I never said the camera was truth. It is, however, a more accurate and more objective way of seeing.
Chuck CloseRead
Painting is the frozen evidence of a performance.
Interpretation
Painting captures a moment in time, reflecting the artist's unique expression.
Chuck Close's quote highlights the idea that a painting is not just a static image but a representation of the artist's emotional and technical performance at that moment. It serves as evidence of their creativity and skill, encapsulating their thoughts and feelings in a tangible form that can be experienced by others.
In practice
In an art class, to inspire students, you might say, 'Remember, painting is the frozen evidence of a performance.'
I never said the camera was truth. It is, however, a more accurate and more objective way of seeing.
A photograph doesn't gain weight or lose weight, or change from being happy to being sad. It's frozen. You can use it, then recycle it.
The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody whoβll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.
Neurologically, I'm a quadriplegic, so virtually everything about my work has been driven by my learning disabilities, which are quite severe, and my lack of facial recognition, which I'm sure is what drove me to paint portraits in the first place.
Part of the joy of looking at art is getting in sync in some ways with the decision-making process that the artist used and the record that's embedded in the work.
Losing my father at a tender age was extremely important in being able to accept what happened to me later when I became a quadriplegic.
It doesn't bother me when people try to deconstruct my songs - because at least they're looking at the lyrics, and paying attention to the way the story is told.
What is real for me are the illusions I create with my paintings. Everything else is quicksand.
In a way, Anglo-Saxon poetry cannot be translated.
Music is...the coordination between man and time.
The artist is the lover of nature; therefore he is her slave and her master.
Art requires philosophy, just as philosophy requires art. Otherwise, what would become of beauty?
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