Art for Art’s Sake?

For a while, I have been thinking that the walls of my rented place look a bit bare. I had a poke around IKEA and places like that but I’m not going to pay $50 for mass produced ‘art’. Then, my friend Walter Novak gave me a couple of his photographs – a beautiful shot of David Bowie, a ‘fan’ photo or two and a picture of my daughter he shot one evening recently. I framed them and hung them. But still – lot’s of white space. What to do?

David Bowie – shot by Walter Novak and hanging on my wall.

Over the Xmas holidays, my girlfriend and I were visiting Telc – a beautiful town here in the Czech Republic and we visited an art store. Suddenly, I realized you can actually buy real art for less than that mass-produced stuff from IKEA! Then, I discovered online auctions! Art by real Czech artists, verified and validated… I’m hooked! I bought a beautiful charcoal sketch by quite a famous artist for around $3 at auction and have bid on a number of others. I now boast a couple of pieces and my wall is filling up slowly. But I have the bug. I’m collecting – art by Czechs that I like.

Painting in my collection by Czech artist Libuse Ladianska

I then had another idea – albeit for some temporary art – my own photos! Editing them is fairly easy these days and in minutes you can have some pretty reasonable photos – I am no Walter Novak but I have lucked out on occasion and found myself with a nice shot or two! Of course, I’d like a couple more Walter Novaks too….

I’m now building an inventory with details about the pieces, artists and so on. It’s all very interesting and fast becoming a new hobby.

It struck me, however, that art is in the eye of the beholder. What I like is what I like. It’s perhaps a reflection of my inner self that drives this and my other hobbies – writing and songwriting etc. I bring my inner self to the fore momentarily as if in meditation.

Having had that thought, I had another. I really do need to somehow get the piece that Sue Vincent painted for me over here, framed and on my wall. You know, I do not even have a photo of this work by Sue these days but I saw it for real a few months ago. It is her interpretation of my inner contact – Asteroth – done as sort of a triad of females – a sort of reflection of the Mother, Maiden, Crone triad. It is exquisitely beautiful….. I need it here.

Asteroth by Sue Vincent

 

 

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