Dark Town Sally

Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1834 - 1912) - Judith (1892).

I thought about this a lot last year as I worked through, and slowed my progression for, two solo shows.

I think one of the problems with art shows is that a body of work seems to purport a moment of coherent and cohesive work, while much artwork can be seen (from the maker’s point of view) to be more in a progression– one work builds on the one before, but improvements in concept and idea and the natural incremental sharpening of skill mean that the first object made may well be weaker than the last. Arresting the progression of work to hammer it into one body impedes the flow and conceptualization and growth of the artist, who has “real-life” concerns (read: business/gallery) here interfering with the creation of work. Part of the (commercial) assumption of a gallery art show (and, frankly, something you’re told to make your collectors happy over the years, beyond just one show) is coherence bordering on homogeneity and stagnation.

Furthermore, it’s possible that “making a body of work”– that is, setting out to make one body– is a fool’s errand. Perhaps the artist can only make work, and later he (or someone else) can refer to it as a coherent whole, when it’s all done, when it’s all talking amongst itself(ves).