Acrylic on Board
4"x4"
NFS
This last year an art critic/Historian named James Elkins lectured as a guest speaker at the U of O. THere were many dissapointed students and teacers for various reasons which have faded away. A year later I came across his acclaimed books in the magnificent Powells bookstore. I picked one up called "What Painting is". His writing is accessable and so are his insights. The premis of the book is to speak about painting throught the language of alchemy the psuedo science. For about a year I have considered painting to have alchemical qualities and am excited that an art historian would approach painting throgh the eyes of an alchemist. So it is apropriate that Mr. Elkins is not what he seemed.
"Water and Stones the unpromising ingredients of two very different edeavors...In Alchemy, the Stone (with a capital S) is the ultimate goal, and one of the purposes of alchemy is to turn something as liquid as water into a substance as firm and unmeltable as stone. As in painting, the means are liquid and the ends are solid. And as in painting, most of Alchemy does not have to do with pure water or pure stone, but mixtures of the two."
(James Elkins)
