Jun. 5, 2022
Note
In the 1970's Salvador Dali visited the Cleveland Museum of Art. He walked quickly through the museum collection only stopping to study two works. One was Picasso's La Vie, and the other was the unfinished painting showing the development and decision process of the painting The Sacrifice of Isaac done in 1527 by Andrea del Sarto. The CMA has in its collection a number of unfinished works and studies by artists such as Picasso, Rodin, Courbet, Gros, Gaugain, etc., leading to finished or fully developed works that illustrate the key elements of the creative thought process that an artist goes through in creating a finished work. For example Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Day Winter Night #1, #2, and #3 by Charles Burchfiel are examples of that refinement and development all of which led to the final work in 1917. A finished work or fully realized work can be in a sense sterile but sketches, studies, and unfinished works can often have a life that is missing in a fully realized finial work. I propose to do a series of studies leading to a final work. The studies will allow, as all studies do, the influences that each new day brings and that will color the progress and development of the initial concept or goal of the series. In my own work I have almost always preferred working in a series. A series allows me to build on each work and develop and refine my thoughts through the work an example of which is a work in progress directly on x-rays titled Cats, World War I, and Quantum Physics ( Link to my website https://www.davidverbagallery.com/449280549 ). In many of the works I do I have included in the title the word Study. The thought process and development of an idea or concept in my work can be seen in the series I do, as perhaps in an idea storyboard for a movie, or in the notes and ideas written down on scraps of paper and pinned to a wall that a writer may do. ( one example from my website is the work in progress Artist and the Human Condition - Dinner With Picasso .https://www.davidverbagallery.com/449303339 ).
What does one's creative process have to say about the uncertain transitional times we are in? I propose doing a series of works that begin with an expressive record concerning the daily effects ( directly and indirectly ) of the pandemic. I will allow each work to build on the next work both in the visual sense, but also more importantly in the direction or theme with daily events in the historic world wide pandemic crises in mind. The series will be at least 20- 30 works. I am very excited with the concept "Creating During the Time of Change." The concept behind is one that I am completely familiar with and have been dealing with in my own work for years as can be seen in the work on my website.