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Gerald
GiamportoneAn Installation - Through ,
2003
In his book, The
Open Work, Umberto Eco writes about a concept of openness in the music,
art and literature of the 50’s. In particular, he describes the desirable
state of “unchecked associations” that can occur to a viewer when
looking at a work of art. I believe that the metaphors found in Nozkowski’s
work actually cause the viewer to experience a heightened state of “unchecked
associations,” which is very compelling. His work challenges perception
and creates a desire to spend more time studying this imagery. When looking
at the handling of paint in his work, whether we are looking at flat planes,
scumbled lines or aqueous drips, there is a deft touch I these marks that evoke
a lush but measured presence. An intense and focused sensibility is at work
in a solitary vision.
Writer and critic, Jed Perl, describes in his book, Eyewitness:
Reports from an Art World in Crisis, what he calls “stand-alone
art,” art that is still private as opposed to public. It is art that
gains its strength from dealing with one’s private vision and the essence
of art. Perl notes that his type of art has been overshadowed for quite some
time by the public persona of art. This has been the case perhaps as far back
as the Dadalsts, and is evident in myth of Jackson Pollock rather than in
his work. And more recently, it is clearly evident with artists such as Warhol
and Koons. This is not to condemn their work; it is simply to point out the
erosion that has occurred in the idea of private art. Whether it is the result
of the so-called at finishing schools or the larger art market, public art,
which has more to do with context than content, has flourished in the past
couple of decades. The art
of Thomas Nozkowski is unquestionably “stand-alone art.” It
has endured, and I believe that the reason it has endured is because his vision
has sustained him and the viewer.
Gerald Giamportone, 2002
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