ARTISTS TALKING
Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Feedback
Inappropriate material?
Ideas? Technical issues?
» Feedback to a-n
Project blogs
The Anti-Hirst
By: Christopher Paris
My bid to be the Anti-Hirst. Where the work of Hirst and other well regarded conceptual artists has lost its way and become merely theatrical props for the modern investor, and my little landscape studies are works of integrity, in keeping with the "great heroic tradition" of being in contact with and coming to an understanding of nature, and reality itself.........discuss
Christopher Paris
I Christopher Paris, do confess, having explored all features of mind, that conceptual thought is limited dualistic and cyclical, and therefore for any conceptual language. to appear to advance. it must either become increasingly incomprehensible and obscure, or breathtakingly simple and direct. I believe that recent "conceptual" developments in the vein of Hirst are an expression of the former, (where to comprehend the art is for it to lose its potency), and what I attempt to be the later, where comprehension is the purpose of the exercise. Therefore I declare myself to be THE ANTI-HIRST.
[enlarge]
'"Fresh Start"', Oil on Canvas and board, April 08.
# 1 [10 November 2008]
Dear all, after a miss spent youth creating obscure liasons between and betwixt unrelated objects in order to savour the subtle nuances of meaning created by the conceptual subsets of specific space and form generated by object associations, I stopped smoking the pot, sobered up and went to get a job.
First thing was a period of retraining, as....a woodwind instrument maker and repairer, a three year full time course something the equivalent of an engineering degree coupled with relatively skilled hand filing. It crucified my eyes as I had to wear glasses, and become dependent upon them.
Anyhow to cut a long story short I did not succeed long term as an instrument person, but went on to a various and diverse career none of which has stuck, and then come back to my original fascination PAINTING.
Last April in a fit of frenzy I escaped to a field and painted, my first painting in many years. Now I don\t ever want to stop again. This was my first of the new work, and I realized I had never painted like this before, outside in the elements from life. It was thrilling and exhilarating and challenging and fast.
Login to post a comment »
Comments on this post
It is great to hear of your experiance Chris, especially that you could not stop. After looking at your website I see you have done a good body of work, impressive (by the way the link on the blog does not work - you are missing the www). It was nice to see an artist, like me, that has so enjoyed coming back to apinting. Good luick.
posted on 2008-11-26 by Neal Vaughan
Hurray ! and the painting has a great sense of freedom and fluidity too. I'm now back painting in the woods, soaking up the atmosphere, which due to other elements, the wind ,etc is exhilarating, rapid and open to constant flux. Good Luck
posted on 2008-11-14 by Donna Southern