November 2010
I always remember hearing a story about Albert Pinkham Ryder retouching one of his paintings in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts long after it was hung and celebrated. I guess Im musing on when to call a project done.
Ive recently been cleaning up and sorting through some older works. I enjoying cutting back into some of them or trying to finish some projects that never really took off. Theres a moment of peril, like picking wounds, something of the impulse of the first piece is destroyed. The hope being the thing will take off and a new better whole will emerge. Maybe it's a little like back tracking trying to find something I left along the way. Im leaning toward the statement that a work of art is never done it keeps changing. You can send it out into the world, and it develops a relationship with it's new owner or more likely it gets shown and comes back.
The piece in the photo is one such. The frame was originally a floor sculpture but seemed in the way and was maybe in need of repair anyway. Both pieces I really liked at the time i made them. So we will see.?.