This is a picture of my painting instructor Marc Wurmbrand and one of his pieces of work. He has been so generous in sharing his admiration for and knowledge of art; in particular, painting...the process, as well as the product, with his students. Since I became one of his students last Fall, I have been mentally collecting what I call "Marcisms". These are little phrases he uses to motivate and inspire his students to be creative. A few of them are, "let your first mark be your last", "point of departure", "thinking in paint", and my very favorite, "make a mark and see where it takes you". I love that! The first time I heard him say that I thought, "He speaks my language!". However, the most freeing Marcism is "There are no originals. It has all been done before." I am continually surprised at the relief this idea brings me.
I am curious as to what this phrase does for you, if anything. You are invited to let me know!
16 comments:
There are no originals . . . I want to agree with you and the comfort you find; however, I hate that saying. The more I think about it the more I reject it. There's a lot of imitation in this world, but I see originality all the time. I keep thinking about that saying and I find it ludicrous. But if you ask nicely, I'll tell you how I really feel.
I do like points of departure, and see where it takes you. Those are good.
Let your first mark be your last - why?
Aren't there a lot of marks in painting? Enlighten me, dear sister.
Let your first mark be your last... in that if you continue to paint and repaint you 1. lose your initial, gut impression of what you want to capture and 2. your colors are separate for only so many strokes; with one too many strokes your paint becomes the color of mud.
There are no originals...I understand what you are saying. Maybe if I can replace a word in one of your sentences, not in an effort to change your mind, it will help you see what is meant by Marc's statement. "There's a lot of imitation in this world, but I see a lot of individuality all the time."
In a class setting, we are being taught how to appreciate the affordances of the canvas, the brushes, the oils, our ability to "see" and how to make the our audience "see" as well. So, in Marc's job of teaching these things, he bursts the idea that we are going to paint our "Masterpiece" and be "THE" painter in the class. We are all students in the classroom...Marc is a student as well as we are. It eliminates the ego and equalizes the attitude in the room.
Many of the Impressionists worked together side by side painting the same landscape at the exact same time of day; using the same inspiration. Because of their sense of equality one towards another and their admiration of anothers skill, they could be each others students and teachers. For example, this following conversation is an example of what could have happened then. "So, Monet, how do you plan on capturing those lilies in the pond?" "Well, Cezanne, I will use long brushes and stand 2 to 3 feet away from the canvas. And what are your plans for the lilies?" "I will use thick texture and use vibrant greens..."
The outcome of equality among them, using the same inspiration yet taking a different "point of departure" are all the beautiful paintings that came from these individuals with their own "fingerprints" that allows the audience to point out which ones are by Monet and which are by Cezanne. Original paintings that come from the same inspiration.
Questions, comments, cursings? I welcome any...
There are no originals...This may be another way of looking at it; Jesus Christ is the Original Creator. All of our creations are brought about by the gifts He has bestowed upon us through the Holy Ghost and are imitations of what He has already done. In our state of existence, we are not capable of creating anything original.
Okay this convo is like super duper deep! he he...very insprirational however. I guess I agree with your teacher in some respects as to their is no originality....but like Judy I hate that saying. How is originality and indiviuality different? Since we are all different and "see" diffently won't we translate that differently to the canvas?....like Monet and Cezanne. I would like to think that I would paint a daisy different from anyone else...something that has never been done before. However, if he is saying every subject and everything has already been painted, I think I might agree with that....with the limited sight that we have only being human...okay I will take my run on sentence self out of here! Ps. I thought his work of art was spectacular, love his use of color, brilliant!
explain point of departure for me....or did you already do that?
What about Sanjaya? He's original.
Sanjaya is incredibly original....I don't think I have ever in my life seen a young man quite like him, he actually sings okay if he found a song that was right for him....like a Michael Jackson song....
Oh my gosh! I absolutely love this blogging thing!
Dawnae - 1. I've been trying to scan the picture of you from the last day of 8th grade but my scanner is not working! As soon as we get that fixed, or I find another way, I will upload your picture.
2. Point of Departure - Before I explain this I have a question for you. You mentioned that you have dabbled in the arts yourself. What is it that you have done? Do you paint?!
Sanjaya, Sanjaya! What a guy! I think he had greater pleasure wearing the mohawk than he did wearing last night's "do".
No, I don't think Sanjaya is original. I think he is unique. Boy George, Adam Ant, The Village People are unique. Madonna is original. What is the difference? Unique means rare, no copies; like a snowflake or a fingerprint. Original means the beginning of something. Madonna started a craze that everyone wanted to follow.
As an artist Judy, you are unique. No one takes pictures, makes videos, or choses fabric for skirts or quilts, or colors for nail polish and lipstick like you do. In the classroom, you are original. Your students follow your lead, your style, on how to write an essay, etc.
So, my instructor tells us that there are no originals. But, he also says, "You will see, even in these early stages, a definite style coming through in some of these paintings. If we lined the wall with a collection of the works done to this point of the semester, we will be able to point out which ones are done by Student A, and which are done by Student B...." This statement refers to the uniqueness of each student.
He is not saying that there is no room, place or possibility for originality. The originality of a students work will show its face when other artists see something in the students work and are inspired to copy the students style. Because it is a beginning painting class for students with very little or no experience, their style is unknown by them or anyone else; therefore it cannot be copied.
So, in a very small sense, he may be incorrect if a students work is copied by the others. But that is doubtful since they are striving to simply define their own style.
Does this make you hate my instructor's comment any less?
this blogging thing really is way cool...anyway, dabbling....I taught myself to paint some, draw and I like chalk pastel. I also thought I would go back to school. I enrolled in U of U's art program, took a drawing class and found out how untalented I really am....it was an eye opener, could not draw a "correct" cube for the life of me! However I really excelled at the 3d stuff. My mom likes my paintings....oh and a friend of mine framed a pastel I did...she thought it was great...honestly I just love art, color, looking at different artist work and talking about it. The creative process for me is just amazing! Anyway...back to American Idol....my favorite is Jordin, can't believe she has a voice like that at 17!
Point of Departure - I'm sure you will know exactly what is meant by this. You begin with a desire to create, then an idea or an inspiration, and you have your tools of the trade. Then, after you begin creating, the point of departure is when your creation takes on an identity of its own. In painting, as you lay down the paint, the marks, the color, the texture of the paint and the canvas will tell you what needs to be done. You've experienced this, haven't you?
I think I have, sometimes I just have an idea in my head....like you will keep me up at night....sometimes I am able to create it....sometimes not...so I don't know if the "idea" interferes with what goes on when I start painting or not...I guess what I am saying is that sometimes it is the canvas or the colors that dictate what goes on instead of the picture in my head...does that make sense? I am not sure.
Thank is exactly it! Point of departure (when you have a plan, then it takes on a life of its own) is very similar to one of his other Marcisms..."make a mark and see where it takes you" (no plan, just playing). It's really great to be able to allow what is happening happen. I have found several students get so frustrated, and even angry, when they aren't getting the exact outcome of what they were expecting. But when I look at what they are creating, it's wonderful! This saddens me and I try to encourage them with what I really like about it, hoping they will "get okay" with the idea of letting things happen.
Oops! I meant to say, "That" is exactly it, not "Thank" is exactly it! Call me butterfingers on the keyboard...
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