Post #689592 by tigertail777 on Sat, Aug 10, 2013 2:43 AM

Not that I care to get into the fireworks on either side, but if I recall ATP was commenting on the work, and not the man. Picasso's work was often compared to that of a five year old as well, and indeed for a very long time I hated his work. Now that I understand more of what he was trying to accomplish I can appreciate the man, and perhaps his work a little...although I still have to say I really am not much of a fan of Picasso but I will defend it for what it is.

All that is to say, is that it IS possible to have a separation of feeling between the artist and the art. I greatly appreciate all the pains Gene goes through to show his process, and his experimentation. I am a fan of the man, but less so of the work. But that is my own personal prejudices showing through. I am constantly amazed at how people can view the same piece of art through completely different eyes. I often have friends point out things to me in my own work that I really don't think I intended, but subconsciously it came through all the same and is there to see once it is pointed out. Other times I will have details pointed out that they will try to describe that for the life of me I cannot fathom and may never understand.

Art is by it's nature highly personal, and it takes someone of a very similar nature to your own to see what you intended. I cannot see in some pieces of Gene's any semblance to tiki, but yet in others I do indeed see it. I think more what I see is his passion for a subject that really interests him, and his interpretation of it. I used to make mini art portfolios based on Pink Floyd's music that I sold through a fan magazine, one of my customers wrote me back stating "how fascinating it is to hear music through someone else's ears by viewing your art". I felt that was a peculiar phrase at the time, but I understand it now; they saw my filtering of someone else's art through my own personal experiences, and knew it was as close as they could come to hearing the music in the exact way my own brain and ears would.

I feel like through Gene's posts I am seeing what he feels is tiki, and his passion for it. However no artist works in a vacuum and the best art in my opinion is highly researched first. I enjoy seeing Gene's posts, but I feel like currently at least he is stuck on the single idea that he thinks of as tiki.

Gene I encourage you to open yourself up to new insights through more research. No matter how much of a master artist someone is, no matter what level they have achieved, higher artistic heights can be attained through more research and a deep curiosity to want to find out more about your subject. I am not disdaining your work, I am wanting to see you dig deeper into the history and beauty of your subject so I can see those interpretations through your eyes. Never be satisfied with your work, always feel there is more to explore because there always is.

I am always excited to see an artist break through and reach new plateaus in their work, it always happens when they try a new direction. Gene I want to see what new places you explore in your work. I will keep following and watching to see where your path leads.