Winner of the “best conversation between an artist and his/her son or daughter”:
My friend George is an artist whose work ranges from representational painting to highly conceptual installation work. He’s extremely facile, but sometimes that range of output can leave his various audiences a bit confused.
After his new body of work was greeted with a bit of a scratch to the head, George wrote to his daughter. Like me, George has produced progeny with a great set of eyes and intelligence as well.
This exchange between them is so heartening and smart, I couldn’t not share it here:
George:
There is some discussion re my ‘new’ paintings. Are they relevant, good? I am talking about work which I have undertaken last week; a rather
non-objective blue painting on white ground…I would be interested in your take on the work…is there is a younger audience who can pick up my message/my paintings?
There is a pressure for me to ‘make sense’ and since i am not writing essays or short stories, i don’t choose to cut myself off OR to try to
describe my ineffable stuff. But maybe your father IS out of touch….
Anne:
The problem is, I’ve got the same taste as you. Of course I think they’re wonderful. I can’t very easily project the thoughts of others.
As for the younger audience. The only thing that really defines generation x,y,z is a lack of definition – desperation to be new and different and ahead of the previous.
As for being out of touch. Well. There’s nothing to touch. On that note, perhaps, instead of asking, “are they ineffable?”, you should be asking “are they
ineffable enough?”
George and Anne, back in the day
![Anne and George in NYC[1]](https://i0.wp.com/slowmuse.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/anne-and-george-in-nyc1.jpg?resize=480%2C300 "Anne and George in NYC[1]")
A more recent view of George and Anne, in front of the Met Museum in New York City
Thank you for sharing this exchange. I enjoyed it a lot. And what a wonderful example, not only of father-and-daughter sharing but also of generation-sharing.