Artwork Number 22
CONFUSION - What does he want us to do with it?
Artwork Description
“This is a perfect example of what is kept and held back” says Michael.
Michael submitted this artwork to a local art society. It was very different to what they were used to seeing. The local art society was used to seeing paintings of bowls of fruit and bluebirds.
Michael overheard the curators of that local art society say “What are we going to do with this?” in regards to his artwork and where they may be about to “fit it in”.
It never made it in that local exhibition and since then they have bought in a new rule that paintings as big as this one are no longer allowed because it uses up space other people should be able to use.
“So we are going to suppress the creative urge then, are we?” questions Michael as he laughs remembering this moment.
Since picking up a paintbrush, and having been rejected by that local art society, Michael has yet to exhibit nor attend one of those functions. He says “the first one I am going to attend is this one, my one. And so on the 30th October I will be able to say, this artwork right here is a perfect example of what is kept and held back.”
He recalls, when looking at this artwork, that when he was in a band in Auckland in the 1970s their sax player was a master of fine arts student. One of his first assignments was “can repetition be artistic?” And so he carried to the professor's office a bag full of business cards with the words YES on it, and dumped it on the professor's desk and said ‘yes, repetition can be artistic?’ and left!
Can you find the nun?
“I would fill in more of the squares, but I don't have time. So for the sake of giving the owner more space, I will leave it as it is!”
CONFUSION inspires us to not hold back nor suppress the creative urge in us.
The big. The bold.
Even when inside we are confused.
Even when outside we are rejected.
Put it out there.
Size: 152cm x 101cm
SOLD AT AUCTION - $3000
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