CONCEPTUAL ART, means to me, that the creation of the artist is a concept or idea of a particular situation, place, happening ,etc. manifesting itself in a way others may understand and even relate to themselves.

This is a lot like walking into the head of the artist.

ONCE YOU ARE IN THAT HEAD SOMETIMES what you are seeing needs to be explained. Especially by the owner of that head.

{I am sure every artist suffers when hearing someone else describe what they think the artist is “saying”.

I paint ideas.

Here is an explanation of my painting EMANCIPATION.

This painting is really in two parts…before and after.

Check it out on my web site for a closer look. ( 35″ x  12″  Acrylic on canvas )

Here is a sculpture portraying the feeling one has when s/he is trapped in a world of sameness. Blending into the environment almost to the point of oblivion where there is only the collective consciousness motivating one.

This atmosphere of conflicting opinions, viewpoints and  complaints were constantly bombarding his very being. If there was only a way to burst out of the mire of shared angst and quietly think things through a bit.

THE FIRST PAINTING shows this concept after the sculpture has mightily and successfully removed himself from that dilemma.

THE SECOND PAINTING shows the concept of the sculpture in an atmosphere of peace and calm where there is space to stretch, think and act from his own individual understanding. It is free to find and listen to his own ideas. This freedom to think also requires the right time and place to do it.

Now, what he does with those ideas would be another painting.

From what I have read about the evolving techniques an artist goes through I wonder just what is the major influence that precipitates those changes. Often they seem to be abrupt and at other times one technique flows gracefully into another one. What is the major influence for the creative mind? Should all artists have something to say embedded in their art?
Observation and personal experience gives me the answer to some of these questions.
Looking at the changes of Frank Stella, for instance, is an illustration of big changes in his creative presentation. In my own experience I have found that representational painting has lost its fascination compared to expressing ideas in more abstract and non representational forms.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver has a fascinating lecture series     with the catchy title of Tag Team Mixed Taste Lectures On Unrelated        Topics.
I attended one of the lectures in mid July with Hilliard More, Art Dealer    and owner of Great Western Art Gallery where I show my paintings. The  topic was Fractals and Vance Kinkland.
Both Hilliard and I are members of the Vance Kirkland Museum so were  eager to hear its’ Director and Curator, Hugh Grant, talk about his friend Vance.
The supposedly unrelated topic on Fractals was presented by Nicholas Ormes, a Math Prof. at Denver University. From my perspective these topics were uncannily more related than one would generally think.
To quote from the succinct overview of Vance Kirkland on the museum web site, he “saw musical explosions and vibrations, mysteries and forces, rhythmic and discordant, in his imagined galaxies and had the artist’s drive to capture these visions on canvas.”
The reason for my deep interest with the paintings and unusual techniques of Kirkland is that both of us have been blessed with the gift of Synesthesia.
My particular gift allows me to see music as colors, shapes and texture in layers as I hear it. This works both ways: I can see certain art (abstract and non objective) paintings and hear music.
Paintings of Kirkland were imaged on the wall during Hugh Grant’s lecture. When I saw his works depicting his vision of the Nebulae I heard very clearly “The Music Of The Spheres.”

The image here is Vance Kirkland in front of one of his paintings. Can you see the Music of the Spheres in his painting?
Awesome, to say the least.