Art Blog - Art In History

I was a young man - a young artist - when Marshall McLuhan came out with his seminal statement: "The medium is the message". The idea had tremendous power, since it seemed to sum up a century of change in attitudes toward the art object (visual, auditory, written) and its purpose. The work of art was its own reason for being; it did not have to serve any outside purpose. For me this is not only an exciting idea, it is a justification for what I secretly often feel is a failing of mine: my work isn't serving a higher purpose that I can define. Which means that, deep down, I don't fully accept that my work has no need to "teach" or "advocate". There is this suspiciaon that the work that deserves the most respect is the one with a higher purpose… Continue reading… 2 comments