Life with the Muse© Is That You, Jackson? Developing Your Artistic Voice What was Jackson Pollock thinking? A cacophony of oozing, dripping, dribbling, pouring, slavering, smeared colors, lines and shadows---you call that art? Gee whiz, I could paint that! And it doesn’t even have a title. When I was eight years old, I attended my first major museum exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Wandering the galleries with my mother, I found it particularly satisfying to read the title tags of each artwork. Until we stood, gaping, in front of the chaos of a Pollock drip painting. I was extremely vexed to discover the label boasting, Untitled, Number Three. With pragmatism typical of motherhood, Mom soothed my eight-year-old pique by reasoning, “Well, what else could you call it?” Note to artists: titles are very important to eight-year-olds. In 1930, Jackson Pollock followed his older brother Charles to New York to study painting. He enrolled at the Art Students League and studied with Thomas Hart Benton. Pollock was greatly influenced by the regionalist style and compositional methods of Benton and the Mexican muralists, but he didn’t possess the drawing talents of his brother. Obsessing over his own deficiency contributed to his quest to discover a means of expression uniquely his own. Over time, his artistic development progressed beyond representational subject matter to more abstract expressions of Jungian symbolism and Surrealist theory, eventually dissolving into his breakthrough style of drip painting. During his lifetime he received widespread notoriety as well as critical recognition for his radical technique and artistic capriciousness; eventually his name became synonymous with the abstract expressionist movement of the 20th Century. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Peggy Guggenheim really liked his work. The concept of making art-for-art’s-sake is fairly new. Until about two hundred years ago, artists made a living by fulfilling commissions for the church or nobility. The end of the patronage system created a wider art market, and as artists started turning their attention to broader subject matter, they began to make art on their own terms. The opening of new markets created an environment that nurtured artistic freedom and exploration, culminating in the anything-goes ideal of 20th Century Modernism. Today’s artists suffer from a wealth of ideas. It is often difficult to find your own voice, and it’s not easy to find anything fresh to say. Achieving authenticity is central to the life of an artist, and it is an ongoing job. Finding your own voice means getting your eyes, ears and hands into alignment with your mind, heart and soul. For example, if you have great technique, but your work lacks passion, then you need to find a way to bring heart and soul into your work. If you have lots of great ideas, but you don’t know how to articulate them through your medium, then you need to go back to the drawing board (literally). Develop your craft by engaging your eye and putting your hand to expressing what your eye sees. Maintaining a visual diary of ideas, sketches and thoughts about your work is a long-established practice among visual artists. It worked well for Leonardo daVinci, so there’s no reason it can’t work for you. If you don’t have an artist’s sketchbook already, then start one. Notebooks, blank books and sketchbooks are available in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, bindings, papers, covers and prices. You can spend five bucks at Target, $20 at a bookstore, or $50 at an art supply store. Choose a notebook that suits you, one that is big enough to draw in but small enough to carry around. Julia Cameron, author of several books on creativity, including The Artist’s Way, stresses the importance of keeping a daily journal. For the next month, set aside five minutes a day (it can be more if you want) to write or sketch a few ideas in your notebook. Just play with the ideas that immediately come to mind, and don’t try to judge, edit or refine them. Practice a stream-of-consciousness exercise of visual brainstorming. After a couple of weeks, you will notice that patterns begin to emerge. This is a direct connection to developing your own voice, because it allows what is in your mind, heart and soul to surface. Not all of your ideas will be keepers, but some will really resonate with you. Follow the ideas that hook you; explore and play to see where these channel you. Journaling is a pilgrimage which will create a gossamer bridge to the inner self, if practiced over time. Whether you are an emerging artist or fully established in your career, keeping an artist’s notebook is a vital professional practice that keeps you centered and curious. Many career coaches for artists suggest that artists look for holes in the marketplace, try to find a niche, and make art to fill the void. This approach works for some people, but it is something I don’t counsel artists to use as a primary frame of reference. Instead, find your artistic voice and begin to develop a personal style that is authentic and uniquely yours. Work to generate an honest body of work, and look for markets that support you. They are out there, they are plentiful, and they are looking for you, too. Monthly Muses Books: Beethoven: Impressions By His Contemporaries. Edited by O. G. Sonneck. Dover Publications. Music: The Best of the Three Tenors: The Millenium Collection. 2005 Universal Music Group. Art: Underpainting…J W Waterhouse Work: Mary Maisey-Ireland. Great career coaching. www.YourJoyfulLife.com Travel: Italy: The Best Travel Writing From The New York Times. 2004 Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Thought: “I create my day.” From the movie What the Bleep Do We Know?
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