La Bonne Etoile Blog

In this letter to Anne Havener, editor of The Pastel Journal” is the seed that germinated to produce this series of articles about the power of experimentation in the growth of an artist. Following next week’s interview of myself on the topic, we will continue to unravel this topic with interviews with Libby Mathews, Urania Christy Tarbet, Marsha Savage, Lyn Diefenbach and others.

I will explain the title of this blog at the end of this post. But first the letter….

January 15, 2009

Dear Anne,

This is just a note to let you know that I did give serious thought to sending you a letter about the current pastel exhibit in Paris. However, in discussing the exhibit with a well known European pastelist I met the day before we both viewed the exhibit, it became apparent my days as an art critic are very limited. I thought you might be interested in our exchange of thoughts to explain why this eye-opening difference gave me pause to actually comment on the exhibit.

After an email from her expressing disappointment in the exhibit and asking for my thoughts I wrote the following comments to her:

“I actually liked the exhibit, especially how they organized it. Of course, most of the major pieces I have seen many times over, but there were quite a few new artists represented that I did not know. I noted how diverse the styles and techniques were in even some of the older paintings. Plus, I noticed the vast array of subject matter and how it was handled. In my opinion, lack of this diversity is a current day problem that tends to make many of the pastel paintings of today seem boring. Sort of, “Seen that, done that, bought the book”  My observation was one of surprise as I saw much more inventive handling of the medium than is evident in the majority of current day work.

I have to admit that I came away inspired and in awe of the people who chose these pieces to be included in the museum’s collection in the first place. If you just glanced around each room, only the medium itself was a common denominator.

In fact, the exhibit encouraged me to enter a competition with some very new pieces that I was sure would not be well received. But, they were, one was accepted for the exhibit and both were to be included in the catalog.  Amazing, how different experiences can come out of the same place.”

I, in turn, asked her opinion and her response was that she thought the exhibit “showed a lot of very weak work…things that were experimental” and not intended by the artist to be exhibited.

Funny, but what I saw as a strength was seen by someone else as a weakness. I can’t even guess whether this is a cultural, personal, or critical difference in our take on things. I am reminded from this exchange that viewing art work is a very personal and subjective activity.

I just wanted you to know that I had not taken your request lightly. I just didn’t know if her comments made me think any differently. Yes, maybe, but, not really. I will be going back to the exhibit next week and might have a totally different experience.

There is always an open invitation for you or any of your staff to visit us whenever you are in Europe. We always have room around the dinner table and a place to lay your head to sleep. I hope you take us up on this invitation soon, but in any case, we will see you at IAPS.

Later,

Kippy Hammond

Postscript:

January 23, 2009

Anne,

I did in fact return to the exhibit yesterday and I am sticking with my guns. The exhibit still affects me the same way and I intend to return one more time before it closes on February 1.

Kippy

Now, what exactly does Battlestar Galactica have to do with this? In the story about this fleet of spaceships stranded in space; they are in a search for the planet earth, as well as temporary protection from the Cylons.  In this adventure, they ‘jump” into different solar systems, and usually back again when they haven’t found what they were looking for…….. But….and here is the lesson….sometimes they do find something, or someplace they need to be and they make the jump permanent.  In this series of articles, we are going to be interviewing artists about their views on experimentation and the role it plays on the personal development of an artist; pinpointing a time, an event, or occasion in their career when experimentation contributed to a “jump” in their style, subject, or career.  I look forward to exploring this topic and invite your comments and questions.  Later, Kippy