"The Opposite of Indifference" (2021 No.4, state 05), oil on canvas, 50x54 inches, {"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. Because of indifference one dies before one actually dies. To be in the window and watch people being sent to concentration camps or being attacked in the street and do nothing, that's being dead. His or her neighbor are of no consequence. Their hidden or visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the Other to an Abstraction." - Elie Wiesel, "US News & World Report" (27 October 1986)} As art history knowledge goes, I have a lot. Despite the logic imbedded in masterpieces, omni-present in my mind, that logic is elusive. It is logical to be influenced by the Masters. It is illogical not to embrace lessons learned from the Masters. The Masters worked lifetimes to achieve their intelligence of knowing. I am here, a lifetime of achievement behind me; I continue to learn. My learning has not taken a fully logical route, I am accepting logic more today than ever before. It surrounds me, is imbedded in me, is imbedded in the painters who influence my work. Why fight it? I fought it because I wanted to become myself, I want to discover by myself by myself. Here I am, accepting logic because I am now able to accept that I have become myself. Yesterday's drawing was made after seeing a small Joan Miró print in a room of house, a house built and exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art. An article appeared about this house appeared in yesterday's New York Times. It was not the Miró I show below. "Gonna Speak to the Crowd" (2021 No.5, state 2), 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)} Getting centered does not mean relentless balance. There is tipping this way or that. Life is not a flat road; life is full of rocks, ups, and downs. So too must be art; art mimics life. The overall process of living must be mimicked in art making. The corner I have turned is exhibited in my art as acknowledgment that every moment leaves its trace; every moment adds to a full journey. Every journey is just one journey before many more journeys, all exhibited as step by momentary step. My work exhibits the place I am living now, around the corner from task orientation to living moment by moment.
On my desk is this calendar; it gives a new work of art with every flip of the date. Yesterday it was a Rembrandt portrait, the one shown below. I was amazed at its clarity. It reminded me of the clarity of Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring." Education: mastery is clarity. My art is becoming masterful. It is becoming increasingly clear to me, profundity requires clarity. Here they come — drawings and paintings with more clarity! Looking back, was I afraid of full, unabated clarity because complexity hid my confusion. When I did not feel a high degree of artistic knowledge I mucked around with complex images, looking for truth within the muck. Well, is that not the way to enlightenment?
"Gonna Speak to the Crowd" (2021 No.5, state 1), 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)} New painting! New drawing! New ideas... always! This is lonesome business. Try and see, go here, go there. I am clear and present. I accept my personal journey, my self-expressive journey, my need to make art. "Lonesome Day Blues" The struggle to be free is also the struggle to be self-lucid. My work is paying off. Often I have thought I am too confusing to understand myself. That confusion must translate into being too confusing for my viewers to understand, Perhaps a true journey in life is one toward simplification based upon enlightenment and insight. Life, after all, is in the moment., making life's work a simple endeavor. True living is being true to undeniable truths. When we accept our transient reality, which limits us into here and now, we live better, we are happier. We are mortal, we are here, we are now, we know in the moment. We build understanding with our monetary insights. These drawings, the ones I show today, are momentary insights. Consequently, these drawing are more lucid to me than anything I can remember in my oeuvre. Perhaps they will be more lucid to you, my viewers, as well.
I can smell it. I am not there yet. Like a dog, I am relentless till I unearth it. It will never be enough. One bone will never satisfy. One bone gets eaten, another is necessary. This is the path I am on. This drawing is one step.
"The Opposite of Indifference" (2021 No.4, state 04), oil on canvas, 49x53½ inches, {"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference. Because of indifference one dies before one actually dies. To be in the window and watch people being sent to concentration camps or being attacked in the street and do nothing, that's being dead. His or her neighbor are of no consequence. Their hidden or visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the Other to an Abstraction." - Elie Wiesel, "US News & World Report" (27 October 1986)} If I have learned any one thing from Ellsworth Kelly and Mark Rothko, it is this: centering is everything. It is the origin of truth telling. The viewer is confused without an obvious center. Strength of purpose is exuded when the artist dares to speak from his center. I am working to get to the promised knowing. It does exist. It is available to me. Every day I am working hard to get there. It is about in-my-face, in-your-face, bold-face truth. This drawing is another step in that direction. Today is another day walking toward the promise.
sThis is about me getting you to see me for who I am. No, I do not want to steal your soul, but I do want you to pay attention to me. My recent work is more attention demanding. This is intentional because it is required. Why plod along making work for myself when I can make work to communicate with you? These two drawing center themselves, request clearly, speak clearly. Why was it so difficult fo me to get this moment? This is the moment I understand clarity of purpose is actually artfully intelligent. The Beatles did it. Beethoven and Picasso did it. The best at their craft understand this. I wonder, why did I wander the complexity of the rain forest when I wanted the simplicity of the desert?
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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
April 2024
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