Is this it -- the end of the world ? Conger and Miller in a mutual admiration society ?
Not likely - although our many differences can no longer include abstraction vs. realism. I've been looking more at abstract painting ever since a good friend started making pots and showing them to me every week. That got me looking more at glazed ceramics through the ages - and finally at the patterns woven, printed, or painted on fabrics. My career as an art critic is not going far because I cannot stand to look at contemporary art. But recently, I've been seeing more American abstract art as beautiful. Not much of it, mind you -- because a contemporary artist is supposed to be uncomfortable, confused, angry, annoying, or disgusted. But sometimes -- they just seem to be glad to be alive -- and that's I feel about Dekooning (the wife, not the husband) and the earliest and latest works of William Conger. I just saw the retrospective again -- and again realized how much I enjoy his paintings like "Mondavi".(1970) or "Pioneer" (2003) And, I have to admit that everything else he's done is better than most of the figure paintings by local, living artists. Making beaufiful figurative art is an incredible challenge - and I'm afraid that most figurative artists settle for the descriptive, cute, clever, and/or disturbing. Happily, the young art editor at NewCity invites critiques of anything that's being presented as art -- whether it's been done by angry kids, stuffy professors, art super-stars, or little old ladies who paint on weekends -- so, I get to pick the things I like, and ignore all the rest. BTW -- my "Portrait of the Artist: WIlliam Conger" (on which I worked about a year) referenced our listserv as a place where he hangs -- so hopefully some curious readers will stop by for a visit (though, I suspect that nobody reads these reviews other than the artists or curators themselves) ____________________________________________________________ Click to learn how to make millions with online affiliate programs. http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/PnY6rc1nhszlFj3n19jLtZeWOXxcrf auLXYBG5iUinX30rJQ88Saw/
