Saturday, August 16, 2014

CHUCK CLOSE: FACE BOOK by Chuck Close


I was intrigued at first about the artist's severe dyslexia and his struggles in school, but when it got more into his process, I was fascinated. The grid process he uses to create his art is unbelievable - genius, really, for him to devise a way to combat his natural tendencies that could be self-destructive. I love his discipline - 3 hours of work in the morning, and 3 hours in the evening. Even though he has parameters for his work, I appreciated that he leaves space (NEEDS  space) for his creativity. He also understands how the human brain works; that our brain will fill in the unanswered gaps. This is why he leaves some work for the viewer in some of his paintings - he doesn't draw a nose, or an eye. He draws a blob, that when viewed as part of the whole (the landscape, as he calls it) creates for your brain a symbol of a nose or eye. My two favorite lines: "In life you can be dealt a winning hand of cards and you can find a way to lose, and you can be dealt a losing hand and find a way to win. True in art and in life: you pretty much make your own destiny" (47) and "I think problem solving is highly overrated. Problem creation is much more interesting" (51).



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