Art

Mona asked me who my favorite artist is, and I couldn't narrow it down.  It's ephemeral; I don't really have one artist who visualizes my every mood.

But I can name three artists who had a major impact on me.

Andy Warhol made me see the whole world differently.  The soup cans were designed by artists, they were arranged by human beings, and he painted them.  He showed me that everything everything everything is art, if you look at it the right way.

Pablo Picasso opened up to me new ways of expression.  

I remember when I was just a kid I asked my father why Picasso painted that way.  He told me it was because he wasn't a very good painter.  Then I asked him why so many people liked his paintings.  He told me it was because they were idiots.

Well.  When you're a kid you tend to believe what adults tell you.

But one day in the library I opened up a book of Picasso's works, and saw that in his younger days he painted in a very realistic and traditional style.  That meant he actually could have painted like everybody else, but chose not to.  So the obvious question was, "Why?  What does he want to show that can't be shown in a classical interpretation?"  And that opened up delicious new possibilities.

And my last influence wasn't a single artist, it was an exhibit of Egyptian art I saw the Kimbell in Fort Worth.  It was mostly very practical things-- inkwells, combs-- but nothing was purely functional.  The combs had carvings on the handle, the inkwells were tinted and geometric.

Whenever I need to make a purchase for my own home, I try to follow their example.  A comb is going to last me for many years, so taking the time to find one I enjoy looking at will make my life a little more pleasureable.