I received the invitation to Frank Stella's new exhibition at the Paul Kasmin Gallery (up through July 6th) and noted a marked resemblance between elements in his sculptures and the toy my neighbor's dogs left in the yard:
This kind of thing pisses me off. Back in freshman year of college (1984) I spent a lot of time making 3D wireframe models of various simple mathematical functions using a Basic program lifted from Byte Magazine that I converted to Turbo Pascal running on a Compaq. A few years later I used these in my art, both by applying them to paintings and by transferring them to lithography stones. The joke/comment was a play on the plane and modernist space and THE GRID. Ok, honestly, I just thought they looked cool.
Then, a few years later, I saw Stella prints or paintings with similar wire grids selling for megabucks in a NYC gallery. The store (a.k.a. gallery) was touting his work as cutting edge mathematical modeling of the swirls of cigar smoke. I’m pretty sure he never saw my art. What bothered me was that it wasn’t cutting edge and the mathematical modeling isn’t so hot and it wasn’t any more interesting or novel than mine from 15-20 years earlier. Is it justified that because he did some interesting work in his youth his new work regardless of quality should still be so marketable?
Yes, in fact he has two. Or did, it was over 5 years ago when I last saw them and last worked at the art foundry his upstate studio is next to. Two fluffy white short legged dogs that would follow him around the shop with their little legs running to catch up to his shuffling walk.
This is utterly hilarious...
ReplyDeleteyou've got to be kidding?!
ReplyDeleteThis kind of thing pisses me off. Back in freshman year of college (1984) I spent a lot of time making 3D wireframe models of various simple mathematical functions using a Basic program lifted from Byte Magazine that I converted to Turbo Pascal running on a Compaq. A few years later I used these in my art, both by applying them to paintings and by transferring them to lithography stones. The joke/comment was a play on the plane and modernist space and THE GRID. Ok, honestly, I just thought they looked cool.
ReplyDeleteThen, a few years later, I saw Stella prints or paintings with similar wire grids selling for megabucks in a NYC gallery. The store (a.k.a. gallery) was touting his work as cutting edge mathematical modeling of the swirls of cigar smoke. I’m pretty sure he never saw my art. What bothered me was that it wasn’t cutting edge and the mathematical modeling isn’t so hot and it wasn’t any more interesting or novel than mine from 15-20 years earlier. Is it justified that because he did some interesting work in his youth his new work regardless of quality should still be so marketable?
Yes, in fact he has two. Or did, it was over 5 years ago when I last saw them and last worked at the art foundry his upstate studio is next to. Two fluffy white short legged dogs that would follow him around the shop with their little legs running to catch up to his shuffling walk.
ReplyDelete