This has always been a popular question, almost as prevalent as, "What is Art?" Any intuitive answer would be that art is finished when the artist says it is. Unfortunately, this is not always clear to either the artist or the viewer. One of my old professors once gave me an interesting test for the success of the work. If you take any part out of the composition and the art still feels complete, then the artwork is probably not successful. In other words, every part of the work should be essential to the whole. Even the blank areas should be as important as the most detailed information. There is a delicate balance between figure/ ground, between detail and space, between success and failure.
The creative process is much like a balancing act. You begin with a blank canvas and add information to the composition. At some point, everything should feel balanced or complete. Then you push the creation. Make it communicate beyond that which could be ever conveyed with mere words. You have to take risks in this process. The risks will ultimately throw you off balance. At some point, the work loses its wholeness. Then your bring it back to balance, maybe with a little line here, or a little dab of paint there. This process works back and forward until it once again becomes stable or balanced. You take it a little further and lose the balance once again, with an good healthy dose of rule-breaking and visual innovation. Then you pull it back on balance. Ultimately, you have to decide when is enough. At what point does the balance have enough integrated risk, that it is neither safe or boring. If you stop too soon, you risk being passé. If you push it too far, you have an overworked or incoherent image.
Some artists say they are not concerned wth any rules. Let's break them all. This attitude is dangerously close to ignoring the important relationship between the artist and viewer. It could also be compared to a student/ teacher relationship. Can you still be a teacher if your classroom is empty? I would say no. Likewise, if your art had no audience, would you still be an artist. On this level, the art must communicate to someone. In answer to my earlier question, a work of art should feel finished at many plateaus of development. You have to exercise your individual temperament and decide which plateau is the best milestone for your skill level and fortitude. If the work still communicates, then you have sucessfully found a good stopping point. - Ralph Slatton
Tags:
artist and viewer, artwork finished, balancing act, creative process, detail an space, figure ground, ralph slatton, rule-breaking, visual innovation
Posted at: 10:38 AM | Add Comment
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