Journal of a Kitsch Artist

Chapter 1.1: Who am I creating art for?

As I studied art history, philosophy, and mysticism, I became aware of a major paradox. Why is there such a gulf in the value of beautifully crafted and meaningful artwork bought in the market compared to those found in museums and in the collections of the wealthy? It's easy to understand da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” and Munch’s “The Scream,” which are widely known and acclaimed as global icons. By contrast, de Kooning’s “Interchange” sold for $300M in 2015, Cezanne’s “Card Players” sold for $250M in 2011, Mondrian’s “Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow and Black” sold for 47.6M, and others are sold at exorbitant prices but have never been recognized as cultural treasures. The value of these paintings was determined by market prices driven by influential art critics. The 20th century has witnessed an explosion in the capitalization of art by gallery owners seeking profit. “Avant-garde and Kitsch” was written in 1939 by Clement Greenberg, and his writings have literally launched the careers of Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Hans Hoffman, and Mark Rothko. This became the anthem of contemporary art criticism, dividing artists between the creative, innovative pioneers or the avant-garde, as opposed to kitsch, whose only motivation is money. This designation ignores the simple fact that all artists survive by selling their work, whether they belong to one group or the other. Greenberg created a class system among artists, acknowledged by museums and wealthy art collectors. Paradoxically, the avant-garde sold out for cash.I feel that art should come from an authentic need to communicate or to share a vision or emotion with all viewers, not only to those who understand the “visual language of the highly educated”. Thus, I chose to create paintings that are understood by a worldwide audience, not limited to the chosen few. I will start this analysis by deconstructing the aesthetic roots of the elite. This is a task I started in graduate school, but I never felt it was complete.