GINO BALLANTYNE
FRAGILE THINGS
“Deep Sleep” Oil on Canvas 16 x 16 inches Frontispiece: “Pink Sleep” Oil on Canvas 16 x 16 inches
GINO BALLANTYNE
FRAGILE THINGS
Arts at Stowe The Sainsbury Gallery Stowe School Stowe Buckingham MKi8 5EH
6th October - 22nd October 2014
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“Forever” Charcoal on Ingres paper page 4
Contemplating Fragile Things Robert Cumming “Present day Collecting -- To a large extent the scholarly collector and those who follow traditional aesthetic canons have been pushed to the sidelines. Prices spiral ever upwards, and the headline-grabbing mainstream of collecting has been dominated by an international elite who have vast amounts of money to spend and who are unashamed in their pursuit of luxury and conspicuous consumption. They have driven the price of works of art, regardless of intrinsic merit, to unprecedented heights. Historical precedent shows that new money is rarely interested in aesthetics, scholarship or history, but tends to be obsessed with itself and therefore to collect things which are a flattering reflection of its own era, offer quick undemanding gratification, are ubiquitous, and which are, above all, expensive. Consequently, for such collectors, mainstream contemporary art fulfils most of their needs. Much pseudo scholarship and pseudo aesthetics have been produced to justify the high prices, but in reality current fashions in collecting have simply borne out Andy Warhol’s prescient observation that the experiences of aesthetic appreciation and shopping would become indistinguishable. Collections of expensive trophy assets by a limited circle of international artists with a well marketed “brand”, who have themselves become rich celebrities akin to those by whom they are collected, have become a commonplace, and competition amongst collectors publicly to outspend each other a regular occurrence. Similarly the proliferating power of international page 5
corporations has led to the creation of corporate collections, usually of contemporary art, to decorate and bring some interest to bland modern office buildings, and as human relations and public relations exercises to create a more benign environment and corporate image for employees and customers. Yet, to the prelates, monarchs and merchant princes of the Renaissance, most of this would be entirely familiar as laudable collecting activity and practice.” I wrote these words at the same time that Gino was writing his credo for this exhibition. We had no idea what each other was thinking and committing to paper, but as we live only a mile apart, perhaps there was an element of thought transference-- if so it was a happy instance of a fragile thing occurring. I have been asked by the editors of this a major international encyclopaedia of art to update my original entry on Collecting which had been written over two decades ago. Not surprisingly this particular paragraph seemed to touch a nerve and was rejected (the text is now controlled from New York); also, the existing references to the power of money which had stood in the old London based publication were edited out. “Too polemical” was their curt and justifiable observation. What they wanted was something anodyne or, to use Gino’s words, something less personal and more democratic. Rather than storm off in a huff, I complied, but what I wrote still stands as a statement of what I currently think. Reflecting on the paragraph again, I can see that what I was bemoaning was that Gino’s “fragile things”, are no longer of seeming interest to collectors or curators, or to page 6
those artists who have captured the attention of the powers who presently dictate the art world’s principal agendas. The fragile things with which Gino’s art is concerned are: looking and seeing, beauty, personal recollection, the partnership between hand and eye and memory in the act of creation, and asking “why?” What Gino does is gently and carefully grasp these things much as one might hold a bird in one’s cupped hands, sensing the fragility in its tiny anxious beating heart, yet also marvelling at its robustness and instinct for survival; and then, aware that one has the power to crush it or release it, choosing to let it go, to allow it to fly away, its future life and destination unknowable and unknown. These thoughts and feelings are not easy to articulate in words or in paint, but it seems to me that what Gino offers us is the chance to, for a moment, touch and wonder at these precious fragile things. Being a painter is never easy: being a good painter is even harder. True talent is rare – and simultaneously fragile and robust like the bird. Staying honest to one’s beliefs when the rest of the world chooses to ignore, or even dismiss them, is perhaps the hardest thing of all. Because an artist has to live in the real world he or she has two choices: to stay true to his or her beliefs, regardless of the hardships, never compromising those values that are worth standing firm for (Degas and Cezanne are two shining examples); or to join the mainstream, to let go of talent and belief in order to please the audience and the market (John Everett Millais is a conspicuous case). Although I find myself, when we discuss these things together, so much in agreement with Gino, and because I find his art and his conversation so fresh and page 7
stimulating, all the time requiring me to take a fresh look, to notice things I had not seen before, and to reassess what I take for granted, I need to debate with him, his observations on Titian. If the artists and collectors of the High Renaissance did indeed live in a world which had many of the material and corporate values which are pervasive in today’s society – as we both seem to think - how is it that they produced painting and sculpture which has continued to speak so profoundly about the human spirit? Ultimately, I think it comes down to belief. Any human activity that is concerned only with its own ends and means is, however accomplished, ultimately hollow. It is only when it strives to be a revelation of, or to be a means of reaching towards, something greater than itself, that it can hope to have a life and meaning greater than just its own contemporary context and existence. For me, this is the most rare, fragile, precious, thing that Gino so courageously strives to create.
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“Where’s Dad” Oil on Canvas 16 x 16 inches page 9
“Tipping Point� Charcoal and pastel on Ingres paper page 10
Fragile Things Gino Ballantyne The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci has at its heart the fragilities and the duality of the world and man’s place in it. My work reflects on this and notions of energy or existence. The best way to explain my working practice is akin to a Magpie. Constantly on the look out for things to collect usually from a wide range of sources and subject material - for use when the time is right. I usually develop more than one idea at a time and set a context to help communicate them. Usually, I am satisfied with the final work when the idea and the making are one object. For me, The object becomes the idea, psychology or philosophy, without the need for any written explanation. For the ”Fragile Things” exhibition my objects are paintings and drawings. My intention is to strengthen the context through the application of these mediums. For example, I might want the physicality of the paint to be austere or violent or cry. My intention is not simply to reflect something in the world, I want it to pose fundamental questions about Who we are?, Why we are here? and Where do we go from here? Generally, I communicate my ideas at an angle to the world, capturing a moment of sleep or someone smoking. These are snapshots, which highlight human page 11
activity and give an insight into potential vulnerability. Edgar Allan Poe described this, as “All that we see or seem is but a dream wihin a dream” To help clarify my thoughts I constantly draw the world around me, these observations enable me to analyse and consider ways to interpret the smallest and simplest movement or most complicated activity. I suppose this is my way of ordering my “dream within a dream”. My purpose is to look into and not at human activity. Drawing heightens my personal vision and aesthetic, enabling me to filter deep and profound questions which consider the constants that echo through time and history, such as the nature of energy and existence. Titian’s whose world was built on the foundations of the humanist concepts of rebirth for the state and the individual and a belief in competition and education. Foundations supported by capitalism bound to public and govermental participation communicated through the commercialisation of the arts. The language that modulated this political, social and historical adventure was mythology. It was under these seemingly enlightened ideals that Titian made his work the “Flaying of Marysas” which adopted a language of myth and autobiography. Titian paints himself as King Midas refecting on his world. In the centre Marysas hung like a side of beef being flayed staring out quietly accusing from the canvas epitomising man’s struggle for status at all costs. Apollo stares imploringly skyward pleading to the Gods to stop this torture. Titian sits, contemplating a vision of the world he has helped create and its impending self destruction and he asks fundamental questions about notions of “Bare Life”. Titian appears to page 12
imply that all he had sought to achieve throughout his life is perhaps meaningless and seems to be evaluating his place in history, his legacy and his impending death. Titian’s painting discusses man’s violent position in a society where law has only absolutes. Titian’s genius is that he uses a technique of myth to deconstruct his own narrative. Lucian Freud said when seeking help on painting looking at Titian’s work “is like going to the doctor”. I feel the same. I see in Titian’s painting thoughts of energy and existence and recognise a supreme technique of painting. In a conversation with Joachim Strupp he said “you could lick them” - what more is there to say. Apart from - His painting is prescient and palpable because his ideas, aesthetics and self criticism free it from the hubris of much historical and contemporary art. It mirrors today where oligarchy is once again the prevalent mechanism for power, greed and arrogance. Recognising the value of my own time is how I situate my context. These values can be seen as patterns and signals determined by technology. Governed by the forces at play such as the cultural and economic framework that mould the way we are defined. Where the constant push to industrialise our consciousness through a collaborative process using technology has enabled swarm like patterns to become more recognisable. This collaborative swarm also infects the contemporary art world where the money making machine it is, uses it as a tool for passivity. In that, art is commerce and a tool for communication used by those who can persuade page 13
its orientation. In some ways very similar to Leonardo’s world, where the artist was regarded as just another worker or decorator. Communicating the views of the money makers and those in positions of authority, the Oligarchs. Strange to think that approximately 600 years later we have regressed to a similar situation. Although this is a period of democratic creativity (I mean this as a criticism), led by the photographic medias, it is possible as an artist to recognise that within constraints, even as Leonardo did, that the two principal things to paint are: “man and the intention of his mind”. My reservations about democratic creativity lay with the paucity of discussion surrounding aesthetic values and that the artwork simply illustrates or supports an idea. I question whether this type of democratic art has value for future generations. Because it tends to be about setting a trend or adopting a novel approach. Here the idea is paramount and the aesthetic values are denuded. Generally little or no attention is given to discussions about quality and aesthetics. Neutered art saying very little usually echoing a set of referenced conclusions or highlighted sensory effects adopting a very old technique, “Devotional Visualization”. Very rarely, does it transcend or wed the idea in a way, which is universal but mirrors Mannerism revisited as Mimetic art. My authority as an artist stems from a need to make aesthetic works which communicate “man and the intention of his mind”. The chasing of enigmas or the making of work following fashionable artistic trends I see as conditions of democratic creativity, part of a common sense collaborative approach easy to define and market, and to be in the world. page 14
At present my thoughts, passions and aesthetic responses are about the fragile things that echo the nature of energy and human existence. Looking for answers to those questions: Who we are?, Why we are here? and Where do we go from here?
“Doubting Thomas� Charcoal, nail varnish and pastel on Ingres paper page 15
“The Crack” Oil on Linen 16 x 16 inches page 16
“The Oligarch” Oil on Canvas 16 x 16 inches page 17
“Tipping Point” Oil on Linen 48 x 49 inches page 18
“Un-Titled” Oil on Linen 48 x 49 inches page 19
“Bare Life” Oil on Linen 48 x 49 inches page 20
“Forgotten” Oil on Canvas 16 x 16 inches page 21
“Where Do I Go From Here” Oil on Linen 48 x 49 inches page 22
“The Forgotten” Oil on Canvas 16 x 16 inches page 23
Back cover
Arts at Stowe The Sainsbury Gallery Stowe School Stowe Buckingham MKi8 5EH page 24
6th October - 22nd October 2014