© Arnold Newman

Hans Hofmann, (born March 21, 1880, Weissenberg, Ger.—died Feb. 17, 1966, New York, N.Y., U.S.), German painter who was one of the most influential art teachers of the 20th century. He pioneered the use of improvisatory techniques; his work opened the way for the first generation of post-World War II American painters to develop Abstract Expressionism.

Hofmann’s painting Spring (1940) was among the earliest works to employ the paint-dripping technique associated with the American painter Jackson Pollock.

In his book, Search for the Real, Hofmann writes:

“Art is magic. So say the surrealists. But how is it magic? In its metaphysical development? Or does some final transformation culminate in a magic reality? In truth, the latter is impossible without the former. If creation is not magic, the outcome cannot be magic. To worship the product and ignore its development leads to dilettantism and reaction. Art cannot result from sophisticated, frivolous, or superficial effects.”

Hofmann wrote it down, and now you know, too.

Gulag Dreams

Art for art’s sake should not be misunderstood.

It is first art for the artist’s sake to fulfill a dharma in transit; and then it is art on its own for the sole purpose of being.

To be without the trappings of scheming and questionable motive is freedom—for you, me, and the art yet to be born.

© Hans Namuth
Jackson Pollock,1950, Long Island, NY

Jackson Pollock was born today on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming.

Pollock was a great artist willing to take risks. Although he wasn’t the first to use action drip painting, it was his ‘drippings’ that caught on and catapulted him into fame, which, for Jackson, became as unendurable as being unknown. Despite recognition in his lifetime, his demons eventually won out.

From the chapter ‘Jackson, We Love You’ in my book, An Artist Empowered:

Jackson Pollock’s (1912-1956) rise to fame and subsequent self-destruction tells a story.

In the 1940’s, art collector and dealer, Peggy Guggenheim, arranged for Jackson Pollock’s first one-man show, which was a success; she also provided him with a monthly stipend of $150, and gave him a commission: a mural for the entryway of her New York apartment, a painting some called expensive wallpaper.

The American art critic Clement Greenberg, who saw truth in Pollock’s paintings, was one of the first to champion the artist’s work.

Despite being taken seriously by these and other makers and shakers in the art establishment, Pollock wasn’t an instant hit. He endured severe personal doubts and hard financial times for most of his life.

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart was born today on Jan. 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria.

An excerpt from the chapter ‘Mozart or Muzak’ from my book, An Artist Empowered:

While Mozart certainly composed with his patrons in mind, he also took risks. Not all of his works and ‘modern’ themes where immediately embraced as the enduring wonders they have become.

Ultimately, Mozart was more interested in pleasing himself. Salieri was the court portrait painter while Mozart was the abstract expressionist of notes. Listen, for example, to Wolfgang’s string quartet (1785) in c major, also called the Dissonant Quartet, and hear why this piece of chamber music lives on into the 21st century. This was one of his most sublime works, featuring two violins, one viola, and one cello. The first movement begins—adagio, very slow.

To compose a musical piece comprised of mingling discordant notes took someone willing to take brilliant risks. First, Mozart intoxicates the ether with a phrase of the strings. Suddenly, the sound drops steeply, dangerously, a whole step, before the phrase repeats, building again from the cello up through the first violin. Then, while the cello continues its pulsations, the viola plays a mournful, rising, chromatic line, luring the violins and cello into imitative responses.

Now, listen to a work by Salieri and you will hear not unpleasant harmony from a conservative, safe approach of that era.

Tesla Redux

If you succumb to the syndrome that my brush is bigger than your brush, not only have you missed the point about art, you will forever look over your shoulder with anxiety, fear, and doubt as your partners.

Art for art’s sake isn’t about indulgence. Art for art’s sake, which is created without motive, isn’t a competitive activity, despite what you may have heard or read. Picasso may have felt that he was in competition with Matisse, but it wasn’t about art.

Of course, the performing arts or other activities requiring auditions are another matter.

I don’t make art to compete; I create art because that is my destiny, my dharma, and when you are in dharma, no one does what you do better than you.

Some time ago, I was sitting in a cafe with someone who told me with great exuberance about his desire: “I want to sing.”

“Go ahead,” I said. “I’m listening.