Explaining one’s art

A painting, a written piece, a work of art should be able to speak for itself. Any attempt at explaining, elaborating or interpreting it will belittle the work. When someone asked Robert Frost to explain one of his poems, he said: “Why should I use worse words when I have already used the better ones.”

The same applies to painting. A painter paints because that is his creative outlet. He paints because that’s the best way he can express himself. Otherwise he would write or talk about it. Every artist has his own language and it takes a long time to develop that language. As a matter of fact, the biggest paradox that an artist faces is finding his unique, individual language, one that is solely his, and remaining sane, when no one understands it.

Appreciating an artist’s language is not easy. It often takes time for the viewer to become familiar enough with it to develop an appreciation. It is also important to remember that not everyone has the ability to understand or appreciate art, or a particular artist’s work. Personally, I find it impossible to explain my paintings, because they are amalgams of many different worlds.

The following is an extract from my artist’s statement: “I am a blender… or, maybe a grinder, processing all that I consume. Everything goes into this processor–the books I read, the music I listen to, the friends I have, my fears, my politics, my loves… they all go in and I process them–all. And, what comes out of this grinder is not just one thing, but permutations of all I have consumed… and, of course, everything that has consumed me.”