Art-Out

[twilson]

"The artist has the most important job on the planet" - Joseph Campbell


In view of the statement above this is a rip off of munchys spaced-out thread except instead of posting stuff about science this is a thread for ART. Im talking about in the broadest sense, not just painting and sculpture.

My first post is going to be about Arshile Gorky mainly because his studio was not far from where I grew up in Connecticut, but also because he was so great and suffered so much.

[twilson]

Bio

Gorky was born Vostanik Manuk Adoian on April 15, 1904, in the village of Khorgom, situated on the shores of Lake Van in the Ottoman Empire. In later years he was vague about his date of birth, changing it from year to year. In 1908 his father emigrated to America to avoid the draft, leaving his family behind in the town of Van.[2]

In 1915 Gorky fled Lake Van during the Armenian Genocide and escaped with his mother and his three sisters into Russian-controlled territory. In the aftermath of the genocide, Gorky's mother died of starvation in Yerevan in 1919. Arriving in America in 1920, the 16-year-old Gorky was reunited with his father, but they never grew close.

In the process of reinventing his identity, he changed his name to "Arshile Gorky", claiming to be a Georgian noble[3] (taking the Georgian name Arshile/Archil), and even telling people he was a relative of the Russian writer Maxim Gorky.[4]

----------------------------------------------------------

Gorky had the worst luck possible and hung himself. A combination of family and health problems pushed him close to the edge and then a fire destroyed a bunch of his work. That pushed him over and he decided he had enough.

The world has paid dearly ever since.

-----------------------------------------------------------

http://www.theartstory.org/artist-gorky-arshile.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Work

Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes... Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind. It is an explosion into unknown areas."

Synopsis

Arshile Gorky's diverse body of work was crucial to the emergence of Abstract Expressionism. He adopted the biomorphic forms of the Surrealist painters, but further freed those forms through the process of painting itself by emphasizing more lyrical color and personal content. By means of his unique approach to color and form, he was able to communicate to the viewer the painful childhood experiences of the Armenian Genocide as well as the pleasant and nostalgic sentiments he felt toward his lost homeland. His work is also significant because it so directly reflects the cultural and historical milieu of New York in the 1940s, where avant-garde artists from both the United States and Europe converged, and of the postwar period in general, when existentialist philosophy prevailed. This philosophy proclaimed the absurdity of life at the same time as it called upon humans to take responsibility for creating their own meaning - which Gorky did by creating beauty out of personal tragedy.

Key Ideas

Many of Gorky's works reflect both the artist's traumatic past as a genocide survivor and the memory of the exquisite beauty of his early childhood surroundings in Armenia. Through the process of painting itself, Gorky could begin to resolve his largely tragic life by transforming real people and real objects, remembered or present, into new realities, abstracted and controlled.
Gorky pioneered the trend of naming his abstract compositions with titles directly referring to particular objects and places, thus fusing objective reality and subjective feeling in his works.
Gorky's work is particularly historical significant in that it provides the most important link between prewar European modern styles and the emergence of Abstract Expressionism in America during the 1940s.

[bentech]

its true
alot of people cant hold jobs

i think that for everyone "working"
there should be someone standing by observing
ready to call bullshit

that persons an artist

[twilson]

Andrés Segovia (1893-1987) is considered to be the father of the modern classical guitar movement by most modern scholars. Many feel, that without his efforts, the classical guitar would still be considered a lowly bar instrument, played only by peasants.

Segovia's quest to elevate the guitar to a prominent position in the music world, began at the early age of four. His uncle used to sing songs to him and pretend to strum an imaginary guitar in his lap. Luckily for us, there was a luthier nearby and Segovia took an instant liking to the guitar. Although discouraged by his family (according to them he should play a "real" instrument), he continued to pursue his studies of the guitar. He set a goal for the guitar and himself early in life. It was, to bring Guitar studies to every university in the world, have the guitar played throughout the world, on every major stage, just as the piano and violin were, and lastly, to pass on his love of the guitar to generations to follow. He considered himself to be the messenger that would complete this impossible quest.

He succeeded in all respects.

Segovia gave his first concert in Spain at the age of sixteen, with his professional debut at the age of twenty in Madrid. His original program included transcriptions from Tárrega, as well as his own transcriptions of Bach and others. Many so called "serious" musicians believed that Segovia would be laughed off of the stage, because the guitar could not play classical music. In fact, Segovia astounded the audience. The only problem he had, was that the guitar could not produce enough sound to fill the hall. Over the coming years, Segovia would perfect his technique and push luthiers to experiment with new woods and designs, that could increase the natural amplification of the guitar. With the advent of Nylon strings, the guitar could produce more consistent tones, while also being able to project the sound much farther.

Segovia's quest lead him to America in 1928 for his first concert in New York. Again he overwhelmed the audience with his technique and musicianship, and converted more dissenters to the classical guitar. His rousing success in New York led to offers for more appearances in America and Europe, and a trip to the Orient in 1929. Segovia, and the classical guitar had arrived.

As Segovia traveled the world, he and the guitar became more and more popular. Composers such as Heitor Villa-Lobos began to compose original pieces specifically for the guitar. With their dark and melancholy mixture of dissonance and cello-like phrasing, Villa-Lobos' compositions in particular, seemed to fit the guitar perfectly. Segovia had also begun to transpose the masterpieces for the guitar. In fact his transcription of Bach's Chaconne, has become one of the most famous and difficult pieces to master. His transcription makes the Chaconne seem as if Bach originally intended it to be played on the guitar instead of the violin. Segovia's repertoire was increasing, as was the guitar's. His goal was becoming a reality. All that was left was the third and final part of his mission... to pass on the legacy to a new generation.

Segovia had many students throughout his career. Among the more famous are Christopher Parkening, John Williams, Elliot Fisk and Oscar Ghiglia. These students, along with the many others, carry on Segovia's tradition, while at the same time expanding the classical guitar's presence, repertoire, and musical boundaries.

Segovia not only taught students himself, he indirectly taught and influenced thousands and thousands of guitarists world wide. He is truly the father of the classical guitar.

-----------------------------------------------------

So what was the big crushing blow to Segovia ? Not much compared to Gorky but as a guitar player it scares me.

Segovias 1937 Hauser was one of the greatest instruments ever built. His legendary Decca recordings were all done on it and he once called it "the guitar of the epoch".

One day in 1962 , during a recording session a Mic fell on it and damaged it. The best guitar doctors in the world tried to bring its sweet tone back to life but it could never be restored.

Segovia was crushed.

[twilson]

its true
alot of people cant hold jobs

i think that for everyone "working"
there should be someone standing by observing
ready to call bullshit

that persons an artist

------------------------------------------

Being hated by my bosses was one of the main reasons I got good at classical guitar. You really need to be forced to stay in your room all day until.you're so crazy from boredom that you find yourself practicing your music, painting, writing or whatever just to kill time.

When ( more like if ever ) the Bush / Obama depression ever ends there are going to be a bunch of great musicians that come out the other end because they haven't had anything to do except sit around and practice.

[MadMoonMan]

High On a mountaintop in a meadow pained gold