What I've Been Reading: "Contemporary Painting" by Suzanne Hudson

Book Cover

Some of you may not know this about me, but I love lifting weights. I actually do most of my reading at the gym in between sets or while doing cardio. Recently I’ve been rereading “Contemporary Painting” by Suzanne Hudson. It’s a nice collection of themes and ideas about painting from the past twenty years. It’s always good to refresh and be critical of how I think about painting. I also just really love art history and painting theory: the role, purpose, and appearance of painting in the current world.

There’s actually a lot of pieces in the book that are heavily influenced by conceptual art. Another love of mine. I took a conceptual art history class in college and I’ve been a fan ever since. People say conceptual art was a failure and yet now “all art is conceptual.” Personally, at the moment, “the artist’s hand,” technique, and tradition are still essential to my paintings. Partly out of desire for the work, and partly because I’m not yet a celebrity artist with thousands of dollars or a rich family to fund my many studios and installation projects. 

About halfway through the book, I’m thinking about the role of different art forms. I personally feel different art forms can connect with others in different ways. Music seems more immediately impactful; sound eliciting complicated emotions. Chord combinations and voice quality heavily influencing mood. Plus, music is easier to experience like you would in person with multiple streaming platforms that exist online. Novels and stories is also essential to humanity and can convey emotions and experiences on a deep level over time, especially when readers suspend disbelief or empathize with characters.

Painting is visually based.  I associate desire, in all it’s forms, with looking and the history of painting. It’s also why I’m so interested in oil paint: it’s visually seductive, my eyes can’t get enough. I don’t know how to explain it without pointing out things that make my mouth water and my heart race (I said I was in love with painting, alright? Don’t come at me). While technology makes it easier to view paintings, you lose almost all of the impact of seeing a painting in person. Most notably scale. I will admit, it feels like painting has become a place of philosophical debate. Based on the pieces surveyed in the book, there isn’t much importance placed on emotion anymore. However, I believe even if it’s not the intention, most paintings still carry some emotion in them. There are differing expectations of what painting should or shouldn’t be. Does it need to uphold certain truths and follow the progress of society? 

No matter how we are painting, I believe people will and should always paint. Just as we should continue to write and tell stories, make music, sing and dance, and continue to craft ceramic objects and things from the earth. There’s an essay I read once on how picture/image making was an evolutionary step in people. We were painting on cave walls and spitting out chewed up charcoal to leave handprints long before written language. There’s something immediate in visual communication. Things that are hard to describe. If it’s done right, you just know and can feel when you see it. Painting is just one of the many ways as people we communicate with each other. It’s essential not only to culture, but as a trait of humanity itself.