Remarks by a Mallorcan artist, Joan Bennassar, about art, its role in society and the need for artists to be ethical and respectful of themselves got me thinking about our role as artists, particularly in a pandemic-afflicted world.
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Turner at the Tate /
A discussion I heard today on the BBC World Service was well worth seeking out: Tim Marlow taking a walk around the just-opened exhibition at the Tate, Turner and the Masters. His discussion about J.M.W. Turner's early endeavours to make his way as an artist and his audacious attempts to measure himself against other master artists was fascinating. From Constable to Caneletto, Rubens, Titian and Rembrandt, Turner used their work as excuses to measure himself against them, to surpass them and to use them as a springboard to develop his own voice.
Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth. exhibited 1842, J. M.W Turner (Image courtesy of the Tate)
Light and Colour, Goethes-Theory, The Morning After The Deluge, 1843, J.M.W. Turner (Image courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario)
It was a fascinating series of insights about how even the most amazing and inventive of artists has to work, work, work and relentlessly push forward eventually to become a wonderful artist. Lots of food for thought.