tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341967932815075836.post5679899456748630045..comments2024-01-09T19:29:01.696-05:00Comments on Martha Miller: Angels and Demonsmartha millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847828956846494958noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341967932815075836.post-48573173609629920832008-04-29T07:26:00.000-04:002008-04-29T07:26:00.000-04:00Hi DonYes, very hard to like the man after reading...Hi Don<BR/><BR/>Yes, very hard to like the man after reading this. I also admire how he followed his new direction of personal narrative against all odds and hung his dirty whites out on the line for the world to see. This did take an enormous amount of courage. The images are extremely potent and powerful. The cost to his daughter was huge, though. <BR/>Yup, Picasso, Pollock...Gauguin left his wife and 5 children... Woody Allen comes to mind here also as one whose actions in life take a toll on how we see his art...<BR/>Yes, Real Life is certainly Messy! But isn't this what art is about? Our struggle? Like Guston said, "I got tired of all that purity..."martha millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17847828956846494958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341967932815075836.post-80129649430971842362008-04-29T07:11:00.000-04:002008-04-29T07:11:00.000-04:00Hi Tillie - yes, you will enjoy this book, I think...Hi Tillie - yes, you will enjoy this book, I think. Alot of it takes place in Woodstock, NY, not too far from you! I just love reading artists' biographies.martha millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17847828956846494958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341967932815075836.post-42948191209531641922008-04-29T04:31:00.000-04:002008-04-29T04:31:00.000-04:00I read Musa Mayer's book quite a few years ago, an...I read Musa Mayer's book quite a few years ago, and I remember how it really modified my image of Guston. The self-image he worked to project was kind of the misunderstood and tragic artist-genius. I do still admire his insistence in following his new direction in the face of almost universal criticism. And I do think he created powerful, moving art. <BR/><BR/>But his daughter's account gives a more complete perspective on the full man and his deep, even ugly, flaws, doesn't it? Hard to like him much after reading it.<BR/><BR/>You raise interesting questions. I think of Picasso and his self-absorbed, mysoginistic ways. Or Pollock. The conclusion I finally arrive at is yes, you do have to separate the person and their art to a great extent. Virtually no one lives up to their own mythologies, whether self-created or imposed by others. Real life is always messier, less clear-cut, isn't it?Don Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10497657029761169270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341967932815075836.post-44227632189949695422008-04-28T20:47:00.000-04:002008-04-28T20:47:00.000-04:00Thanks for the tip- I have to read this book!Thanks for the tip- I have to read this book!Showing Up for the Musehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11671722559627830243noreply@blogger.com