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In the beginning God created blogs

22nd Apr 2010

This is the first time I’ve attempted blogging. I’m somewhat of a Luddite at heart and so this is a rather different experience for me – as an artist I work quite traditionally using paint on canvas, and in my other role ( I also work as an Arts Psychotherapist with children who self harm) the world of technology plays a very minor role too. But the new blood site has been good to me and I’ve been both encouraged and slightly bemused to see my work being sold to people I’ve never met and probably never will. Strange how my only encounter with them may well be through my artwork. Which got me thinking about some of the children I have seen today at work, and how much power images have to convey all that ’stuff’ that you cannot put into words. Wittgenstein said that what can’t be spoken about must be passed over in silence, which I mostly agree with, and yet if in the passing over an image is made then the silence has a very different quality to it than that of isolation and muteness. There’s a dialogue that takes place beyond words, and its in this realm that we wonder as artists.
I’m busy at he moment preparing for a lecture that I’m going to be giving at the University of Wales next week on ‘good’ and ‘bad’ art. A very emotive subject, and one that is sure to generate strong opinions, is there such a thing as good or bad art or is it all just a matter of individual opinion. I’m arguing for the distinction between the two, that, rather like good wine, the beauty of a piece of work has nothing to do with the opinions of the beholder, and everything to do with the quality, or lack of it, inherent in the work itself. We’ll see how that goes down.
I’m going to attempt to blog fortnightly, but I don’t want to assume that what I have to say will be of any interest to anyone, so that may well be revised! It will also depend upon time commitments -we’ll see what happens.

6 Responses

  1. Janine
    22nd Apr 2010
    1

    Hi Iain, just a short note to let you know I bought Hecate’s Garden from new blood art as a 40th birthday present to myself, and that I absolutely love it! Perhaps we will get to meet at an exhibition of yours one day. Janine

  2. Iain Andrews
    27th Apr 2010
    2

    thankyou for the feedback, its a painting that I intially struggled with for ages (it had some kind of flying creatures in it at one point before I managed to resolve it!). I’m glad that you like it. Its a long shot but I’m going to be giving a lecture at the Univeristy of wales, aberystwyth, this friday if you are anywhere near and fancied coming along.
    I’m also showing in London in June.
    Thanks for your support

  3. Soraya
    10th May 2010
    3

    Hi andrew. How did the lecture go? Would love to know what people thought about the notion of art works having inherent value. It’s an interesting topic.

  4. iain
    02nd Jun 2010
    4

    hello
    as I sit here to write this my good intentions are clustered in the corner of my studio chuckling to themselves, finger wagging and eyeing me with an ‘I told you you wouldn’t manage this every fortnight’ kind of look. still, better late than never. The lecture went well, turned into a heated debate as I guessed (and hoped) it would. I’d given out samples of cheap and vintage wine beforehand to illustrate the idea of quality residing in the thing itself, irrespective of whether (as some people did) the lesser was preferred over the one of quality. This raised questions such as whether one can be a connissuer of art, and whether one person’s judgement is equally as valid as someone else’s, even if they do prefer Warhol to Soutine (the artistic equivalent of preferring bargain booze to vintage wine). Interesting debate, and it least it got people fired up about art really mattering.
    I don’t have time to write more as I need to sort out the cadmium orange (a rascally colour that spreads everywhere once you let it loose on a painting) ahead of a show at man and eve’s new gallery space in London that opens at the end of this month.

  5. Gem Hadley
    23rd Jun 2010
    5

    Hi Iain,
    I have just joined NewBlood Art myself, and thought I’d let the canvas dry and check out the blogs on here. I have to say I never really have been into writing, but I do enjoy healthy debate! So will be interested to hear what you have to say next. I’m off to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition tomorrow, will let you know my thoughts on the ‘quality’ of the works… Keep up the good work on the blog, you write well! And love your works too, fab use of paint! Gem Hadley

  6. akuta
    02nd Sep 2010
    6

    You may be interested in to what i had to say about the Saatchi newspeak exhibition. I also reviewed the reviews and came up with a league table – it is amazing how little the critics agree upon! See my blog akickupthearts.wordpress.com
    Thanks akuta

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