 "The Beginnings of Caution" (2022 No.4, state 4), oil on canvas, 47⅞ x47 inches “How to Look at a Basquiat” (New York Times, April 27, 2022): “One thing in particular that’s easier to see in “Art and Objecthood” than in the overwhelming visual cacophony of “King Pleasure” is how conservatively Basquiat organized the elements of his paintings. The sheer profusion of marks can be misleading, but if you recognize the scratches and scrawls of “Minor Success,” for example, as providing a texture rather than so many pieces of separate information, you’ll see that the arrangement of crown, face and car couldn’t be more straightforward.”
“Straightforward” compositional engagement is one of my annoying struggles. Right now I am working to become more “straightforward.” For me, this is acceptance. I have long fought traditional compositional norms; Basquiat did not do that; from the onset Basquiat embraced traditional graphic composition; Basquiat recognized the power of tried and true graphic composing, its power to immediately engage viewers. I am learning; the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat teaches me well.  "Uphill" (2022 No.4, state 10), oil on canvas, 60x58 inches A small correction makes a BIG difference in the painting, "Uphill the Hero". In the upper right I have leaned the vertical, arm-like form, more to the left. Much Better!!! More Profound! Amazing what a relatively minor alteration can do to the overall feel, the engagement, of a visual image.
 Drawing 01·18·2022 No.2, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches "Getting It" means simplifying the message to purity; so pure that it cannot be misunderstood.
 Drawing 01·08·2022 No.1, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches  Drawing 01·08·2022 No.2, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches Yesterday my energy and intensity stood high. I was flying, stimulated, optimistic. I believed I can produce art of quality and lasting merit. As consequence, today I show two good drawings. I have no doubts. Yes, but... Are these drawings charged with sufficient appeal to be instantly attractive to a large swath of viewers? Both these drawings make a lot of sense to me. The first is simple, direct, partakes of many of my recent interests, including dynamism of negative space. The second is complex, yet engages with an obvious center. These qualities are important to me, i.e., emotive negative space, and viewer engagement through centering. I believe I have made real the first two rules necessary to profound, emotive art. First and foremost, Art must engage. If that fails, all interest is lost. Without engagement there is nothing.  Studio, January 8, 2022  Drawing 09·15·2021, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches The question is... What are the limits of complexity an art-maker can create in his effort to immediately engage the viewer, then hold them for the long haul? The long haul is most important. If the viewer does not hang in the viewing, all depth and substance will be missed. The artwork fails if it does not hold the viewer's attention for minutes, then for days, and ultimately for years of return visits; each viewing to look again, to comprehend more, tp feel more, to be rewarded with more.
Yesterday's drawing was an effort to do just as say in the above paragraph. This is a rich, and profound, drawing; complex, filled with plasticity of thought and emotion.  Drawing 06·29·2021, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches  Drawing 06·27·2021 (state 2), pencil on paper, 20x16 inches I am looking for the special sauce, the stuff that immediately engages viewers. I am looking to stir spices into the visual palette, looking for spices that engage. I need to play around, to mix in new spices, take others out. I am a chef, mixing up variations, seeking the potent mix that pulls viewers in, keeps them married to my work, keeps them wanting more. Thus came state 2 of the drawing from 6/27/2021, which is much better than the original version. Now I am looking at yesterday's drawing. I think the upside down U-Shape (in the upper right) would be better if smaller. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I am right. And so it goes...
 "Gonna Speak to the Crowd" (2021 No.5, state 3), oil on canvas, 62¾x57⅜ inches, {"I'm gonna spare the defeated — I'm gonna speak to the crowd. I'm gonna spare the defeated, boys, I'm going to speak to the crowd. I am goin' to teach peace to the conquered. I'm gonna tame the proud." - Bob Dylan, "Lonesome Day Blues" (2001)} The same thing that saves people's backs from suffering pain is necessary in good paintings. If design is strongly centered the possible pain of confusion gets swept away by clarity of engagement. This is happening in "Gonna Speak to the Crowd", which is aptly titled. I am working hard to make this one speak directly to my crowd of viewers. No more futzing around for robust form and space, which can be confusing because ardent searches are ripe with confusion. I am going for center, for engagement through centrist clarity.
 Drawing 02·27·2021, pencil on paper, 16x20 inches  "In the Lost Negative" (2021 No.2, state 3), oil on canvas, 49¾ x58½ inches {We only live between before we are and what we were. In the lost negative you exist... Three ages in a flash: the same child in the same picture, he, I, you..." - Robert Lowell, "For Sheridan"} These images are me reacting to newfound questions. I allow myself to act, react, making real. I simultaneously accept classical composition as mandate, and my receptiveness to questions. I accept The Classical Mandate, i.e., in-your-face engagement is the simplest, and purest, conduit to viewer attention. In yesterday's blog I showed three image by Philip Guston. Those images follow The Classical Mandate. Picasso accepted The Classical Mandate. I have, at last, accept The Classical Mandate. I accept the necessity of immediate, in-your-face, attention grabbing imagery. It is the necessity to engage the viewer; it is necessary in every composition. After you look at my work, constructed with The Classical Mandate, look at one of Picasso's works (below👇). In his earliest work, and in his last, Picasso accepted The Classical Mandate. It took me a while, but I am here now. There is no denying The Classical Mandate is effective. Acceptance of tried and true is a comfort. It allows me to expand self-expression. It is the fluid means to self-engagement? The bonus is engagement with the viewer. After all, communication, between artist and viewer, is the ultimate goal.  Pablo Picasso, "Large Nude in Red Armchair", oil on canvas, 1929  Drawing 01·10·2021, pencil on paper, 20x16 inches There is a way to engage the viewer in a complex statement. First the viewer must be engaged through simple enticement. Yesterday's drawing was an effort in that direction. The cascading of forms engage immediately. The nuance that is within its space, and its forms, are comprehended through avid attention. This drawing gives as much as it receives. The viewer must be receptive, using his/her wandering eye, to fully appreciate the play, the intellectual and emotional qualities, inherent in this drawing.
 Drawing 02·06·2020, graphite on paper, 16x20 inches Yesterday's drawing surprised me. That drawing did not surprise me as much as our world gone bazzarro. Yesterday a large crowd of well educated, relatively intelligent folks, sat in a room applauding a bully-full of denigrating and dishonest comments. The comments were aimed at good folks, aimed at people calling a spade a spade. By spade I mean a tool with a sharp-edged, typically rectangular, metal blade and a long handle, used for digging or cutting earth, sand, turf, etc. (the dictionary definition). I digress; back to the importance of making art: I do not particularly like yesterday's drawing. Yesterday brought two things I do not particularly like, both need to be revisited with honesty in the forefront. My part is this: I must hunker down into my emotions. The drawing seen here is a technical marvel, but it does not engage emotionally. That is my failure. I need to go back, allow my emotional juices to flow onto the page. Moving a form here, a bit of light there, darkness over here, is not good enough! I am obligated to spill the beans of my tumult in real time.
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At MEHRBACH.com you may view many of my paintings and drawings, past and present, and see details about my life and work. Archives
December 2023
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