Seeing Behind the Work
As an artist, I am often asked to explain my work. What is the subject, the motivation, the inspiration? The following is an excerpt from an article by Sean Justice , posted in Culture Hall and written for an exhibition Justice curated in China entitled Pictures are Words-Not-Known . Perhaps this article will answer some of your questions about the work, how and why it is made, and the way in which different cultures effect our thinking and making of art. "The confusion of picture with work emerges because our understanding of the art-making process has been derailed; or, perhaps we've just gotten the words wrong. What we call the "work" is not really the work at all, but rather the result of the work. The actual work is the question that the artist asks. The picture (or the sculpture, or the dance, or the computer interactive poem), is an attempt to articulate the question, and perhaps to suggest an answer. By the time an audience sees any particular artwork, ...