Multiple Offerings

Artists work solo for the most part and we like it that way, thank you very much.

At the same time, a little outside interest in our work usually goes a long way in advancing what we make. This is one of the reasons why it’s important to show. Other eyes make the work evolve.

It can be one of the curator’s roles to stimulate this evolution before the formal exhibition. Like a good editor, a good curator can offer a reading of or a challenge to the work in progress. This year, for example, I worked with an artist-curator who said, “These six, and make three more to complete it as a series for the installation.” That was hugely stimulating without being overbearing.

So rather than spreading out to visit as many artists as I possibly can to put together Donkey Trail, it makes sense to me to go down deeper with a few that I already know and admire. To be continued.

On another note completely, please admire the magnificently bold lines painted on the Greek vase above used for multiple offerings. Circa 2300-2200 BC. Now that’s old. On view now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.