As I mentioned earlier, I met some friends, Andrew and Beryl* at the Princeton University Art Museum to see the Kurt Schwitters exhibit. I was very familiar with his work and looked forward to seeing it. As with any show you attend, there is so much to experience when in the presence of the Real Thing. I'm not talking about the man, known as a prolific artist in his vast arena of interests**, I'm talking about the art. It was a singular experience to really see all the layers in his work and the subtleties that can't be pulled off in a printed publication of his art. The shadows of paper edges that catch the light. The observation of a painty fingerprint. The transparent quality of some of the papers. The scale – larger or smaller than you imagined.
But can I tell you one more thing? I fell in love with the blurb writer. You know what I'm talking about….the descriptive narratives that hang on the walls, that accompanies a grouping of pieces? They were interesting to read, well composed, and enhanced my overall experience. Seriously. I hung on every word. I took notes since I loved the way the writer picked just the right terms or adjectives. Unfortunately they were sold out of exhibit books so I couldn't tell you if the copy on the walls came from the text of the book. If it didn't, you gotta give a *high five* to the writer. Is it the curator who writes it? Who is given that assignment? Never have I given so much attention to those blurbs. Being an article-writer myself, I can totally appreciate a finely crafted description. It's not easy to do. Kudos blurb writer!
* We missed you Katherine.
** In addition to working with collage and paint, KS wrote poetry and prose, children's books, self-published what we would call zines, he designed theater sets, and wrote librettos too!
For these Ruby Tuesday pages (started them yesterday) I tore the cover from the Princeton publication, then filled the pages with my note-taking evidence. I know this about myself – if I don't tear the little pages out and put them in a journal they will got lost in the shuffle and part of the magic of my experience will evaporate.
Here's one thing that rose to the surface: collage. It is a skill he was comfortable with and truly mastered. Collage - an artform I used to shy away from claiming for myself. Why? Not sure. I think because it has been an overused description of modern work that appears to be contrived and unauthentic. When I am among artists I would never use collage as a way to define the work I do. However, when I am with non-artists I mention collage and they nod along, somehow getting the picture. How crazy is that? When I was at this show I learned that KS used collage as a means to inform his segue into abstract painting. I could see how that would work. He used collage as story telling – using a train ticket stub to celebrate the advances in travel. He found richness and history in worn and faded ephemeral elements but equally loved the attractive freshly printed poster with bold typography. He used it all. Nothing was too precious, or too perfect.
I really resonated to this: He reclaimed for art things another artist might simply have discarded as by-products of the artistic process. Don't you love that? I'm thinking about the studio table scraps I put onto pages….or the grunged up craft paper that protects my table getting used in my art. I click with you KS.
Or another: Collage anchors the world of art to the real world of current events and everyday life with the mess and confusion that accompanies it. See? He's an evidence collector! A-ha. I get it. It's ok, you can call me a collage artist now.
The show runs through June 26. Get there if you can. The show is fabulous, there are many other terrific things to see within the walls of the museum, as well as all around the gorgeous campus.
See here: Princeton University Art Museum
EDIT: Andrew informs me the exhibit travels to Berkeley Art Museum in California, August 3–November 27, 2011