| COPYRIGHT 2004-2008 DAVID DeROSA |
Once apon a time, at a gallery show far, far away...
An art enthusiast approached me with two burning questions; "How did you?
and "What do you?" I'm really never sure how to answer without suddenly
bursting into artistic rhetoric.
If you'd have asked Francis Bacon, he'd have said; "The job of the artist is
always to deepen the mystery." By nature, I'm a hyper-active chatterbox who can
go on for days at a time ranting about art technique, theory and philosophy.
(Yes, I'm a right-brained power nerd.)
To a point, I agree with Mr. Bacon; nothing spoils the rabbit-out-of-the-hat trick
more than knowing that the rabbit was hiding in a secret panel all along.
However, I also feel that giving a viewer a peek into an artist's methodology not
only helps to make their work more accessible but also more tangible. So with
this page, I hope to satisfy both points by answering as many questions you
might have in as vague a manner as possible...
An art enthusiast approached me with two burning questions; "How did you?
and "What do you?" I'm really never sure how to answer without suddenly
bursting into artistic rhetoric.
If you'd have asked Francis Bacon, he'd have said; "The job of the artist is
always to deepen the mystery." By nature, I'm a hyper-active chatterbox who can
go on for days at a time ranting about art technique, theory and philosophy.
(Yes, I'm a right-brained power nerd.)
To a point, I agree with Mr. Bacon; nothing spoils the rabbit-out-of-the-hat trick
more than knowing that the rabbit was hiding in a secret panel all along.
However, I also feel that giving a viewer a peek into an artist's methodology not
only helps to make their work more accessible but also more tangible. So with
this page, I hope to satisfy both points by answering as many questions you
might have in as vague a manner as possible...
I have been asked what I have against working on canvas. I don't have anything against canvas, I just don't
like it. My work is my legacy and it would kill me to see it disintegrate during my own lifetime. Wood panels last
longer, because they age better. Plus, they introduce a beautiful, organic sense of imperfection that I feel
compliments my style of painting.
like it. My work is my legacy and it would kill me to see it disintegrate during my own lifetime. Wood panels last
longer, because they age better. Plus, they introduce a beautiful, organic sense of imperfection that I feel
compliments my style of painting.
In a way, the false assumption that I use mechanical methods in my production
is a testament to my compulsively meticulous nature. I am reminded of Rodin --
my greatest influence -- and how he was often accused of making life-casts of
his models. In truth, though I often work from photo reference in pursuit of a
more candid moment -- be it found images or material that I shoot myself -- all
my work begins as a hand rendered drawing -- always has, always will.
I feel that there's an art to art that many self proclaiming "artists" have yet to
grasp. My work does not merely begin and end with the final image. It begins
with the pure pigments I mix my paint from and ends with my signature. From
glazing and brush techniques to sacred geometry and the golden ratio, my
methods are as they were since Michelangelo, just applied to contemporary
themes. As an artist, I never stop learning, growing or developing... To do so I
believe, would be creative suicide.
is a testament to my compulsively meticulous nature. I am reminded of Rodin --
my greatest influence -- and how he was often accused of making life-casts of
his models. In truth, though I often work from photo reference in pursuit of a
more candid moment -- be it found images or material that I shoot myself -- all
my work begins as a hand rendered drawing -- always has, always will.
I feel that there's an art to art that many self proclaiming "artists" have yet to
grasp. My work does not merely begin and end with the final image. It begins
with the pure pigments I mix my paint from and ends with my signature. From
glazing and brush techniques to sacred geometry and the golden ratio, my
methods are as they were since Michelangelo, just applied to contemporary
themes. As an artist, I never stop learning, growing or developing... To do so I
believe, would be creative suicide.
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In my observations, I have seen our society evolve with our
technology by training us to absorb a lot of instant
information. For all we know, "A.D.D." may not actually be a
disorder but rather a side-effect of our broadband,
high-speed lifestyles. With that in mind, instead of
bombarding my viewer with tons of superfluous information
that forces them to slow down their thinking and completely
boring them, I instead decided to go the other way and
eliminate whatever I considered to be unnecessary
information. In this way, I invite the viewer to fill in the gaps
with their own content as a sort of visual "ad libbing." It's
the difference between speaking and being articulate and
ultimately, my attempt is to create an after image that lingers
in the viewers mind.
-- David DeRosa
technology by training us to absorb a lot of instant
information. For all we know, "A.D.D." may not actually be a
disorder but rather a side-effect of our broadband,
high-speed lifestyles. With that in mind, instead of
bombarding my viewer with tons of superfluous information
that forces them to slow down their thinking and completely
boring them, I instead decided to go the other way and
eliminate whatever I considered to be unnecessary
information. In this way, I invite the viewer to fill in the gaps
with their own content as a sort of visual "ad libbing." It's
the difference between speaking and being articulate and
ultimately, my attempt is to create an after image that lingers
in the viewers mind.
-- David DeRosa
|
In Early '06, Comcast Cable did a half hour mini doc on me for their local access program
"Artist i," where I got to ramble on a bit about art-theory and personal methodology. If
you'd like to see the segment, click on the star. Depending on your ISP connection and
your machine's capabilities, it may take a moment (or two) to load so, please be patient. I'm
told that this sort of file is compatible with most media players but it's designed for the
more standard Quicktime player.
"Artist i," where I got to ramble on a bit about art-theory and personal methodology. If
you'd like to see the segment, click on the star. Depending on your ISP connection and
your machine's capabilities, it may take a moment (or two) to load so, please be patient. I'm
told that this sort of file is compatible with most media players but it's designed for the
more standard Quicktime player.
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| >>> If you do not have a Quicktime player, you can go here for a fast, free & safe download: Quicktime <<< |
| "Hey artboy, what the heck is "POP Impressionism" anyway?!?" ~~ ^ click here to find out ^ ~~ |