Ferklempt would be the word to describe my unusual inability to articulate my reaction to a work of art. Yet ferklempt I am after examining the work of artist Nick Cave whose Sound Suits adorn the recent edition of Ornament Magazine. Whenever I read a book or article about art, I first look at the pictures to establish my initial reaction to the aesthetic manifestations of the artist’s vision. Once thoroughly misinformed and blinded by my own worldview and artistic prejudices, I then read the article to get a better understanding of the philosophic framework upon which the artist built his/her project. I then let these dialectic elements resonate for a few days, then I approach the work again with fresh eyes.
I am in the initial phase of reviewing Cave’s work, and I am, as I said earlier, overwhelmed and left speechless by the brilliant, beautiful, and intricate detail of his work, and the compelling interdisciplinary
modality of his approach to art-making. I like art that intrigues, overwhelms, provokes, fills me with awe, and elicits a general emotional response (positive or negative). In the documentary, Art City: Making It in Manhattan, artist Louise Bourgeois eloquently expresses the problem of fear and art-making. One of my great fears (that is a nearly universally shared fear among artists) is making boring art: that says nothing and worse, that elicits no response from the audience. I would not go as far as to suggest that Cave never confronts the problem of fear in his art-making, but I would suggest he has absolutely nothing to fear.
