Nearly everyone on the planet has access to some form of photographic device, and images from our lives are shared everywhere.

While the quality of reproduction steadily climbs the part that photographs struggle to convey are the emotions of the photographer. How were they feeling when they pressed the button? What inspired them to take that image and why should anyone else care about it?

How many times have you seen photos from a friend’s dream holiday that mean nothing without their excited narration?

Video and audio bring us closer to a shared experience but we still feel the disconnection of viewing rather than participating.

How figurative painting can bridge the disconnection

For an artist like Mike, emotion is the core of his practise. If a scene does not move or touch him in some way he has no interest in capturing it. Oil painting can take a long time and involves going over and over the canvas to build texture, intensify colour, and experiment with ways to communicate his thoughts. Without some sort of emotional connection to a painting there is no incentive to keep reworking it; and without the drive to convey emotion a painting can emerge lifeless and flat.

The advantage figurative painting has over photography is its imperfection. When a scene is rendered in paint we see something that is different to what our eye normally sees. Strange colours, rougher textures and visible brush strokes shock our subconscious into looking more closely. Our minds need to work harder to recognise reality and so we automatically spend more time assessing our response.

Do we agree or disagree with the artist’s interpretation? Why did he paint it like that? Do we like it?

If the painting draws us in, we want to understand more about why and how the artist painted it. Understanding his motivations helps us ‘read’ the painting. And so, we participate. We respond.

Art and social commentary

Mike has participated in a number of art workshops for people in aged or assisted care (with and without mental illness) and is always fascinated by the characters he meets. Sadly, listening and chatting to residents often reveals cracks in family relationships; few visitors; and in many cases a reliance on television to replace normal social interaction. The Common Room at Royal Avenue is his response to a situation he found distressing. Rather than interacting with loved ones, or each other, residents were slumped in boredom, staring blankly at midday television.

Stages of this work showed much more detail in the faces (see below) but in the end Mike felt the work needed more rawness to convey his impression of societal breakdown and despair. This may not be a pretty image, but an artist’s instinctive desire to record his emotions in figurative work may show future generations a snapshot of the 2000s that is not recorded photographically.

Art and memory

This memorial commission was painted entirely from photographs but Mike’s emotional involvement was still required.

Mike had never met Gillian but conversations with her family described the strong bond between her and her grandson. Several photographs were supplied, including Eric at different ages, but Mike chose the image he felt best represented Gillian. He acknowledged Eric as an older child with the swirling graphic: the symbol from a t-shirt his grandmother wore that the toddler particularly liked.

Mike’s empathy as a son and a parent helped him illustrate the small stories that bind a family together. Photos and videos are filed away for occasional viewing but everyone who comments on that painting will participate in its narrative. The explanation behind the work is simple, but the telling of it is a loving reminder of a grandparent lost too soon.

Art and conversation

With endless technology at our fingertips you’d expect the audience at art museums to drop. Instead, art institutions are reaching out to the people and it’s working. They are broadening their programs to include all ages; making events more social; curating a wider range of shows; increasing educational content and using technology to engage audiences and share art more widely.

Here in Melbourne huge crowds have turned out for the last eight years to see figurative art through the ages in the NGV Winter Masterpieces series. Australians also embrace contemporary portraiture with healthy attendance figures for the Archibald Prize and related competitions. Clearly we haven’t lost our appreciation for oil on canvas as a form of entertainment.

Art and history

History has always been recorded by artists. From cave painting to modern art, the value of artists is a gift for observation combined with a desire to share. Writers, painters and musicians all strive to communicate in their own language and their work broadens us all.

“The arts link society to its past, a people to its inherited store of ideas, images and words; yet the arts challenge those links in order to find ways of exploring new paths and ventures.” – John Tusa, The Guardian, 13 Dec 2005.

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.” – Michelle Obama, 18 May 2009.

In the digital age everyone can contribute to the record, but there are still only a few brave enough to tell their story in paint.

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In 1991, 26 year old Damien Hirst, today’s most successful living artist, delivered his iconic commission, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, to art collector Charles Saatchi. Unfortunately the shark at the centre of this work deteriorated badly in subsequent years and in 2006 it was replaced by another, more carefully preserved specimen.

The controversy surrounding Hirst’s conceptual art has continued to generate record sales, wide publicity and enormous wealth for the artist and his investors, but the question remains: Will today’s highly priced contemporary art last hundreds of years?

I asked Michael for his thoughts on creating multi-generational art and what steps he takes to craft pieces that endure.

“Conservation of works: I think it is pretty important as an artist to conserve your works as best you can, and prepare them in a way that is sensitive to them lasting a long time. Because if someone’s paying a fair bit of their money for a work of art then they want to know that it’s going to last. It sort of makes common sense. But it does mean that you have to spend a little bit more money on products, on art materials, canvases, linens, paints, good artist-quality stuff so it actually does last longer.

For oil painting you’ve got to learn a lot about layering, how long you have to leave each layer between coats of paint, and fundamental things about the properties and behaviour of different materials in order for your works to last.

The style that I paint is multi-layered, which can be prone to cracking and other problems, so I get good quality linen, give it a solid base and good priming. And when I do my layering I give them ample time to dry, at least a week between each working depending on the thickness of the paint. I sometimes use mediums as well which make drying a bit more consistent, because different paints have different drying times.

Also you don’t want your colours to fade but if you get artist’s quality paint pigments they won’t do that. I think the quality of paint these days is a lot better than it used to be. You’d imagine that it’s improved over time… I’m not positive about that but you hope it would have if you use good quality ones.

It doesn’t matter how good your materials are you can still make a bad painting out of it. Sometimes a painting just doesn’t turn out as well as you’d hoped. There’s nothing you can do about that except start again. In general you’ve just got to do the best you can, be as professional as you can, and if people are going to spend money on your work, aim to give them a good product.

I think if your works turn out to be really beautiful, insightful works and they are collected, what you want in a couple of hundred years is colours that remain the same and paint that doesn’t peel or crack off. Your art might not ever get to that stage in acknowledgement, but as an artist if you give yourself respect and make it your life’s work you may as well spend the time preparing your works well.”

References:
1. Michelangelo 2012. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Retrieved 16 April, 2012, from <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379957/Michelangelo/>.
2. O’Hagan, S, 2012. Basically, it’s just a big aquarium with a dead fish in it, The Weekend Australian Magazine, April 14-15, pp 20.

Conservation of contemporary art is a new problem for museums and collectors. Check this out if you are interested in any further reading.

From Sharks to Sugar: Addressing Conservation Issues of Non-Traditional Contemporary Art Media. Masters thesis by Jennifer Levy as part of the Museum Studies program at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley California, 2008.

Related posts:
Keep all your art receipts: the importance of provenance.

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Paul Biro, a forensic art expert used by several international museums, matched a fingerprint on the piece to other Pollock paintings and paint samples to his studio, but art dealers and Pollock experts refuse to acknowledge the unsigned, undocumented painting. Without expert authentication a high-priced sale is unlikely.

While your art purchases are likely to be more conventional, good documentation of your collection is important.

What is provenance?

“Provenance, from the French provenir, ‘to come from’, refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object.” – Wikipedia

That could mean passing through generations of one family; changing owners several times via art auctions or dealer sales; famous collections it’s been in; and so on.

What documentation do you need to keep?

Even if your purchase is not in the Jackson Pollock league just yet, keeping good records is worth doing. Not every artist will return millions to your descendants but even a modest gain from a well-documented piece would justify your investment.

Create a small hardcopy file for your artwork and add as many of the following as you can:

Your receipt of purchase

Where you bought it

Exhibition catalogue; price list; gallery brochure; artist brochure or business card

Any details you have about the artist
Where are they are in their career? Was this his first solo show or his 15th?

Any details you’ve been given from the artist or dealer about the artwork
What is the subject; where was it created; has the artist written a statement about the piece?

Any reviews written about the artwork

A photo of the artist

If you buy a piece at auction keep any documentation that is supplied

What if you bought a painting years ago and have no records?

In the past young artists may have sold work to friends and family with no thought for documentation or future sales (now that artists are entitled to resale royalties it is probably less common).

You can still write down everything you remember about the purchase.

If the artist is still living, the age of the internet makes it easier to track them down. Contact him or her and ask for a signed statement or description of the artwork for documentation purposes.

Having said all that, Michael is probably guilty of providing little documentation for his early work too!

If you have a Knight original and would like some signed paperwork send us an email and Michael will happily provide some details.

References:
Bamberger, A. How to Collect Art like a Pro – Building a Collection, www.artbusiness.com, accessed 4 January 2012, http://www.artbusiness.com/collectpro.html.

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“So my idea of collecting is not going and buying bankable names, but buying people that I believe really are contributing something to my artistic life.” Dennis Hopper

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There are many reasons why someone would commission an artwork but the most common ones are that you admire an artist’s style and would like to specify a particular size, colour range or subject. Perhaps you would like to create a long-lasting memory of somewhere or someone important to you.

Whatever the reason, remember you have asked for an artist’s creativity so allow him or her the freedom to create something meaningful within the guidelines you have agreed on.

How to do it?

1. Familiarise yourself with an artist’s work.

Make sure you see several examples of the type of painting you are interested in and, if the artist’s style has varied over time, try to look at recent examples.

2. Have a chat with the artist.

This doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Most artists love to hear that someone likes their work and are happy to run through some initial thoughts regarding budget, time frame and subject matter. If you are comfortable on the phone give them a call, but if you find that difficult put some questions into an email and discuss the project that way.

3. Time frame is important.

Oil paintings can take a week or more to dry between workings and for artists that use many layers that can add up to a long time. If you can be flexible and allow the artist to suggest a rough timeline that’s perfect, but if you need the artwork for a specific date make sure you start the process several months in advance.

4. Reach an agreement.

Once you’re sure you have both communicated your ideas clearly and you have agreed on a budget, deposit amount (sometimes requested for large works), and delivery details, get some confirmation in writing and let the artist get on with it. Be prepared to trust his or her vision – it’s what you are paying for.

5. Receive your own unique artwork

What an exciting moment… but for some people this is the challenging part of commissions. What will I get and will I like it? Hopefully you’ll love it straight away. If not, live with it for a short time and see if your reactions change. Sometimes the idea in your mind doesn’t match perfectly with the finished piece but you’ll grow to love it even more.

If for any reason you continue to be unhappy with a commissioned work speak to your artist about it. No creative wants to supply something that will be unloved and unappreciated and he or she may be willing to make some alterations.

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