an improvement in the tactile surface. I guess the point is, if an artist were able to return to many of his previous paintings, he might make some subtle changes based on some rethinking of the color or technique. It is still the artist's judgement to know when to stop, however. The smallest alteration can mess up a compostion.

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LW, yes the smallest alteration can mess up a composition. For that reason I am in a state. I have a picture that can be passed off as finished, but I feel there is something missing, a need for greater texture--the forms and colors are intentionally flat-ish, but I feel a need to soften that effect a bit. At the same time I like the composition and can't find a place to add anything without throwing it off balance. If I put in something, I feel I'll have to add something else elsewhere to re-establish a lost balance. Can anyone remember having this problem? I just want a bit of sympathy.

Perfection
JLNobody - Not having seen the painting you write about, it's hard to know how you might put that final touch that you feel is missing on it. Would a sudden intensification of color somewhere do it?

Perhaps you could avoid looking at it for a week or two and then you might see it with a fresh eye?

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Tomkitten, two pieces of good advice. Thanks. I have already tweaked the intensity of colors to help create the balance it presently has, but now I feel a need for a bit of spontaneity (I expressed this as "texture"), a splash (like I sometimes do with a toothbrush) or bunch of lines. One thing you should know.The picture is abstract so I have more degrees of freedom than if it were representational. It's abstract but it DOES have a hint of narrative: there is an object on a "table," the object is some kind of a supine (perhaps sick or indifferent) animal-like form and all around it are shapes representing concerned human heads. The title so far is "Family Pet". One day--when I learn how--I'll post it to acknowledge your effort.

Perfection
JL - Thank you for your appreciation! I was a little shy about making the suggestion, because I have the feeling that you are light years ahead of me art-wise. But I figured it was worth trying.

I often paint one object, usually in a lower corner of the canvas, and count on the brightness of the color to balance the large blank area of the rest of the painting - blank, but not white; often a pale green. I don't know if this is kosher. I had very scattered art training, so I may well be making up my own rules. Which, as we have all discussed, is usually the prerogative of people who know what they are doing. . .