NAEA Conference: Day 3

What an inspiring adventure the last few days have been!  Today, I had the opportunity to see the reknown artist Chuck Close speak, along with the art critc, Irving Sandler.  Irving Sandler posed questions to Chuck Close and Chuck Close shared stories from his childhood, his days at Yale, and his days as a young artist in response to the questions.  His stories gave insight to what it was like share a graduate school experience with many other notable artists, artists like Richard Serra, Janet Fish, Nancy Graves and many others.

Here are a few words of wisdom imparted by Chuck Close...

My favorite:  "Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up.  If you wait for a bolt of lightning to hit you, you can end up waiting forever.  Everything grows out of the last thing you did, so you have to do something.  Inspiration is so, so overrated."

"If you know what art looks like, it shouldn't be hard to make it."

"Different strokes for different folk."

"You need two things as an artist:  a work habit and a sense of community."

"No one gets anywhere without mentors and I've had my share.

 

When I left the convention, the sun had just finally broken through the clouds.  Even the temperature climbed up a few degrees.  There was a hint of spring in the air, and there is nothing like New York in the springtime.

I passed by many landmarks on the way to the Whitney Museum.  It was like seeing old friends... Broadway, Rockefeller Plaza, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Grand Central Station, and the Crysler Builing.

I finally made it to the Whitney Museum.  The Biennial had just opened up on Thursday.  The Biennial is a highly regarded show of up-and-coming artists setting the trends for the contemporary art scene.



This was my favorite work of art in the Whitney Biennial.  I was so enthralled with the work, that I forgot to write the artist's name.  I know she lives and works in Detroit, Michigan and the materials to create the artwork were salvaged items from a house fire.

On my way out the Whitney Museum to the bus stop, I passed by the Keszler Gallery.  The humor in the artwork exhibited grabbed my attention, and I did a quick tour of the exhibition.

Although I so sad to be leaving New York, I can't say that I wasn't pooped!  With my head swirling with ideas and inspiration, it was finally time to head back home.