Judy Moriarty Essay

Essay on the Wisconsin Artists Permanent Collection.

Beyond Beer Steins

It amuses me when curators, gallery owners, or (horrors!) artists chatter on about "Wisconsin" art. I react with a chuckle, for years of working in the arts, 我认为，没有一种艺术风格可以定义威斯康辛州——或任何其他州. 当然，也有一些画家画出了点缀着牛类动物的连绵起伏的风景画, but these could have been painted China, France, or East Elbow as far as I can tell. 一个人不必坐在威斯康辛州的一头牛面前才能捕捉到“牛的本质”."

Nor are artists of Wisconsin overly concerned with images of cheese, foaming steins of beer, or woodland critters scampering through shady glades. Or ducks, geese, and deer. 如果一位住在加州的画家在他的作品中描述了丰盛的馅饼和蛋糕, does that mean that California is about pies and cakes? Does it mean the artist is a "pie or cake" artist? I would trust that Charles Wickler, 一位长期记录奶牛多种情绪的当地艺术家会同意这一点. It's true, he does produce pastels of cows, but if you pay attention to his work, he extends his talents in many directions. He is not a "cow" artist. Nor is he a "Wisconsin" artist. Mr. 威克勒是一位艺术家和艺术教育家，他碰巧在这个州生活和工作. 我希望这能为这位优秀的教育工作者澄清一些事情，我认为他长期以来一直受到“标签”综合症的困扰.

When I began buying art thirty years ago, I liked everything I saw. 是的，即使是我现在意识到的东西也是(并且将永远是)糟糕的艺术. There is such a thing as bad art, though few admit recognizing it, perhaps out of fear of not being hip. 糟糕的艺术(一个更亲切的标签是不成熟的艺术)是制作拙劣的作品. However, not all well-crafted work moves me. 地球上任何地方最好的艺术都是精心制作的，充满了冒险精神. No chisel, brush, camera, or other tool of the trade can endow the artist with this spirit, 当然，当你拿起一个艺术学位时，我所描述的精神并不是从天而降的. Ask any artist worth their salt. 最好是一个活了40年，并至少花了20年时间追求“创作艺术”的人.“为了安全起见，你可能想再加十年. 我相信备受尊敬的艺术家威利斯·格思里教授会同意这一点.

70年代中期，我是卡罗尔学院艺术教育专业的中年学生, I looked at a variety of art throughout the state. The professors in the art department were, first and foremost, educators, 但他们也创作艺术品，其中大部分要么挂起来，要么藏在教室里. 我早期喜欢的作品之一是马塞尔·普尔托拉克(marcel Pultorak)教授的巨大的女性焊接钢雕塑, aptly titled Prometheus. I bought it and she delivered it by truck to my home. 约翰·泰森教授的铝制圆盘几乎在同一时间来到我身边. 当我从一个住所搬到另一个住所时，他们出现了，使我的新空间活跃起来. I've hauled rooms of art around in my time, 我不得不说，在20世纪90年代初，普尔托拉克教授坐在一辆卡车上，把普罗米修斯接走，然后把它运回卡罗尔学院，现在它是这个收藏的一部分，这真是太棒了. Disc is here too, 和我生活中许多其他的东西共享空间, and it lives with pieces from other donors.

我买这些作品是因为它们做工精良，体现了制作它们的艺术家的冒险精神. 它们的价格在我的承受范围之内，而且完全没有“名牌”艺术品的味道.e., another form of labeling which places art in league with BMW's, Fruit-Of-The-Loom underwear, and Nike's. 坦率地说，我很高兴支持在我生活和工作的同一个州生活和工作的艺术家. 有人曾经告诉我，我是他们认识的人中唯一一个一直从住在威斯康星州的艺术家那里买作品的人. This is a brazenly bold observation, 但我确实认为住在这里的艺术家往往被低估了——即使是他们最好的作品. 在这个集合是一个杰出的早期工作由摄影师汤姆班贝格, 他现在是密尔沃基艺术博物馆的摄影副馆长. When I purchased his photograph, Young Man, a decade ago, the elements of craftsmanship and spirit were already in place. 他的才华得到了全国的认可(我不得不说，这丝毫没有减少我对他的尊重), and I feel privileged to have lived with his work for many years. 我对我的艺术家同行和朋友的作品也有同样的感觉，他们在卡罗尔学院的艺术中有代表性.

在很长一段时间里，我的艺术收藏越来越多(没有任何特别的重点)，并演变成一个珍贵的绘画系列, sculptures, photographs, carved bowls, ceramics, prints, and mixed-media pieces. I say "inventory" as I am inclined to cringe at the word "collector.被认定为艺术爱好者(或者你可以称之为“艺术追逐者”)就足够了。, who happens to prefer art to, say, Hummels, glass swans, salt shakers, or odd hats.

购买你也认识的艺术家的作品有一些明显的好处, such as the joy of living with their products on a daily basis. 在一个越来越没有人情味的世界里，商业印刷在匹配的茶几上被定义为艺术，这是一个不小的安慰. What a shame. 只需要一点点努力，你就可以拥有一个Kwint，一个Thurston-Farrell，一个Uttech. A Francis Ford, a Marian Vieux. A Schmidt, a Schultz, a Schwanke, a Schoczek, a Stamsta.

艺术一直是我大家庭的一部分，我珍视它，就像一个人珍视可靠的朋友一样. The flip side of this is, 当一个人到了一定年龄，该怎么对待那些亲近的人呢? Toss them aside? Sell them? Of course not. 我更愿意知道我的朋友们在一个安全可靠的地方，在那里其他人可以像我一样享受他们. I was their privileged caretaker for many years, and at the heart of it, they were never really "mine." Yes, 认为艺术将永远属于创造它的人，这是一种极端浪漫的想法, 以及他们赋予它生命的那一刻——但这就是我所相信的. I hope you agree. For now at least, Carroll College is their designated caretaker. It is a big responsibility and not to be taken lightly.

As a final thought, 我可以补充一下，如果我把自己限制在编制一长串的标题清单，并加上一些“艺术用语”的形容词，这篇文章可能会很简单." Here are some I chose not to use: outstanding...beautiful...lush...lyrical...stunning. While all are appropriate descriptives, 对于那些在校内和校外的工作室里长时间工作的艺术家，他们只字未提. In thinking about these makers-of-art, my writer's "eye" looks over their shoulders as they educate and encourage young artists; as they unpack their work at art fairs, exhibits, seminars, and juried events. 当他们收工回家去开发新概念的时候，它又看着他们, refine ideas, and sharpen their craftsmanship.

因此，我最好的“朋友”在1998年回到卡罗尔学院是很合适的. For this writer, it signifies a closure of sorts. I note that my friends are in fine company, and on behalf of artists everywhere, I warmly thank those of you who made this possible.

Judith Ann Moriarty

Ms. 莫里亚蒂是威斯康星州的一位画家，也是《博天堂官方入口登陆登录手机入口》杂志的前编辑.