The Power of Art History
"The best history is but like the art of Rembrandt; it casts a vivid light on certain selected causes, on those which were best and greatest; it leaves all the rest in shadow and unseen." Walter Bagehot
I just finished watching disc one of Simon Schama's documentary, The Power of Art. I definitely will want to see the rest in the series at is really giving me a greater appreciation for who these artists were and how they used their talents. Some are great because they invented new ways of seeing things and new values regarding what is worth seeing. Some are great because they refused to conform to the same new ways. What is most amazing is how these artists can sometimes have all the talent they need to be what society calls "great" but refuse to succumb to the siren call of using it. I suspect that someone like Rembrandt had all the tallent he needed to have monkeyed anyone's style but refused to do so, even when people saw the paintings he was creating and said "the man can't paint!"
I confess, I have Simon Schama's set on the History of Britain and as much as I enjoy his wry sense of humor and insight in it, I think I like this one better. I almost get the feeling that as the artists he talks about expressed themselves in their paintings, Schama expresses himself through the biographical history he sheds light on. He is choosing artists who he admires.Maybe even wishes to emulate in his own work perhaps. I think he revels in the fact that artists seem always to get the last laughs on kings. As if to say "William the Conquerer can be what he wants but he will be remembered as what I wanted him to be." That is the power of any story teller, be they a historian, a novelist, or an artist.
Question for Comment: Woody Allen once said that life didn't imitate art, as much as it imitates bad television. Maybe that is because we have not exposed ourselves to great art as much as we have to bad television? How do you expose yourself to people with superlative abilities to see the world in creative ways?
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ooops...{giggle} How very funny! I was attempting to make a statement a la Bansky, and I wrote the wrong web address!
Anyway, I like the way he sees the world. the link www.bansky.co.uk/indoors/ele01.html should take you to the right gallery. He's a graffiti (among other media) artist who sneaks in and creates these works of art, and disappears. For years, nobody knew who he was, and the search for him reached fever pitch. Some of the peices are really great, I think. Someone told me once that what makes great art is not whether something is pleasing to the eye or will go well with someone's decor. Rather, it is its power to provoke emotion, even anger, or disgust, that gives it greatness.
Bansky does some funny pranks, too. He has snuck into a number of museums and secretly hung his work on thier walls. (One subsequently bought the painting!) When I discovered him a few years ago, there was an article about his latest prank, which was to put red stickers next to paintings at the Met, as if it were a gallery reception for an art sale.
So, here I tried to swoop in graffiti-style and place a message of the power of cloak-and-dagger subversion in art, and instead I left a link to a site where you can buy some stuff...classic!
"In May 2005 Banksy's version of primitive cave painting depicting a human figure hunting wildlife whilst pushing a shopping trolley was found hanging in the British Museum. Upon discovery, the museum actually added it to their permanent collection."
"At London Zoo, he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted 'We're bored of fish' in two metre high letters."
What is so fascinating to me is that he can make a lot of money challenging the system. "Banksy does paid work for charities (e.g., Greenpeace) and can demand up to £25,000 for canvases." But he seems to know this.
http://www.newbrigand.it/bansky.jpg
Great lead, Flaura. Thanks. Perfect answer to the question.
Phil