What “Ought” we Paint Follow-up -208

Hearing from a viewer led to some clarification and further discussion of points related to the previous video and the role of subject matter. It particularly focuses on the key role beauty plays in defining our form.

In Response to Johnson

QUESTION: I feel like you "buried the lead" on this question, Paul. The debate is between traditional method painting with monumental potential vs. contemporary realism hung up on craft without a mind to the importance of subject/craft synergy."Everything is beautiful in it's own way." - Ray Stevens. A side of beef next to the Mona Lisa? Why not Yoko Ono next to Swan Lake? Why not claim "Everything is Art" and be done with all this traditional Boston School training falderall? Oh . . . but that "exquisite" depiction of trash on a sidewalk was done with such VISION!!! If we defend those who destroy our culture with the spirit of "artistic license" we end up with today's Post Modernist "truth is subjective" malaise. Oh yes, TRASH is . . . so daring and "truthful". Why judge any form of painting style or perpetuate a tradition if all are "equally beautiful in their own way"? We know they are not.When an artist declares, "subject doesn't matter because I'm the master of my craft" they've reached the height of arrogance. This is akin to building a mud hut or some other hovel and juxtaposing it next to the Taj Mahal, then calling them "beautiful in their own way" as if the creator/designer of each is on equal footing, even if the hut was built PERFECTLY. NO. Why not have the Swan Lake dancers flop on the stage like fish for an hour or two while homeless people flail on trash can lids PERFECTLY? This is the ARROGANCE of destructionist thinking. The beauty of life, aborted . . . just because you 'said so'? This world glorifies the killer more than the victim. As an art form, oil painting itself bestows upon the subject a type of honor and nobility. An oil painting is a visual document. It may be as trivial as a scribbled sketchy grocery list, or as revered and impactful as the Constitution or Bible. Subject is the artist's choice regardless of their craft proficiency . . . however, the master seeks a design to elevate his Art, not distract from it in some outrageous way. The synergy between craft and subject in a painting can be truly monumental.This to me is where the 'ought' is crucial to the future of any culture, especially when the media used is capable of surviving hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. Perhaps we are modern trash artists, wonderfully crafted? How incredibly sad. What 'ought' to inform our choice of subject and how it's presented?Start here: "Every work of art is a type of self-portrait." - Oscar Wilde

Johnson.