Stuff.
Stuff just lies around, doesn’t it? It just sits there, existing without us noticing or bothering with it. Stuff we need, stuff we like, stuff we want. Whether we live in a minimalist reality or a cluttered one, we need some amount of stuff. Even if it’s just a toothbrush.
The still life is the ultimate celebration of stuff. It raises stuff to the high office of “art” & allows the artist to show off while it’s at it. In the world of art, stuff has been used to flaunt, as a status symbol & as a clue as to someone’s station in life. More recently, it has been the stuff itself that has combined to be the actual art, whether in installation, collage or multi-media works.
& it’s worth remembering, one person’s stuff is another’s rubbish, so mind where you keep yours.
Scott Fraser (b. 1957), Saint Sebastian III
This staggeringly photo real surrealist work might be unfathomable were it not for the title. Even with the title, it makes you think. There’s a lot of tension in that vice – that it hangs in mid-air like that bothers me. Fraser’s ability to paint realistically & to a high technical level isn’t in doubt, but how he came up with the leap of this set of stuff to St Sebastian might remain a mystery…except that he explains:
This is my third in a series of pear paintings which reference Saint Sebastian, whose unlucky martyrdom involved being shot with arrows. Since the shape of a pear evokes the human form, I used push pins in place of the arrows. A friend gave me the elegant calipers which I used to echo the shape of the pear on a horizontal plane. Finally, the drape of the string evokes the curve of the other objects in the piece, tying it all together, so to speak.
So it’s all about the shapes.
Greg Edwards from Iffolito, Fearns, Hoellerich & Slingerland, Drum Set Gray Patent Print, 2019
When I was making this list, I was searching for more musical instruments in art than the usual Cubist guitars. I’ve not got anything against Cubist guitars as such, but it’s nice to have something different. This goes to show that even technical drawing can be artistic. Of course, I wouldn’t say this is entirely Edwards’s work since the original drawings date from the 20th Century, but he’s not hiding the signatures nor the dates. It raises interesting questions about who owns what & who can sell what. Even in my limited art creation, I have seen royalty sites use my images to sell without my permission. The joys of the internet.
Andy Warhol (1928–1987), Still life, c. 1960
So far from my taste that it’s a wonder it’s even here but the composition & colours of this work are interesting at least. It’s as if Warhol has taken 500 years of still life painting & chucked it in the bin. Which is of course, why we love him.
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Still Life: Double Cherry-Blossom Branch, Telescope, Sweet Fish & Tissue Case, c. 1804-1813
I’m not pretending to understand them but the poems above the painting are about cherry blossoms & are written by Asakusa-an & Teika-an. As we approach the season of admiring cherry blossoms in Japan, it seems right to post this. As for Hokusai, his cheeky signature translates as “painted by the madman of painting, Hokusai.” He’s saying it, no-one else…
Egon Schiele (1890-1918), Stylized flowers before decorative background, 1912
More well-known for his works of stylised human figures, it is at least acknowledged here that he’s not painting the flowers in a realistic manner. I always assume they are irises with perhaps pussy willow branches but whatever they are I like their robust, almost aggressive appearance. They’re not even like any irises I’ve ever seen. The colours are so rich & beautiful & well, if you didn’t know I love Schiele by now, then you’ve not been paying attention.
Albert Lebourg (1849-1928), Still Life With Candle, c. 1867-70
This beautiful & evocative piece is so dark, it’s difficult at first to make out the details. The light & shadow however are perfectly portrayed & the work is as much about the play between those as the objects. Although the majority of the work is drawn with charcoal, that flame is picked out carefully in white gouache. That little blob of paint makes all the difference.
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986), Water Lily, 1921
It’s hard to find a work by O’Keeffe that isn’t wonderful but what I love about this is the lack of polish in the overall finish. Despite the soft & sensitive rendering of the blooms, the sketchy colour around the edges show the hand of the artist in a way she usually avoids.
Agnes Middleton Raeburn (1872-1955), A still life of primroses
Raeburn frequently painted flowers but also made landscapes. Along with her sister Lucy, she was friends with & a contemporary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, studying at Glasgow School of Art from the age of fifteen.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), Coffee Pot, c. 1884
Another artist usually more concerned with human subjects than “stuff,” Lautrec’s coffee pot is nevertheless a lively work with energetic brush strokes & lovely contrasts of light & shade. If it were to kick its legs up in honour of his other works, I’d not be surprised.
(Attribution) Willem Drost (1633-1659 ), Drawing, c. 1650-55)
This is a more calm & quiet still life made in what appears to be pen & ink with a painted wash. Although we can’t see beyond the window, the overall composition & atmosphere is tranquil & everything looks to be in its correct place. I especially love the rendering of the little bottles on the windowsill – they are so simply & adeptly drawn - & the very subtle shadows beside the pile of books to show where the light shines in parallel lines through the window.
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