For the first time in 18 years of teaching I’ve instituted a collaborative project in my classes. Students in Painting I (sophomores, mostly) worked together at large tables, chatting, exchanging works in progress, and generally learning to open up to new possibilities. In the end these studies far surpassed the final paintings (which were not executed collaboratively), but not a single student made the mistake of being overly precious.
On a recent trip to Washington D.C. I spent some time with this fantastic Ellsworth Kelly painting. It comprises three trapezoidal monochrome panels which conjoin to produce the illusion of a rectangular triptych seen in perspective. Like the best of Kelly’s work it is at once erudite and playful, and it reorients us to painting’s past even as it opens up new possibilities for painting’s future.
Gnota is an acronym standing for the Guild of Non-Objective Tennessee Artists. Gnota was formed by John Tallman in an effort to promote non-objective art in the Southeast. The impetus for gnota was the exhibition Tennessee Abstract Painting, scheduled to take place at the Cheekwood Museum in 2009. Ideally it will transcend these parameters. Check out gnota’s blog.
