Some drink and dial, I drink and type. In fact, I do both. It’s a problem.
I believe that was Hemingway’s first rule..and I’m not Hemingway..

As I recall, a friend within his studio turned me on to your blog/show at the time. Upon hearing additional gossip circulated (I left in 2003?)perhaps I was slightly sarcastic/angered. Gossip is rarely truth. Informed BF created a blog, brought me here once again. Internet…its relevance matched only by its irrelevance.

It is only ever my intention to motivate and inspire, never, ever, to judge, disparage, or ridicule.
It is only my intention that everyone reach their full potential. Period.

Please accept my apology. I own what I say and do.
Sarcasm can be confused with wit and zeal however.

Should BF have created his “blog” as a result of this, then I partially retract my apology as it served well.
I too had found little reason for these, yet as Andreas mentions, one suffers alone. Interaction is important for a variety of reasons.

The ultimate question posed in the end, what kind of art would you make if you did not know what art looked like?
I will probably spend the remainder of my life trying to understand what “Art” is…if anyone is “Pinocchio” trying to be a real boy, it is me.

BF can make me look like a fool any day. Hope he continues to do so.
Still fighting, still dreaming…only another “walking the walk” can fully appreciate what difficulties are embraced and heroes many of you are. Most do not possess a fraction of the strength or courage.

Well done once again. Enjoy your time.
Excuse me once again for the clap-trap.
Regards
PaulH

PS: I adore Maureen and her hair…sigh….
PPS: Any other comment within this site will not be mine. No gossip, I’m done. Prefer my world where 2+2=5

On another note, since you are mentioning Nerdrum, I think that there is also a contradiction in the branding process that they use. I sat they, because he is an individual but Kitsch is a group thing. There is a Kitsch biennale, an official kitsch website, a group of painters that call themselves kitsch painters. A group.

The problem is in their combination of purposes behind the branding. On the one hand they have a label to which they have attached values of their own, and that hopefully will increase profit (this is the normal use of branding). Branding is however by definition a short termed approach. Relatively anyway, relative to the long term change that they also states that they want to achieve.

I am all for creating and taking part of communities. Painting is a social thing. You are on your own, but without colleauges your progress will suffer. I am not so sure that the trend of self labeling will do any good, apart from the obvious short termed economical good it will do to the self labelers, that´s all.

As for a label…? Experientialist Painting?

I think that as painters we have too long set ourselves as “realists” against all of those other “ists”, and found common cause with artists that we are not truly philosophically or politically allied with. But perhaps it is time for some meaningful differentiation. A little friction always helps to refine ideas.

Not necessary, not always and not with all paint aplliers.
But I tend to agree with the first part of the sentence. Unfortunately, there are many painters around, but only a few artists.

It depends what you want. Begin with the idea, as always. We may not know what we want many times, but we sure as hell know what we don’t want.

“21st-century realism” places it too firmly within a time period. You are trying to identify yourselves too much methinks.
“Representationalism” is very common. There are many forms of “representationalism”.
“Post-contemporary”..how can anything be post-”now”?
“Post-Academism”…post-”after I completed school” work?
“Realism”…after the advent of photography, “realism” has other connotations. (vis a vis, Chuck Close)

(Close stated he hated the term also, as he was more interested in artificiality)

Are you wishing to be a group? Obviously so…are we creating a clubhouse name then? A gang name? Strength in numbers then!?

Are you trying to change things? Make a statement with your name/title? Change the system? Promote your ideas of what “fine art” is or should be?

In that case, I feel you are looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

Consider reiterating existing terms, for example, simply “Fine Art” (used in some sense), promoting the term from within, allowing your work to change/remind/modify what *fine art* is to the general public…

Strong work is strong work. we are not the Beatles. your strength is within your individuality, yourselves, not as a group.

An individual wants a picture by Marc D’alessio or Ben Fenske, not “The Florentine Contemporary Realism Group”.

Yet you mentioned Odd Nerdrum. He’s not a group. I support camaraderie and have even hoped for it from time to time (does it even exist?), but he peeled the onion, and spent some seasons in hell to get there.

The words of the poem are important, but the idea, the creation, is more important. Modern/contemporary art as example. Painting is a visual diary, it is not an endless series of studies….(although studies are incredibly important, yes)

Should you line up all of your advanced students and have them paint a scene, they will all look very similar. VERY similar. Let’s be honest.

Do you know one can see complete individuality of the individual within photographs should the same situation occur by “genuine” photographers? Photography is far more difficult for these reasons.

Many, many people take poor photographs, but it really takes someone special to take a good one.

That is because to become a Henri Cartier Bresson, for example, one must possess far more than the technical. And that my friend is a whole other thing.

That’s how Pinocchio becomes a real boy.
I encourage you to study it and modern art. I really do.

You’ll end up where you started, but as the man said, “the journey makes all the difference.”

But, if you wish to be part of a group:

Look at the past. You need a group name that represents a philosophy, which you do, such as the “Ashcan School” “Macchiaioli” “Fauves” etc.

Here are some aids:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_artist_groups_and_collectives

Don’t try and write your history.

You have a name, “The Florence Academy” ..there is your name.

That is what it is, in every way.

Perhaps Cecil would have a problem with that name, but you all seem to be going the way of the Euro in the end anyway…

It represents everything you are about already. no? You apparently want to be identified as from Florence anyway.

If I didn’t care I would not say anything. Perhaps I should not have..

PS: Although we have never met, congratulations on all of your success.

They say as we understand a bit about the writer or filmmaker from their novels or films, although we have never met them….just as we can understand a little about God by studying and viewing the world..

One can also know a man from his internet blog!

You guys are very talented and have painted some *perfect* pictures and deserve all the success in the world.

PPS: Even in time lapse of 15sec, within a crowd of people one can see Maureen’s hair

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