Can you take emotion out of art?
Best Friends, Watercolor, 14” x 11”
Looking at Art:
The artist Alex Katz was the subject of a recent discussion with a group of artists in the Art Center Sarasota Book Club. Everyone seemed to be a fan of Katz and loved his art. For me, the work lacks emotion and for that reason, I can’t call myself a fan. His style includes flat shapes and hard edges reminding me more of advertisements than of traditional painting. Although the artist painted his wife’s face over and over, there is no hint of her personality or his feelings for her. Katz has used her face as a motif devoid of emotion. Other artists have used abstraction, that is simplification and flattening of shapes, to intensify emotion (one example of this is Picasso’s Guernica). These works draw me in. I do believe that emotions can be removed from art, however, I am not convinced that doing so always improves the work. What do you think?
Work in the Studio:
On a Saturday visit to the farmer’s market in Sarasota, I noticed a woman carrying her Yorkshire Terrier. She was having a great time enjoying her dog at the festive market. When I asked her if I could take her picture, she was delighted. My goal in creating her portrait was to capture that joyous feeling and the relationship between her and her pet. The pose involves an embrace and the expression on her face gives away her feelings. I had hoped that the painting would allow the viewer to experience this emotion when seeing the painting.
