“It is when you add the element of light, there is much more
complex interaction of depth, color and movement.”

“…there is a sense of optimism and discovery that is
being explored in these works”

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How do we define our creative efforts in terms of success or failure?

I recently caught a very interesting interview with writer Seth Godin on BlogcastFM that reminded me of how my studio practice plays out daily.

“To do art!  To do art that changes people, that is risky, that is different or art that people remember requires doing something that hasn’t been done before.  Which therefore, it might not work.  What I have learned in life is that I can fail, and still come back tomorrow.” – Seth Godin

In my studio practice, failure is natural part of the process.   Actually it is consistency in this failure that is essential.   It is constantly looking for new approaches, exploring new ideas even if I think they may fail.   Actually, especially if I think they will fail.   I am easily tempted by the ‘what if….”

I’m fortunate in that the process I use doesn’t allow for revisions, erasing or un-do’s.   There is no chance to second guess.  Each piece is created as an expression of the singular moment.

For every successful piece of artwork that my viewers get to see, there are countless other pieces that will never see the light of day. Such are my quality standards.

My studio is more like a laboratory for failure than it is an assembly line for refined masterpieces.

Somehow there is a common assumption that success is the opposite of failure.   I argue that when it comes accomplishing anything worth doing, that success is the
result of accumulated failures.

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The reason I love studying, creating and sharing art so much is because I learn not just about art, but also about history, sociology, politics and religions.  Be it representational or abstract, artists are creating works that are meant to be challenging, deeply thought about and that ask questions that often don’t have answers or resolutions.

“Perhaps one of the things we see as we get older is there are no absolutes.  That the world is not made up of black and white, but myriads shades of gray.”

-Esa-Pekka Salonen, Composer

Absolutes have no space in our creative thinking.

Deconstructing a quote of Kurt Varnedoe from my New Year card, having faith in not knowing is part of the process.   That a state of ignorance or being dumbfounded is not just state of being to be avoided, but it can be a platform in which to view the world in a very refreshing way.
One of wonder, excitement and possibilities.

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It’s that time of year again, when galleries large and small come from all corners of the world to share their artists in Los Angeles. That’s right, these aren’t your local craft fair’s doting chotskies, but a place to see what the hottest new artists are creating all in one place.

These fair’s are great for budding and mature collectors alike, that want par-take in the aura of fashonista’s and hipsters.

• Photo LA Santa Monica civic auditorium, Jan 17-21 http://www.photola.com 

• Art LA – LA convention Center – Jan 23-27 http://www.laartshow.com 

• LA Contemporary – Barker Hanger, Santa Monica Airport
  Jan 24-27 http://artlosangelesfair.com

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I recently stumbled upon this poignant yet humorous, quote by Chuck Close that I’m sure most of us can appreciate at the start of the week.

“Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.”

On the topic of getting to work, here’s a new small piece that I have recently completed.

Participating State
10 x 10 inches
© 2012
See Details 

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One of the highlights was the chance for Richard to share his newest body of work that has never been exhibited before.   He also had a chance to give studio tours and to discuss the concepts he is working with and some the intrinsic details that make his process so interesting.

As a birthday gift to a everyone, those on the “snail-mail” list received in the mail a cut-away image from one of his original prints.  It’s not everyday this artist sends free prints, so if you missed out be sure to let him know so he can put you on the VIP list.

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Last weekend was the centennial birthday of the composer John Cage. Known for his heavy influence on abstract expressionist, minimalist artists and to musicians of all generations. His keen infusion of Zen Buddhism with music has broken down many of the confining rules of his time.

His most famous work is “4’33″,” in which a musician walks onstage and sits at the piano
for 4 minutes and 33 seconds.

“The “music” in this seemingly silent composition is all of the sound that occurs in the concert hall — the coughs, the rustling, the noise coming in from outside.”

Tom Vitale writes about one of his revealing moments in “Music Is Everywhere: John Cage At 100”

“In a 1963 interview with public radio station KPFK, Cage described a revelation he’d had 15 years earlier, when he visited an anechoic chamber at Harvard University: a room that’s supposed to be completely silent.  “In that room, I heard two sounds, whereas I expected to hear nothing,” Cage said. “So when I got out of the room, I asked the engineer what those two sounds were. One was high and one was low. And he said, ‘Well, the high one was your nervous system in operation. And the low one was the circulation of your blood.’ Therefore, even if I remain silent, I was, under certain circumstances, musical.”"

If your interest is peeked, there is more interesting details to discover about John Cage on NPR: Silence And Sound: Five Ways Of Understanding John Cage, by Anastasia Tsioulcas

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Detail of Divisions After Peace
30″x30″ ©2012 Richard Slechta

It certainly is refreshing to come across other artists that are treading very similar paths as my own.

We don’t see many art photographers that go beyond dabbling with the photogram in ones art practice.   In this post, I’d like to share a couple short video interviews of the photogram artists that are actively continuing to create challenging works and make a valuable contribution to the mediums growth.

One of the things that make this medium alluring is that how accessible it is to create reductive works.  Recording just the shadows takes away the clutter of all the extraneous surface information and give you a very refreshing perspective of the shadows that follow us around. As beautiful as that is, perhaps that is also what makes this medium so challenging, is that sense of ‘uniqueness’ quickly fades into redundancy and cliche.

This is what I mean by “dabbling”.  How do we go beyond a process for it to become an art practice?  Minor White reminds us, ‘one does not photograph something simply for’
“what it is”, but “for what else it is”

Garry Fabian Miller

Garry Fabian Miller talks about his work with the V&A. He explains, “I use the circle and the square as a place you can inhabit. I see the circle as nature and the square as thought.”

Adam Fuss

Adam Fuss’s work has an interesting sense of capturing that ‘single moment in time’ which comes so easy with traditional photography.  I remember meeting Adam at a lecture at the School of Visual Arts in the early 1990′s.  His carrier was just starting to explode onto the scene.  At the time, my photogram practice was going in different direction with large-scale Kafkaesque human figures.

Here Adam shares with us, “The dark room is the shadow place. So when in that place, you know that’s where you make discoveries…”

Pierre Cordier

Pierre Cordier has a very different approach to camera less photography, the chemogram.   His works are an organically dissolving graphical blend between painting and photography.

Take a moment to see how Richard Slechta’s photograms differ then these three artists.

The V&A Museum has more information on these artists and more.  Enjoy

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In attempting to define the enjoyment of art, it is easy to see how it becomes a personal description.  Some prefer art that explores dark corners, others light and playful.  However, a commonality can be found in a place we enjoy art outside the public museums.  Experiencing art in the privacy of our homes opens a whole new set of experiences.

Detail of new artwork: Rewind Breakage,
30″ x 30″ ©2012 Richard Slechta

The art we buy for our home is as much of an expression of ourselves as it is about the artist who create it.  Art has the power to transform and personalize our homes into a unique place of comfort and affinity.

It provides inviting balance to the space in our homes, filling bare walls and cohesion with architecture, furnishings and other design elements.

Art can be a representation of your beliefs, philosophical ideology, convictions or curiosities.  Having time to spend in the comfort of your home, art becomes almost like a companion.  There is subliminal saturation of feelings and ideas that can occur.

Maybe you want to your art collection to radiate your status of success.  Or, perhaps display your eclectic and intriguing tastes.  The art we surround ourselves with should make us proud of where we live and remind us of things we aspire towards.

How do you define your art enjoyment at home?  Is it self-indulgence?  Maybe gusto?  Perhaps something with a little more relaxation.  The Thesaurus offered up a wonderful patchwork of ideas for our ‘enjoyment‘.  Which ones define your taste in art?

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Detail of new artwork:   No More, 30″ x 30″
©2012 Richard Slechta

“Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.”

Our Los Angeles art guide, Edward Goldman casually shared these inspirational words of wisdom in this week’s KCRW Art Talk.  Regardless if your a Angelino or not, this presents an interesting ideal worth evaluating.  At first hearing, it behold the wisdom of Greek philosophy they are so well known for.

“Life is short”, indeed.

“Art is forever”, mesmerizing & powerful.

A promise of art’s noble and enduring legacy.  Perhaps evoking beautiful and romantic visions of classical sculpture and paintings that adorn our nations museums.

But this saying is loosely open to all types of art, isn’t it?  Including the most relevant to us, the art of our own time.  With this in mind, is it really the objects of art that live on forever?  Or, is there
something a little richer for us to taste?

Digging a little deeper into Hippocrates famous words, an alternate translation emerged.

“There is so much art to learn and so little time to learn it in”.

Now, there a nugget for us to reflect on that’s relevant to our time.  By adding the action “to learn” allows us the very opportunity to participate in the greatness of Art.  Pity that Mr. Goldman offered something less.

Hippocrates evokes us to get busy, time is fleeting.  For artists and aficionado alike, our very act of investigation, wonder and questioning is this very legacy we seek.

So, why not pass on this notion of art is forever, in lieu of art is now?

—————-

The KCRW Art Talk with Edward Goldman is a wonderful way to get a glimpse into the happenings in
Los Angeles and occasionally give some thought provoking ideas to muddle over.   Don’t miss his lyrical and exuberant voice on KCRW or podcast.  He also has a newsletter if you prefer.

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