For the travelling artist, homestaybooking.com offers a large variety of host family accommodation worldwide. Homestays have been found to be an immense source of inspiration for artists in search of new material or just a place to get away from it all. Living in a new area, and first-hand witnessing the way another culture goes about their daily routine allows the artist to see things from a new perspective. This fresh, different perspective can be exactly the remedy to those artists experiencing “writer’s block” or just in search of some inspiration. All in all, the experience of living in a new setting has been shown to have a highly positive outlook on the creative mind.

Earth, water and air are dominant themes in Scaninavian contemporary graphic design, which is brilliantly explored in North by North, a lavishly illustrated new title from visual culture specialty publisher Die-Gestalten Verlag.

North by North
Scandinavian Graphic Design
edited by R. Klanten, H. Hellige, Måns Nyman

Release: October 2002
ISBN: 3-931126-91-9

What makes Scandinavian design unique? North by North explores the exceptional visual language and unconventional design approaches of this community. Showcasing a coherent selection of new, original and thriving talent from across the entire range of graphic design, North by North is set to be a guiding star.

Following on from the trailblazers of Swiss Graphic Design and Narita Inspected, North by North offers a sampler of recent developments in Scandinavian graphic design. Designers like Reala, Kim Hiorthoy and Ekhorn
Forss highlight this individual approach through illustration, spreads, covers, layouts, scribbles, posters, flyers, advertising and Web design.
This distinct approach can be defined through the use of color, naturalistic elements as well as its tendency towards abstract or minimal forms this is graphic design unlike any other contemporary design style or movement.

With over 80 contributors from the sprawling region (Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden), North by North divides these procedures by aesthetic rather than country. The book includes three prefaces by Thomas Hilland, Goddur and K10K, and interviews with selected design studios offering a highly informative and inspiring look upon one of the most interesting design scene happening today.

by Robert Klanten

Author Biography
Maggie Kinser Saiki spent 15 years in Japan writing about Japanese design, business and traditional rural culture and industry. She has published several books, including: YMD: Ancient Arts, Contemporary Designs; Architecture and Society: John Ciardullo Associates; and Japanese Working for a Better World. Her work has also appeared in Metropolis, The Asian Wall Street Journal, Winds, and other publications. She is a regular contributor to Graphis magazine. She is also terribly enthusiastic about thatch and thatching, and has written often on the subject.

12 Japanese Masters is the first book to present the incredible post-war development of Japan as a story of design. Writer Maggie Kinser Saiki presents the work, thoughts and profiles of a dozen acclaimed Japanese graphic, product, industrial and fashion designers born between 1915 and 1944.

As told in 12 Japanese Masters, the story of Japanese design after World War II is one of beautiful images, powerful dreams and thought-provoking dilemmas.

Four chapters, organized chronologically into ‘demi-generations’ provide in-depth profiles of these designers and the ideas and changes they brought with them.

The book concludes with a timeline, ending in 1979, of the events, award-winning designs, and innovations that shaped the design industry as we know it. With the exception of the late Yusaku Kamekura, the “Emperor of Japanese Design,” and Ikko Tanaka, whose ingenious expressions of both East and West set the standard, these designers are still influential figures who continue to shape the design world.

12 Japanese Masters by Maggie Kinser Saiki
Hardcover; 304 pages
More than 200 color illustrations
Publication date: September 2002
ISBN: 1-931241-08-2

Distributed by
Publishers Group West

Chapter I: The Father of Japanese Graphic Design

Yusaku Kamekura (1915-1997, Niigata) Uncompromising perfectionist, visionary and the profession’s first undisputed leader, he worked all his life to shape it.

Chapter II: The Pioneers and Organizers

Kazumasa Nagai (b. 1929, Osaka) Co-founder and long-time director of the Nippon Design Center, for 50 years he has expressed the wilderness within his soul and the concerns of the age.

Kiyoshi Awazu (b.1929, Tokyo). A powerful and comprehensive thinker whose work has defined decades, he is the most inclusive designer of the twelve, active in every medium.

Ikko Tanaka (1930-2002, Nara)
A founding father, he consciously referred to the classics of his culture, beautifully expressing Japan to the West and vice versa.

Mitsuo Katsui (b. 1931, Tokyo) He has led graphic designers in the discovery and exploration of higher technology since the early ’60s, always expressing the power of life.

Shigeo Fukuda (b. 1932, Tokyo) Internationally known for visual magic, he confronts our tendency to imagine, rather than see.

Chapter III: The Internationalists

Tadanori Yokoo (b. 1936, Nishiwaki) Best-known designer in Japan, also cultural critic, writer and actor, commenting on the modern human condition by juxtaposing images familiar, funny, and haunting.

Issey Miyake (b. 1938, Hiroshima) World-renowned textile innovator, he enchants an international clientele with ancient techniques from around the globe and original, state-of-the-art technologies.

Eiko Ishioka (b. 1939, Tokyo) Unfazed by all conventional limitations and internationally active as a graphic, stage, film set, and costume designer, she has broken all the rules and succeeded in every endeavor.

Chapter IV: The Pragmatists

Toshiyuki Kita (b. 1942, Osaka) Cross-cultural designer, in Italy he has manufactured furniture inspired by traditional Japanese life, and in Japan produced unconventional lacquer ware and washi lamps with ancient methods.

Koichi Sato (b. 1944, Tokyo) A graphic designer with a scientist’s mind, he visually questions and defines his nation’s and humanity’s place in the world.

Takenobu Igarashi (b. 1944, Hokkaido) Graphic, product, and land-art designer, sculptor and artist, he works both in the East and West, determined to connect with the world on more than a superficial level.

Gold Funeral Mask, Mycenae, National Museum Athens, c. 1200–1000 b.c.

Metals have been found in a natural state since prehistoric times. It was the discovery of the processes of metallurgy, the treating and smelting of ores and the making of alloys, which was the catalyst for the first industrial revolution. The discovery of metallurgy revolutionized the ancient world and helped transform Late Neolithic agrarian societies into city-states. Neolithic culture had used the same principals and technologies over many thousands of years. The most highly used materials for artists were stone, (the least perishable), wood, bone and textiles, (the most perishable). With the great invention of the loom, new types of art developed. Weaving was initially utilitarian in nature, and the provenance of women. Women quickly realized the potential of the loom as an artistic tool that could be used to help unleash their creativity. Essentially, throughout the history of art, new technologies would lead to new methods of working with new materials. This would eventually lead to new styles of art. The modern analogy of this is the advent of photography, computers, and video.

Ancient artists were influenced and inspired by the natural world around them. These influences were best expressed in simple graphic terms. The prehistoric artists had very limited materials to create with. The prehistoric cave painters had a few basic earth colours, a cave wall, a few simple arm movements and using their mouths to spray the paint. The prehistoric sculptor relied on found objects, such as stone, wood, and bone. Sometimes the found object itself would resemble and mimic an animal or figurine. By the simple addition of a few scratches or marks, a found object would be transformed into a work of art. To see a human or animal shape in a rock formation, or a found object an artist must have the ability to think laterally and in abstract terms. This thought process involves working from abstraction towards reality, or from reality towards abstraction. This is profound. It is the very foundations upon which modern art is constructed.

The concepts behind Duchamp’s “Fountain” 1917, and the prehistoric artist who would visualize a figurine or animal in a rock is the same. In essence, they are both found objects that have become works of art. There are however some significant differences. Firstly, the prehistoric artist discovered this concept many thousands of years before Duchamp. So perhaps Duchamp was not as radical, or original as people thought. A major difference is that Duchamp’s found objects came from within a modern industrial world. They were not objects found in nature itself. In other words, Duchamp’s found objects were created by other people. Who exactly were these people? Were they technicians or artists in their own right? Was Duchamp merely stealing someone else’s art, and then calling it his own? For the prehistoric artists their inspirations and influences came from within nature. The materials they worked with were provided, sculpted, and shaped by nature. It is only natural that the predominant subject matter for prehistoric artists would be drawn from nature itself. Prehistoric artists could not make an exact copy of their work; every work of art created was unique. This all changed with the invention of the Mesopotamian cylinder seal, the loom and metallurgy. For the first time art could be produced, and reproduced on an industrial scale, and an exact copy could be made.

What really transformed the art world and kick started the first industrial revolution, was the discovery of metal alloys. By using moulds and casting, exact copies of complex organic shapes could be made. Artworks could be created that were easy to copy, imperishable and portable. Once the infra structures of the maritime sea routes were in place, in conjunction with the existing ancient trade routes on the land, Artistic influences were quickly diffused throughout the known world. Metals also transformed the way that artists worked. The materials and quality of tools available limited Neolithic artists. They were constrained to keeping everything simple and graphic. The loom allowed for designs that were much more complex and allowed patterning which became a dominant influence in late Neolithic art. Metals allowed a greater depth of complexity to be attained. Artists had the ability to make copies of their own work, or someone else’s work. The artist was now free to not only copy and mimic nature, but also, to abstract it. Complex geometric shapes or organic forms could now become plants, animals, or humans.

As far as we know, the method used by prehistoric artists, was to work from abstraction, (a found object, or a fleeting glimpse of a subject), towards reality, (transforming the memory of the subject into a recognizable form). A process where the abstract shape of the object is fashioned into some sort of reality i.e.; an animal or female figurine. The prehistoric artist relied solely upon memory. Ancient metal artists could continue the tradition of working from memory, (abstraction towards reality). They could also work from what they perceived as reality, (where there was little memory required), towards abstraction. In other words, it was a conscious decision to abstract what they saw. The geometric shape or contour of a plant, an ocean wave, or an animal, could be abstracted into simple lines and shapes and become an integral part of the design itself.

At what point in history did the technician become the artist? Or conversely, did the artist become a technician? This is a classic chicken and egg question. There is no doubt, that prehistoric artists were technicians. A piece of found bone has been transformed into a weapon, a spear thrower. There is a sound understanding of physics here. The technician realized that the shape of the bone was perfect for fashioning a tool, (a spear thrower) that would maximize the velocity of the weapon, (the spear). As he fashioned the tool, he realized that the shape of the bone mimicked a prancing horse. There is a perfect synthesis between technician and artist, who created a tool; (utilitarian and functional) that was also a work of art, (aesthetic beauty). Cave painters were also technicians. They discovered that charcoal from a fireplace made a good drawing instrument. They had local prospecting knowledge to know where to locate and excavate the best earth pigments. They needed to know the correct amount of blood or saliva that was required to manufacture a binder best suited to mixing the pigments. They needed to know the best methods of applying the paint and at what angle to spray. They realized that putting the paint in their mouth and blowing it gave them the best control for spraying the paint. They discovered the concept of masking off areas of the work by using their arms, hands, and fingers. Furthermore, they began to explore positive and negative shapes. We begin to see that the deceptively simple process of cave painting is actually quite complex. We can never know precisely how prehistoric peoples discovered all these techniques. Most likely, they came about them through a tedious process of trial and error.

As the level of artistic complexity increased, so did the need for technical skill. Conversely as the level of technical skill increased, so did the ability to create artworks that were more complex. If we could draw a graph, we would see that there were quantum leaps in technical ability in conjunction with the introduction of new technologies, such as the loom, cylinder seal, and metallurgy. The processing of alloys is incredibly complex and requires a high degree of technical skill. It has been argued that the first precise industrial engineering took place in the Middle Ages with the production of the bells for the great Gothic cathedrals. I would argue that the first precise industrial engineering actually occurred with the discovery of metallurgy. With the advent of metallurgy, the roles of artist and technician began to merge. Early metal artists could not create to their full potentiality unless they had sound knowledge of the processes of smelting and manufacturing alloys. They also required an intimate knowledge of the alloy they worked with. Again, through a process of trial and error they would have uncovered the subtleties of the alloys and the best ways to manipulate it. This is what art is about; experimentation and exploration coupled with technical skill. The technical skill releases and empowers the creative process. The same applies for the ancient metal artists, just as it applies to the artists of today.

Technical and artistic skill raises another interesting question, when did we see the creation of a class of experts? In prehistoric times, were the same cave painters or sculptors called upon repeatedly, because of the high quality of their work? We cannot answer these questions for sure; after all, there are no written records apart from the work itself. It is plausible however, that galleries of cave paintings were produced as a team effort. Someone to mix the paint, hold the light source, find and mix the earth pigments, make the drawing and apply the pigment. Each specializing in their own field of expertise. The only possible way that the monumental architecture and statues of the Late Neolithic and Ancient Egypt could have been produced would have been through a disciplined and structured team effort. This requires high organizational skills and the mobilization of entire communities.

The loom is interesting because it is traditionally associated with matriarchal societies. The women of the community became the experts in weaving, but why the women and not the men? Simply, it takes a long period of time to produce textile and cloth. The women were the ones that had the time to weave. It was still a collaborative effort, because the men cared for the stock that provided the fiber. By relinquishing the creative duties to the women, the textile art produced was dominated by organic female influences. These influences would eventually become incorporated in pottery, sculpture, and painting. In hunter gather societies, the food for the day could sometimes be gathered in just a few hours, leaving the rest of the day free to do other things. In agrarian societies however most of the day was taken up with farming and looking after stock. For the men there was little time to do anything else. The key role for the male in agrarian matriarchal societies was to be as a predictable provider. With the discovery of alloys, there was a shift back to a patriarchal based society. By the time of the Bronze Age, the advantages of new alloys over stone and copper tools were obvious. Knowledge of metallurgy was empowering and a great wealth creator. Metallurgy became the domain of a male class of experts who created superior weaponry that could be used to conquer and colonize. The balance of power shifted back to a patriarchal based society, who controlled the resources and the wealth. The subtle organic art of the matriarchal society was gradually replaced by archaic geometric male influences.

In the beginning a select few held the knowledge of metallurgy. They became experts/specialists in their field. Gradually metallurgy developed into an industry. People began to specialize in prospecting, mining, transportation, smelting, processing, fabrication, ornamentation, and precision engineering. Art became a manufacturing process. A collaboration between the technical expert and the master artist, who sometimes would be one and the same. The advent of metallurgy was as profound to ancient peoples, as the invention of the microchip was to modern peoples. In fact, we would not even have a computer-based society today without the discovery of metal alloys. Due to its low tensile strength, copper did not have a huge impact in Neolithic Europe, but the metallurgists persevered and eventually the alloys brass and bronze were discovered. Bronze and iron, which have a much higher tensile strength than copper, replaced the stone artifacts of the Neolithic. Artisans were free to choose to create small portable objects or immobile monumental art. They now had the tools to do both. With bronze, artists could use moulds and casting, which helped create “in the round,” near perfect human form. All these technical advances flowed into every aspect of society, but especially into weaponry.

The discovery of metallurgy happened in three successive stages:

1. Hammering wrought working.
2. Smelting of metal in its crude form.
3. Alloying copper and tin, or copper and antimony, creating bronze, a material harder than stone.

With these discoveries, the traditions of the Neolithic were gradually superceded. However, it did not happen quickly. It took a thousand years for the knowledge of metallurgy to spread from the mountainous regions of Anatolia down into the steppes of Eurasia and into the Fertile Crescent. It took a further thousand years for metallurgy to spread into Europe. The major innovations and profound changes in art at this time were principally the after–effects of technical discoveries, and there consequent social changes. Metals created an artistic revolution. Metallurgy first spread into a world where agrarian Neolithic societies existed side by side with societies already at the urban stage. Artisans and craftsmen had unique materials to work with. Materials that required new techniques, such as damenscing, moulding, casting and forging.

THE COPPER AGE

This has been called an intermediate period between the late Neolithic and the Bronze Age, characterized by the use of copper tools. It was a period in the development of technology when metals were first used regularly in the manufacture of tools and weaponry. Pure copper and bronze, (an alloy of copper and tin), were used indiscriminately at first. The earliest use of casting or founding, (shaping of metal by melting and pouring into a mold) can be deduced from clay models of weapons. Casting or founding, was certainly established in the Middle East by 3500bc, and perhaps as early as 4000bc, in Asia. Following the Neolithic period, the development of a metallurgical industry coincided with the rise of urbanization. The organized operations of mining, smelting, and casting undoubtedly required the specialization of labour and the production of surplus food to support a class of artisans. The search for raw materials stimulated the exploration and colonization of new territories. This process culminated in the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Sumer. Later, the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations opened extensive trade routes into central Europe, where tin and copper were mined. This activity fostered native industries and political unification. It laid the foundations for the Iron Age civilization, which was to follow under Greek, Etruscan, and Scythian influences.

Copper was one of the first metals widely used by humans, owing to its malleability and durability. Like gold and silver, copper could be easily fashioned into many shapes, but it proved to have greater strength. Copper-headed maces were first cast in Mesopotamia in the third Millennium BC. Iron also began to find limited use around this time; due mainly to its great abundance, though many centuries passed before it claimed its place as the preferred material for tools. Yet, despite the availability of these materials, not all weapons made an immediate transition from stone to metal. Bowmen, for example, continued to use stone arrowheads throughout the Copper Age because they were sufficiently lethal and much easier to produce.

Another defining phenomenon of this epoch was the explosion of agriculture. The ability to farm enabled people to settle in one area – a necessary condition for the emergence of civilization. The earliest known civilization arose in Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia, during the fifth Millennium BC. In addition to growing crops like barley, wheat, and grapes, the Sumerians domesticated animals for meat and other materials, as well as providing power for plows and carts. By the end of the Copper Age, agriculture had spread from the Middle East and throughout most of Europe. The use of pure copper in the fourth and third millennium had hardly brought any advantages over Neolithic implements. Only the invention of bronze and the birth of metallurgy capable of compounding the alloys slowly led to the relinquishing of traditional stone weapons and implements.

THE AEGEAN WORLD

The Aegean world played a crucial role in the diffusion of civilization and the knowledge of metallurgy into the heart of Neolithic Europe. In prehistoric times, Europe was penetrated through the Northern Aegean via the Bosphorus. Later, with the rise of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations the Aegean Ocean provided the sea routes into Europe. The island of Crete became the ideal stepping stone for commercial and technical exchanges. The Aegean with its unique geography and ethnology became the crossroad into Europe and provided a vital link in the chain between the more technologically advanced civilizations of the Orient, and the agrarian Neolithic cultures of Europe.

The Aegean was an insular world, surrounded by continents whose civilizations were easily transmitted and diffused via hundreds of islands. The Northern shores of the Aegean remained barbarian for a long time. Along the Western coastline was Greece. The Eastern Coastline was Asia Minor, (modern day Turkey). Trade routes ran up the Greek peninsula, which led directly into Europe via the Balkans. Civilization advanced from the Southern regions into the Northern regions of Greece, but it was from the barbarian north of Greece that the incessant invasions came, bringing with them depopulation, disease, and chaos. Caravan routes also connected Asia Minor with the metal civilizations of Anatolia and beyond into Mesopotamia. Goods flowed through Crete from Europe, Greece, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia.

Prehistoric Greece gradually acquired a rural way of life. The introduction of copper into this Neolithic civilization does not seem to have constituted a revolution. The appearance of bronze had a far greater impact. Bronze asserted itself in the Aegean between 2300bc and 2000bc. This coincided with an age of great transformation and the beginning of the first fortress towns. Early modern looking Cycladic marble idols hinted at the beginnings of what Greek plastic art would one day become. They are mainly nude female figures built up by the superimposition of geometrical decoration: a stylized head, round or elongated at the top of a long neck, with a strong nose, a trapezoidal torso on which the arms are crossed, broad flanks and strictly parallel legs. The types are almost unvaried. These are examples of a very stylized form of sculpture, which derived from the Neolithic plastic arts. Although these idols appear revolutionary, they are merely a continuation of archaic Neolithic traditions, but in an extreme form. Cycladic sculpture would have a huge impact on modern art. Picasso admitted he was influenced by the deconstruction and flattening of perspective contained within Cycladic art. These influences can be seen in early Cubism.

At this time, the Greek mainland was relatively poor. Crete however became a wealthy civilization, most probably attracting jealousy and envy from its poor neighbors. Minoan wealth was based on direct trade links with Egypt of the Old Kingdom, Syria and Mesopotamia. Minoan art was polychromatic with early influences from Egypt and Anatolia. This art quickly developed into a unique and original form. Gradually Crete came to play a leading role in the Aegean world. The flowering of its civilization is one of the great achievements of Aegean protohistory. It is symbolic as one of the first advanced civilizations of Europe. Minoans were quick to learn from the much older civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. They synthesized and integrated ideas and concepts that would ultimately become uniquely their own. The aesthetic of the Minoans was far more successful in design and colour than in the plastic arts. They had no equivalent to the great statuary of other nations.

Minoan painting was an extraordinary revelation. The themes of decorative painted work are more varied and less utilitarian than Egypt or Asia. Even when the fresco has a religious nature, the figures have a freedom, which is found nowhere else. On the other hand, man who was to be most successful isolated on his own, in Greek painting, is set in a natural background in Minoan art. The Minoan artist preferred the play of spontaneous colours to the truth of actual colours. They did not paint like sculptors as the Greek painters did, nor did they aim at accuracy like the Egyptians. They preferred to capture the appearance of movement rather than anatomical exactness. Their figures became outlines with free vivid movements. Scenes of plant and animal life are also common. Minoan art was the product of an original and unique civilization. It did not try to copy or imitate the monolithic sculpture of Egypt or Mesopotamia. There is a total absence of any major plastic arts, in which the Greeks were later to excel. They restricted themselves to works of small dimensions. They had little liking for translating forms into volumes. They preferred sculpture in relief, which is closer to painting. The artist’s vision is rapid, shrewd, and unthinking, preferring the fantasy of creation rather than careful realism.

By 1400bc, which has been called the late phase of the Bronze Age, the Minoan Civilization began to collapse. Gradually it succumbed to the Mycenaean civilization of mainland Greece. The Mycenaean civilization superceded and exceeded the Minoan Empire. Through the Mycenaean Empire, the development of the European Bronze Age was accelerated. Mycenaean art was derived from Minoan art but it evolved towards stylization. Pottery tends towards linear abstract decoration and incorporates themes and motifs previously rejected, such as human figures, animals, and chariot processions. Mycenaean art shows the influence of the severe geometric abstraction associated with a male dominated society. Painting concentrated on the more violent themes such as war and hunting. By the 12th century BC, just as iron was appearing, the Mycenaean civilization, amid turmoil and mass migration, began to decline. Around the same time, most of the late Bronze Age techniques disappeared.

Diplomatic Agreement The news is not in the newspapers
1992 – 1997 1991-1997

Should art glorify—and be accessible to—ordinary people? UK-based artist Piers Midwinter firmly says yes. “Anyone is capable of producing a pure work of art—but to do so, they must stay true to themselves. And what is the self? It is where each and every one of us tries to be as human as possible—to be, as the Buddhists believe, the best we can be in a civilized manner.”

Midwinter, creator of Raw Art Link, is a fan of art-for-the-common-person guru Jean Dubuffet. Dubuffet, Midwinter says, “argued that trained artists were influenced by cultural expectations, etc. Therefore, any art created would be tainted. He sought artists that were either totally outside the system or did not care for it; their art was purer. Unlike Picasso and Dali who were telling the world how great they were, he told the world how great a highly marginalized sector of society was.”

Surrounded Surrounded No.2
1997 1998
Many famous Surrealists and modern/postmodern artists were influenced by Raw Art, Midwinter says. “Picasso collected art by Outsider artist Scottie Wilson. Klee wanted to paint as if he were new-born. He introduced Dubuffet to the ‘Art of the Insane.’ But many of them did not go out of their way to give any credit! I want to put things straight. I want to extend Dubuffet’s ideas and apply them to people at a†grassroots or community level.”

Dubuffet’s collection of “Art Brut” (“brutal art”) is now on display in a museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. And Midwinter’s site, paying homage to Dubuffet and other Surrealists, offers over 100 links to sites featuring Outsider, Surrealist, and post-modern artists—including many sites from other counties and other languages.

To Midwinter, Raw Art is unrefined, done quickly, unashamed of its flaws. It doesn’t have to be polished to perfection.

“Raw art shows more of the process, and is therefore more honest. when I’m painting, I work very quickly; I try not to think too much.”

Midwinter’s process is “based on ‘Automatic Writing’—where an artist ‘lets a pen go for a walk.’ You start with a mess, but at some point, you begin to ‘see’ something—a face, a leg—and you bring that into focus. I applied the idea to paint.

Casanova Monster
2002 2001

“I start with an element. With this, it becomes easier to construct other elements that suit the logic of the picture. It involves balancing lines, shapes, colors, rhythms, etc. The process of thinking is the important part, just go with the flow and keep it going! Sometimes it’s scary, spiritual, depressing, happy… each picture is interesting because it captures a different facet of the soul.”

Midwinter gets flustered when told his art is beautiful. “I don’t quite know how to react.”

Yet, his paintings, whether oil or watercolor, show a definite attention to craft—something which he is willing to acknowledge in spite of his philosophical tilt toward ‘first drafts.’ “I will look at a picture and try to keep it balanced at all times. Adding color in one place affects the overall composition—so something may need to counterbalance it.”

Midwinter’s art features vivid colors, humanoid and animal shapes, and images clearly inspired by mythology, literature, and the quirks of our modern world. He is not afraid to be deeply political, but also quite willing to explore the whimsical side. Many of his paintings are on display in the Gallery page, as well as in various private collections in several European countries.

Even if he’s a bit uncomfortable with the idea, his paintings ARE beautiful. He has won the Ede and Ravenscroft Prize and various other awards and prizes, has been the subject of several profiles in various print and Internet art journals, and has taught art to both mainstream and special needs students. In fact, he was recognized for outstanding achievements in organizing three highly successful exhibitions of work by artists with autism.

And what made him set up a portal for Raw Art and Surrealism? While teaching art and information technology in a secondary school “I began to realize that I was in a good position to create something. I had acquired a lot of knowledge about institutions I liked; if I organized it into relevant groupings, I could effectively create a useful portal that aided people just like me. I wanted to exhibit my art and network with other like-minded souls—and the more useful my web-site is, the greater the probability that I will achieve my ends.

“So the homepage is designed to be fun and hopefully encourage people to use it. The Public links and Artists links pages are designed to be quick, useful references that try to summarize the vital information.”

For more on Raw Art and Midwinter’s own work, please visit his site at Raw Art Link.

Written by Shel Horowitz, the editor of Global Arts Review, and the author of several books, including The Penny-Pinching Hedonist: How to Live Like Royalty with a Peasant’s Pocketbook.

The Colored Pencil Society of America was formed in the early 1990’s, and has done an enormous job in raising the status of coloured pencils, by showcasing artists via their Annual exhibitions and via North Light Publications, who produced a series of books entitled “Best of Coloured Pencil” which featured the work entered in these exhibitions. It also works closely with manufacturers on establishing a lightfastness standard, the lack of which has really been holding back the acceptance of coloured pencils—who wants fine art that vanishes in months? Since June 2001, there has also been a UK Coloured Pencil Society which now has over 300 members, worldwide, and which held its first exhibition at Patchings Farm Nottingham in July this year. This society receives sponsorship from all of the major manufacturers of coloured pencil, produces a quarterly newsletter in full colour, and has plans to organise regional meetings and exhibitions as well as its National Juried one.

So what is special about coloured pencils? Surely these are just children’s tools, not worthy of fine art or artists? Well, try telling that to David Hockney for starters! They are probably the most versatile, cleanest, most convenient, and, OK, the slowest, art medium around at present. If you enjoy spontaneity, risk, and serendipitous artwork then they may not be for you, though they are quite capable of producing loose sketches of course. The kind of artist who is becoming more drawn (excuse the pun) to coloured pencil is the person who, when the watercolour tutor is saying “Loose, the detail!” replies “Why?” The person who likes colour that stays where you put it. The person who gets lost in their work, spending hours in what Betty Edwards (“Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”) calls “the zone”. The person who likes intense, focused colour, rather than loose washes. Yes, we are a strange, but growing, breed.

One problem people have when they start to use coloured pencil is that they are not aware of what is possible with them. They do not see examples of coloured pencil work, and do not know of some simple techniques that enable intense colour to be achieved. Let us look at some examples first. One of the winners in the recent UKCPS Exhibition was Takako Ikuta, from Japan. Her work “On a Monday Morning” really shows the ultimate detail and intensity that coloured pencil can achieve.

When this arrived for the exhibition, I took it out of the frame to make sure Takako had not sent me a photograph by mistake! This is typical of much American work with this medium – very highly burnished, many layers, every attempt made to hide the marks of the pencil and produce something photo-realistic. This has led a little bit to what I call the “cut glass and old lace” syndrome, which affects some coloured pencil artists – an obsession with technique at the expense of communication. Fortunately, many UK and US artists are redressing that imbalance. Gail Burton for example, relies on getting a message across, often in a dramatic way, using coloured pencil on black card, as this picture “Extinct” shows.

Coloured pencils are also wonderful for portraits and skin tones. Ann Kullberg, US artist and author of “Coloured pencil Portraits Step-by-step” gives many super examples of how layering coloured pencil very gently can produce extremely subtle gradations of colour and glowing skin. We were lucky enough to have a workshop with Ann in Nottingham in July, and in a few short days, my own technique improved no end. Fortunately we have found many UK artists who are producing comparable work – take a look at Maddy Swan’s “Painted Faces” which won the Derwent award at our exhibition.

Even beginners can produce excellent results when they turn to coloured pencil. Richard Lovesey has been mainly a graphite or pastel artist, and was inspired to try his first coloured pencil portrait recently – he did a very good job with “Ellie”! And the winner of “Beginner Artist of the Year” in the SAA competition recently was Sarah Rayner, one of our members, who depicts her children and relatives in a unique style, as shown by “Bundle”. Sarah has ambitions to become an illustrator, especially of children’s books.

We have found that particular genres of artists predominate in coloured pencil. Chief amongst these are botanical artists and wildlife artists. This is probably because coloured pencils are a wonderful medium for showing detail, whether that be of flowers, or of fur. Beverley Lewis, for example, produced this picture of a cheetah and her cubs for the exhibition.

Landscape artists are few and far between with coloured pencil – perhaps because it is very hard to capture the textures of the English landscape in such a detailed medium! One artist who succeeds wonderfully in a difficult genre is Graham Brace . Two examples here, “The Red Boat” and “A Shower of Rain”, show the fine work that Graham produces. It should be said here also that Graham incorporates gouache and graphite into his pictures at times, so is not a “purist” in the medium. So what? Whatever he uses, it works! The UKCPS is not a purist Society, and will support artists who use mixed media, except in one case. The Exhibition is not a mixed media exhibition, and pictures will only be accepted into it if they are pure coloured pencil only. The reason for this is to show what is possible using only the “humble” coloured pencil.

One final genre – still life. This is represented by two artists here. Jill Heaps shows a very traditional still life entitled “Pots of Fun”.

Gwen Kitching finishes our article with a very delicate “Feather”.

I hope you have found the article interesting, and I hope you will now take out that box of pencils you have never used – yes, I know you all have one! – and use it. – Bob Ebdon, Founder, UKCPS.

The avant-gardes develop an analysis of the work of art in order to determine the essence of art. The variety of styles that the three main trends generate, are a consequence of the absolute necessity to determine the elements involved in the creation of a work of art. Because the avant-gardes were generated through a technical analysis, we consider that their origin corresponds to a scientific tendency of art.

Just as we understand that the orbits of the planets are determined by their own characteristics, and that, inversely, the character of our children is determined by the order of their birth, Twentieth Century art trends occupy a place and hold certain properties imposed by one law: that of applying philosophical principles to art, something that philosophy or criticism has not even imagined about.In his book “On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason”, Schopenhauer explains that nothing occurs without a cause. A cause is all that necessarily produces an effect. The knowledge we derive from a phenomenon occurs thanks to three abilities the human being possesses: sensibility, instinct and reason. Sensibility allows us to know a priori the qualities of an object: its position in space and time. Instinct allows us to know physical phenomena, what is identified through experience or perception of the senses. And reason allows us to draw conclusions by the use of judgment and concepts. Therefore, a person has at its disposal three different kinds of information to understand each phenomenon, which is known as the Principle of Sufficient Reason (P.S.R.) of being, becoming and knowing. The fourth root that Schopenhauer studies are motives, which only exist together with consciousness, and therefore are only possessed by humans. When we applied this theory to Twentieth Century art, we realize that it can explain it, and this is because scientific analysis has been widespread within the subject and therefore manifested in his actions.

The definition of art, which comprises idea, matter, figure and technique, corresponds with the forms of knowledge: geometry, transformation, knowledge and action.

The artistic styles developed at the beginning of the Twentieth Century were completely determined when art accepted the principle that “everything has to be understandable in order to be understood”¹, once the artist applied the scientific principles to art. As we have already mentioned, the study focused on the visible aspects of the work of art, i.e., matter, form and technique, and on to which the P.S.R. of becoming, acting and knowing would be applied. At the same time, the application of the three principles of reason to the first of those qualities, matter, has a philosophical foundation, thus the P.S.R. of knowing would permit us to understand the object as a materialistic phenomenon which gave rise to Conceptual art. Through the P.S.R. of becoming we know the current state of matter, whose essence (or substance) is analyzed by Materialistic art. Finally, the P.S.R. of being, which studies space and time considerations, would deal with the transcendental aspects of matter giving rise to Abstract art.

Likewise, the artist of the Twentieth Century will apply these three principles to the second material aspect of the work of art: the technique of representation, whose objective is to assure that the work of art has a real connection to the reality it attempts to depict and that it is captured as faithfully as possible, so that it can be identified. In order to do this, the artist will first study in depth the position of the figure in space and time, secondly, the present configuration of the figure, and thirdly, the composition of the figure; all this according to the P.S.R. of being, becoming and knowing. We have solved the enigma that has preoccupied Twentieth Century intellectuals, the ultimate meaning of cubism: Trying to determine how the artist develops his representations is therefore the application of the principle of reason of knowing to the technical phase of the material construction of the work of art. According to the principle of reason, its forms of knowledge, i.e., the geometrical, analytic and synthetic, correspond to the study of each of the cases being developed.Both the study of the matter and that of the technique of representation deal with the same issues: geometry or the position in space; changes in the matter or its current limits; and through the object which it is depicted or by the elements that conform it. Each study does it in its own convenient way but always concerning the same issues.

The third aspect studied by scientific art is the figure it represents. This would be the application of the P.S.R. of acting, of the motivation in its outer meaning, since what is perceptible of this type of motivation is expression, which is what is perceived and depicted. The act that carries out and that produces the image that is transmitted, that is to say what is known through empirical perception, is the consequence of motives. The result of applying theory to art is the expressionism, laden with social content. We can also identify, but because of different reasons, its three forms in the French fauvism, the Blue Rider and the Bridge; that would become the ultimate expressionism.

Therefore, the avant-gardes resulting from a scientific tendency, because they constitute a rational approach to art, have generated three different movements according to the constructive qualities contemplated in each work of art. When the artist has dealt with matter, he has done so unconsciously within a trend we could call “material” trend. When the technique of representation becomes the object of the analysis, then we are dealing with a “technicist” trend. And when we analyze the attitudes adopted by the depicted figures, then we are dealing with a “figurist” trend, in which an authentic representation seems to exist. Even though this trend, under closer examination, is also the theoretical study of such attitudes and not the representation of a scene.

1. Note: F. Nietzsche, “Socrates and Tragedy”:

When the Greek tragedy begun declining, Euripides begun looking for a transformation in his work since his prior works were not being understood. Therefore he invented well defined characters but not as profound as those of Aeschylus and Sophocles. His heroes were depicted just as they were, but they were not more than this representation.

In order to understand Twentieth Century Art today, it is necessary to consider two issues: the subject who develops it and the definition of art.

Regarding the creative works, we can consider the subject of that time in two aspects: firstly, because of the need for more accurate definitions, that is to say, an increasing faith in science and reason, and secondly, because it considers formal issues before its content.

As for art, we can provide the following definition: in its external aspect, it is the transformation of matter through the use of a technique in order to represent something, and in its internal aspect, it is the aspiration of presenting us with an idea.

When Maurice Denis established that a picture, before being a depiction of a scene, was a flat surface covered with colors, he was not referring to a definition of a work of art, but to the necessity of studying the work of art according to the principles of his contemporaries, namely based upon rational and ideological principles.

Abstract painting appeared during the same period as cubism and fauvism, but it caused more commotion than these other styles in which one could observe representation, and it was possible to see a certain continuity with the history of figurative painting. This is why expressionism and cubism seemed to have been historically justified. Abstract art did not make reference to any object from reality, and it was not possible to understand a type of art that did not consider the world surrounding us.

But in reality, these three new styles had nothing to do with the history of painting, which had just made a break in the evolution of art, in which the original interest of painting – that of representing reality surrounding us – was abandoned in order to study how that representation was produced through the work of art.

Abstract painting deals with the first of the aspects we included in the definition of a work of art: the matter, and particularly with one of its qualities, the color. Just as its name indicates, it is an abstraction of painting, which does not take into account the other aspects of art: object and technique. Abstract painting focuses on just one aspect, and as any science, it has to focus on one aspect in order to be analyzed without the influence of other qualities, which would alter it, thus making it difficult to identify the particular properties of the color.

We have mentioned that cubism, in some way, seemed to be part of tradition due to its slightly figurative content. But the foundation of this style is still a mystery, until now that we will discover that it deals with the second condition of a work of art: the technique of representation. Representation had been for many years the mere grouping of figures until perspective was discovered during the Renaissance. But at the beginning of the Twentieth Century representation was not a technical difficulty, it was possible to represent anything in any style. Now it was a scientific issue, because now the problem was not how to carry out the representation but to know the elements that make a representation possible: form, elements, and the relative positions of the bodies. Therefore cubism is the study of the techniques of representation.

We include fauvism as part of the expressionist movement because they are closely related (it is not other than the French interpretation of expressionism), and it is necessary to do so because this style, along with The Bridge and The Blue Rider constitute the ways to represent the overcoming of the drama of life through the application of social issues to problematic situations, thus showing us that society provides the answers we are looking for. As it is understood, we are faced with the analysis carried out by the artists from the beginning of the last century of the attitude put forth by the figure depicted in the work of art.

In addition to Hegel’s definition of work of art (idea, matter and figure), we have added the technique, and to the three material conditions needed for the existence of a work of art (matter, technique and representation), it corresponds them precisely three different studies that the artists unconsciously carried out methodically according to the needs of their time: science and society.

The study to achieve this conclusion was carried out by the artists by unconsciously applying the most evident philosophical principles, those principles of reason put forth by Schopenhauer in his work “On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason”. From all of this, what is more evident and simple to understand is that nothing occurs without a cause, and thus we have come to realize the causes of the artistic trends that developed the first avant-gardes, demonstrating that they conform a whole, and explaining the need to develop all of these trends almost simultaneously, since they were analysing the creation of a work of art from a scientific perspective.

Los Angeles has been particularly hard hit. Aside from the recession, the social and natural disasters of drought, riot, fire, flood and earthquakes have plagued the city. When we examine the effects of these disasters strictly in terms of commerce, we see how each natural disaster interrupts traffic patterns, work schedules and generally contributes to a loss in leisure time, not to mention its effects on the psyche. If we assume that galleries and art-related businesses lose two to four weeks for each crisis, a time when consumers are concentrating on the essentials of survival, and if we calculate this figure in terms of potential earning time lost, Los Angeles galleries have lost an average of three months out a ten-month season. It’s easy to see what a devastating impact this kind of lost time can have, even under the most desirable economic circumstances, not only for galleries and art services, but for the artists who rely upon the gallery structure to market their work.

Therefore, it becomes increasingly important that artist look to other sources during this time of transition. Typically, four options have been available to artist in terms of showing and selling their work:

1) Private commercial galleries are in the business of selling artwork. They can offer artists a one-person exhibition, the possibility of review, public exposure, an announcement, an opening reception, etc. They generally take 50 percent of sales for the privilege of representing you on an exclusive basis, an exclusivity that usually needs to be defined two ways: by the geographical area to be covered as well as the length of time it will remain in effect.

2) Private art consultants specialize in selling artwork to corporate collectors-banks, law offices, hotels. They can’t offer exclusive or an exhibition, but they can sell work in large quantities. They usually work out of their home or a small office, so there is no public exposure, but at the same time, they usually take a smaller percentage because they do not have the operating expenses of a regular gallery. I like to think of commissions to galleries and private consultants as “fee for services rendered.” Since the private art consultant cannot offer you the range of services a gallery can, their commissions generally are lower; you can expect the range to be anywhere from 10 to 60 percent. In this recession, however, we are finding more and more consultants demanding 50 percent.

3) Non-commercial galleries are in the business of educating the public. In most cases, they couldn’t care less about selling the work, but they usually offer good exposure for an artist if the space is reputable; examples are museums, college and university galleries, or alternative artists’ spaces. The best way to approach these galleries is to submit proposals. If you know of three or four other artists whose work seems compatible with your own, gather all the slides and bios to propose an exhibit, say, of “Left-Handed Bay Area Artists,” or whatever. Use your imagination to come up with a concept or curatorial theme.

4) Juried shows and competitions are a good way for an emerging artists to build up a resume. My advice is to enter them discriminately; the primary value of a juried show is the opportunity to familiarize a good juror (gallery, museum director or critic) with your work. It is also a good way to build a resume and get the experience of seeing your work in public context. But be careful. Remember, the juried show is essentially a fundraising event for a particular institution. Artwork is usually not insured and the artist almost always has to assume round-trip packing and shipping costs.

Now, however, the time has come for artists to use some of their creative energy to invent new ways of promoting and selling their work.

During the last several years, the burden of responsibility has been shifting slowly to the artist. Galleries have become less and less willing to accept responsibility for career development, and the artist must assume more. Artists can no longer harbor the fantasy that their job is over even when and if they are lucky enough to acquire a gallery. It can no longer be assumed that a gallery will do anything more than just sell the work.

Effectively managed cooperative galleries can begin to fill the gap if the artists can agree on specific career goals and hire a gallery manager whose job would be the accomplishment of theses goals. Just opening a gallery and hiring a gallery sitter is not sufficient; this may massage the egos of the artists who have exhibitions but will do little to expand their audience or promote their work.

Artists have also started to turn increasingly to alternative spaces for opportunities to display their work. Although I never encourage artists to expend a great deal of energy organizing shows for restaurants or office buildings, there have been many successful cooperative exhibitions organized in conjunction with corporate sponsors. The goal is not just to get the work seen, but to get it seen in the right context, by the right audience Most artists make the mistake of thinking that they have met their goal once the show is hung, but nothing could be further from the truth. To effectively “work a show” means:

-calling and writing everyone who has ever expressed an interest in your work, inviting them to see your show;
-making sure you have a good mailing list and sending press releases to all appropriate art critics and writers;
-targeting gallery directors and curators whom you feel would be responsive to the work;
-making certain you have documented the exhibition properly before it comes down; and
-using the guest book to follow-up with any interested contacts and adding them to your mailing list.

Artists must embrace the challenge of these changing times to educate themselves about the business aspects of their careers and embark upon the path of self-management.

This article was reproduced with the kind permission of Sylvia White and ArtAdvice.comArtAdvice.com, founded in 1979 by Sylvia White, in Los Angeles, is one of the few management consulting firms specializing in the career development of visual artists. They advise artists on all matters related to business, exhibitions, and marketing. In 1986 they expanded their consulting services to represent selected artists. In addition to their Los Angeles gallery space, they utilize associates in San Francisco, Chicago and New York to help us familiarize galleries, museums, collectors, critics, and curators with the work of emerging, mid-career, and established artists, their artists have participated in hundreds of exhibitions, nationally and internationally. Sylvia White currently serves on the advisory boards for ArtfulStyle.com, NowCulture.com and Guild.com.

Whenever anyone builds a web site they have a strong desire to achieve something.

For some the call to action will be for a visitor to buy something, others the call will be to visit a bricks and mortar shop. Some use it to generate visitors and make their revenue by selling space to advertisers. Some people may even want to sell you something (perish the thought!).

But what about artists ? Most use the internet to display examples of their art, contact details, maybe even to get some orders. As impressive as some artists site are virtually all artists sites will do badly in search engines. Why ? Well we will come back to that.

Search engine optimisation is effectively a marketing strategy which has been adopted by some companies. The majority of internet users find web sites by using search engines, it’s the 2nd most popular activity after good old e-mail. Search engines have effectively got huge databases of web sites and marry up a search request with a web site that matches that request depending on the criteria that the specific search engine uses. More on who the major players in the search market are later.

The exciting statistic is that almost 90% of that search engine traffic is looking for something very specific. How else would people know what to type in?

Compared to other forms of marketing both online and off, search engine optimisation is the most cost effective around. Conversion rates for a search engine enquiry are usually much higher than newspapers, Yellow Pages, magazines, direct mail, telephone. This is because they were looking for what you had to start with.

A typical optimisation process includes several component parts.

The things to bear in mind are :

-Keyword research (what phrases are people using to actually find sites like yours?)
-Competitor analysis (Who comes top when you search for phrases?)
-How will your web site be built (Certain construction methods e.g. frames, are disliked by most search engines, same with dynamic content)
-How quickly does your site load (If your home page takes more than 8 seconds…bye bye people just don’t have time to wait.)
-Navigation (How easy is it for people to find what it was they were looking for?)
-Does your site appear finished (Under construction signs will make people leave)

The results you can expect from a well implemented search engine campaign will vary depending on the market you are in. Typically, you could expect at least 200-500% more visitors if your site has been well optimised for all of the major search engines. No, that’s not a typo.

So, who are the main players ?

There are 3 distinct categories of search provider, these are the search engines, the directories and the pay for inclusions.

In the search engine category the major player is Google (it’s fast, simple and has the biggest index by far. Getting your site into Google should be an important part of your strategy. Other players are MSN , Ask Jeeves, Teoma (owned by Ask Jeeves but different index, Alta Vista, AOL, All The Web and Lycos. There are a lot more than these ones but if you do well in these you will do well overall.

The directory category has only 3 main players, Yahoo, BT Looksmart and DMOZ (sometimes called the ODP – Open Directory Project) The first two you have to pay for a listing in and DMOZ is free but you have to choose your category
very carefully. Yahoo and BT Looksmart don’t guarantee you a listing, so if you do decide to pay be prepared for them to say no. We have written a guide on getting a site listed in Yahoo and it is available Here. It’s not cheap to get listed (around ?400 for both) but very worthwhile in terms of volume traffic.

The pay for inclusions is a strange crowd, some are hybrids of search engines (Lycos have a pay for inclusion service for example) and others are pure pay for position. The ones you should be aware of are Overture and e-Spotting, where you pay for every visitor they deliver to you. These can be very cashflow sapping if managed badly, so tread with caution. That being said they are great for delivering targeted traffic specifically for one off or annual events (Valentines Day, The World Cup, mothers day, sporting events, product launches). You only pay for the traffic so if nobody clicks then you pay nothing for your position. The other pay for inclusion involves a quick listing of your site and a guaranteed review every 48 hours or so. The main providers of this type of facility are Inktomi and Alta Vista (as above, see what I mean about the hybrid stuff!). There are also some UK specific search engines in this category namely searchengine.com UK and UKPlus

To submit your site most of the providers have a “submit a site” section but many are not taking unpaid listings now as they need to monetise their offerings.

So, how do you get your site listed ?

Important thing is to make sure the site has text, typically 250 words a page. The text needs to include the phrases that you have researched and found people use, preferably in reasonable quantity but don’t go overboard. Include your keywords in the title of your page (rather than Untitled Document), include a keyword rich description and don’t try to trick the search engines. This is called cloaking and is likely to lead to your site being de-listed.

The other way to get listed is to have other sites link to yours (using hyperlinks, preferably with some descriptive text), then when a search engine sends out it’s spider (the robot that indexes all the pages) it will follow the links to your pages from someone else’s site. It helps if your link is relevant in some way rather than being a link from Uncle Bob’s homepage.

At the beginning I mentioned that artists sites generally do badly from a search engine perspective. The reason for this is….. No text…… bloated pictures and often frames.

I appreciate you are keen to have the quality of your art as good as possible, but pictures should be around 10kb maximum. By all means use thumbnails with descriptive text and lots of keywords explaining what the picture is and links to bigger files if people are interested. If you do just that one thing alone, then you would probably get a major increase in traffic to your site.

If all else fails, you could always enlist the services of a company that makes a living out of optimising sites for search engines. And, it’s only expensive if it doesn’t work.

Good luck.

Jim Banks

This article was reproduced with the kind permission of Jim Banks, CEO of Web Diversity Limited providers of search engine optimisation, pay-per-click campaigns and all aspects of internet marketing, and Web Diversity