Cutting Edge Art v.s. Stodgy Landscapes

Philip Koch, North Passage, 18 x 24" oil on panel, 2011

(Above is a photo of eight shipping crates I made to send my paintings down to my exhibition this summer at the art museum in Newport News, Virginia. My wife commented how much this reminds her
of a sculpture from the early 1970's by Don Judd, who at that time was considered very cutting edge).

I often wonder whether there are more badly painted landscapes out there or more woefully unsuccessful attempts at "cutting edge" contemporary art.

To see a truly excellent landscape painting is rare. So is seeing a really well done piece of avant garde art. Perhaps I'm less rattled by unsuccessful landscapes because they're usually pretty small. Most work in alternative media like installations, perormance art, or video takes up either a lot of physical space or consumes more of your time. In return for that, one's likely to expect a bigger reward for looking at the work.

I teach in a big art school and am surrounded by all sorts of art by artists who don't all speak the same language. It's a real free for all.  But I do see good art of all styles on a regular basis. 

To get anywhere as an artist, one  has to be intensely serious about ones art making. You pour vast amounts of your heart and energy (and your time and your money) into it. With some luck, you grow as an artist. 

We live in a time when the art world has splintered off into different and seemingly competing directions. I've never met anyone who genuinely responds with equal enthusiasm to all the different directions artists are taking these days.

To be passionate about the art one makes makes you do good work, but sometimes it also means learning to bite your tongue.  Mine has lots of holes in it. A good sense of humor helps.

(p.s. As most of you figured out, that is a photo of a Don Judd minimalist sculpture from 1971 above. Wouldn't they make great shipping crates for paintings though!).