Critical MAS: Contemplating Art – The Mayor’s Art Show and the Salon des Refusés
Written by Will Paradis
A fresh cup of coffee fuels this effort. I am writing my perspective of the Mayor’s Art Show, and also the Salon des Refusés, as a part of a group project to enliven the importance of Art writing in our community. Several cups of coffee have accompanied this assignment in my week-long foray into these shows, life, and Art.
Cup one, 8/13/19.
I realize that an Artist with a vision will invariably view other works in some relation to that vision. Certain visions might be particularly isolating, especially if the vision explores the unexplored. In my formative years as an Artist I witnessed the decaying isolation of a “solitary genius” from those who work towards a democratized Arts community. Thus I feel a sense of duty to minimize any dichotomy which exists between those who seek objective proofs of Art’s gravity through a journey down the rabbit hole of unrevealed truth, continuously redefined by the visionary, and those protective of the very personal subjective connection each individual has to the Art of their own experience, however they wish to define it. Physical reality can exist simultaneously as both particle and wave, so why can’t Art be simultaneously subjective and objective? Another sip of coffee…
Leaving the coffee shop, I held the door open for an autumn-yeared gentlemen. It led to a conversation and our visit to the Mayor’s and Salon shows. He expressed concerns similar to mine about the over-subjectification of Art, seeing a higher purpose than one person’s opinion. He enjoyed the shows as well as our conversation and revitalized my connection to this project.
Back to the present.
This is, in part, the story of a reject. My painting, “Nocturphysalis Toxaurum,” is an honest attempt to serve Art’s evolution. I achieve this through a composition of millions of strokes into layers of harmonious contrasts to create a piece that is sculpturally thick but clearly painted, and quite unique. It objectively stands out as extraordinary. I won’t waste words trying to describe this piece further or include a picture, it is a visual experience I encourage others to have in person. I hope people take the time to question this claim. It hurts to be in the Salon when I so dearly want my vision to be considered seriously by the Art community, though historically I am in good company. I wonder if the juried submission process was still hands-on (as opposed to digital submissions), would this painting’s power have been denied?
More coffee 8/14/19.
I gulp my lukewarm coffee, just right, and wonder what I am looking for in the Art of the Mayor’s show and the Salon. What am I writing about and why? I can’t jive with the general consensus of picking one piece to praise, I want to encapsulate the entirety of Eugene Art, as presented here, into a few important questions.
One question that arises: Can we as a community see the gravity of Art and be able to discuss it like scientists testing equations rather than as parents protecting their children’s feelings? I respect the People’s Choice, for example, a traditionally painted self-portrait without apparent narrative. But if I, as an Artist, am exploring what Art can do that hasn’t been done before, I would not be able to consider this sort of work relative to my own. The fact that this is the democratic favorite shows a clear divide between popular opinion and exploratory Art, and therefore demonstrates the need for the inclusion of the visionary regardless of a common consensus towards the familiar.
River, 8/15/19.
Sitting by the Willamette now, enjoying some sun before a dip, contemplating. The colors of nature, even our citified nature, are of a life and vibrancy beyond paint, but which paint uses to create a new sort of relationship to color and consciousness. Words about Art cannot replace the visual experience, but they can help us make sense of it. There is so much beauty yet to be discovered through exploring Art, if we are willing to see its power beyond ourselves. I aim to navigate honestly through deeply personal territory, finding a common truth, asking and answering questions through Art itself. This is just the beginning.
To learn more about the writing in the Critical MAS series, go to Critical MAS: Introduction.