State of the Art_Artists Book

Foreword
All art is influenced by what has gone before and is constantly pushing the boundaries in both technical advancement and
in taste. Today’s art is no exception. We have experienced the “shock of the new” where artists sought to astound us by
breaking down the barriers of convention and of what was deemed acceptable. Artists such as Goya and David who sought
to discard the old type of subject matter through to J.M.W. Turner, who in his quest to surpass the sublime painting of
Claude Lorrain, developed a unique style which in his later days became quite abstract. On through the looser styles of the
Impressionists who wanted to paint what they saw with their own eyes and not through the eyes of others, the influence
of Japanese and Chinese art, Artists such as Braque, Picasso and Mondrian saw us through the periods of Expressionism,
Cubism and so on to the abstract. We then saw the differing approaches of Jackson Pollack and Andy Warhol, Pop art, Op
Art, Dadaism, Conceptualism etc. through to the spawning of the Young British Artists who are noted for shock tactics, and
include Damien Hirst with his animals in formaldehyde, Tracey Emin, famous for her unmade bed, and Chris Ofili for his use
of elephant dung.
So what of art today?
If we look primarily at two dimensional work, we can see that these influences have percolated down and artists have taken
from them whatever it is to which each responds. Many artists seek, not to challenge, but to learn from their predecessors;
picking up the reins and forging ahead in their chosen direction whilst applying their own interpretation developed through
their own reactions to the stimulus which drives them to create. Of course, there are still those who seek to ram boundaries
but there have always been those who prefer to build upon the foundation and validity of the various art movements of the
past. The result is a treasure trove of different styles and techniques, not all of which seek to break new ground, but rather
to consolidate, and stand on the shoulders of what has gone before in order to reach a higher level.
In these days of electronic communications, where we are bombarded with imagery of a fleeting and constantly changing
nature, it is refreshing to be confronted with something which we can take time to enjoy, to observe in different lights, to
savour the texture, the colour, the atmosphere, the technique, the talent and to attempt to understand what lies behind
the creation confronting us.
Art is a means of expression, yet it is unfortunate that many viewers don’t know how to look at original works; they are so
used to seeing “clean” reproductions or “enhanced” imagery that they no longer know how to read or appreciate an original.
Some images, of course, do not reproduce well and this may well be the intention of the artist, thus inviting the viewer to
seek out art which can be viewed “in the flesh”, which, after all, is that from which we can derive the most pleasure. So go,
seek out the artists whose work you’ve only seen in reproduction and experience the real thrill of seeing!
MariAn Boyle Simpson
8 | State of the Art - Artist’s Book