What Every Art Buyer Should Know
Why is Good Craftsmanship Important?
The Need for Sound Craftsmanship
...if we are to continue to learn from and build upon the past we must have more than written evidence of...a work of art. We must ensure that we have for study for the longest possible period of time the original work of art itself. Nothing as yet can adequately replace it.
None among us will deny the artist's right and need for complete freedom of expression. None of the following is intended in any way to restrict or deny this freedom of expression. Its aim is to help preserve this expression both for the present and for the future, by focussing the artist's attention on the need for sound materials and sound craftsmanship in his painting.
A story from Time Magazine might serve as an example to focus attention on the extremes to which a contemporary artist will go merely to be different, with absolutely no regard for the durability of his work. ...The artist in question found that...working with brushes was too finicky so he bought himself a paint roller that covers even the biggest canvas in an instant. In time, when rollers proved a bore, he hit upon the idea of smeared models ...With this technique he does not have to touch the painting at all...
"I wanted to be the umpire between the canvas and the animal," he explained...A few paintings looked as if they had been left out in the rain. They had. He produced (a painting entitled) "The Wind and the Voyage" by strapping a large canvas to the radiator of his car and driving through a storm. "It gave me a feeling that I was not wasting my time when I drive..."
Lest this appear as an extreme example, the following is a list encountered in the recent years within my own experience and still by far incomplete, of materials employed in contemporary paintings applied over, under, or mixed with paint: sea shells and sand, rope, burlap sacks, torn pieces of billboard posters, rusted nails, masking tape, cellophane tape, tree leaves, wrapping paper, newspaper, laundry cardboard, a rubber tire from a baby carriage, human or artificial hair, pieces of broken mirror glass, pieces of wood from vegetable crates, bird feathers, natural sponges, steel wool, burnt slivers of wood glued or even stapled to the canvas, plastic spoons and buttons imbedded in paint, stuffed birds nailed to canvas, a deerhead nailed to plywood, burnt strips of canvas wired over metal frames, old stockings and other under and outer garments starched and stretched over a wood frame.
Small wonder that what conservators call "inherent vice" (or a guarantee of deteriorating effects due to the use of faulty materials and craftsmanship) is so frequently encountered in contemporary painting.
The Artist's Responsibility
Today, with the artist's main interest apparently focused on the desire to be different and the desire to...paint it faster than anyone else, his works often fail to survive physically more than a few years. Generally this short lifespan of contemporary art is due not to the failure of modern materials, but to the artist's failure to understand these materials and his failure to employ basic principles of sound craftsmanship.
It is these principles of craftsmanship that have made possible the continued survival of paintings executed hundreds of years ago. The ancient masters were interested in craftmanship and were concerned with the excellence of their materials. They did not find this an inhibiting factor in their creative process. They did not feel "straight jacketed" by technique and the relation of technique to their creative ability was a positive one.
It is because of the very fact that they mastered their technique and craft that they could express themselves most completely. It is thanks to this interest in sound materials, craft, and technique that we still have these works available for study and enjoyment.
By contrast, the indifferent attitude of many contemporary artists towards materials and techniques is a sad commentary on our times. The so called "action painters" of today have placed a premium on spontaneity and the creative process, on the newness of materials and on the importance of being different, all at the expense of durability.
...It is my personal belief that what has always been really important in painting is the artist's personal interpretation of the subject, not the novelty of materials employed in making the interpretation. A healthy self-respect on the part of the artist should presuppose an interest in the durability of his own work at least to the extent that it would not require pasting together and patching up in less than a year's time. This is all too often necessary in the case of contemporary painting.
If the artist himself is not interested in the physical survival of his work, why should he expect anyone else to be interested?
The Responsibility of the Art Dealer and the Art Collector
It would seem that, aside from the artist, other parties should be equally interested in prolonging the longevity of a work of art. I have in mind the dealer in paintings, the private art collector, and the museum staffs.
The dealer in painting should be aware of his moral responsibility as a reliable businessman to guarantee within reason the physical durability of the goods he sells, particularly since these goods, in the case of works of art, often represent substantial financial investments.
It is simple common sense that the art collector should wish to protect such an investment, and the case is the same for any object of value. Only an irresponsible person would invest a large sum of money in an object of value without taking simple steps to insure its proper care. As regards fine art, since only the objectivity of the passing of time can reveal to us the truly significant works from the merely competent, it would seem wise to accept as worth caring for that which is worth owning.
Often we are outraged by the appearance of a defect in many of the superficial, material things we have purchased: clothing, cars or furniture. We think nothing of sending these back to the seller or manufacturer. There are very few instances when this attitude has been applied to defective paintings whose defects are the result of faults built in by the artist...
Paintings are, by far, more important possessions than clothing, cars or furniture. They are part of our cultural heritage. We should demand the same standards of durability, if not higher ones, for these valuable cultural objects than we do for easily replaceable, mass produced objects, which have no permanent value or meaning.
Owners of works of art should apply at least the same common sense preventative maintenance measures to these possessions, often irreplaceable, that they apply to the comparatively unimportant material things which they own. It is quite shocking to realize that very little preventative maintenance is applied to art collections compared to that given as a matter of course to expendable possessions.
What is Good Painting Technique?
How a Painting is Put Together
What to Look for when Buying a Painting
