It Ain't Home Goods
what's in a name?
Many authors have commented in that "a woman puts all her hopes into naming her child.". This does not ring true with this artist naming his paintings.
I see painting as a communication. To have real communication, the object must be caught. I see it as a basketball pass...What good is it to pass the ball to the intended target if the player cannot receive the ball in a position to score?
With art, the image, the picture is the communication, but the recipient is not defined. It's more like fishing for similar souls. I don't think the work I make is defined until it is received, and received by the right person. Therefore, I name my paintings, officially, with the buyer.
The title is not the message, it is the definition.
This puts me in a weird situation when presenting my work at art shows. If I leave my paintings untitled, waiting for it to be received and named, it looks lazy or worse: arrogant. It looks like: “fuck you, buy it if you can afford it." When a prospective collector likes a painting enough to peruse the specifics and price of a painting and flips the tag up to see what it costs- You gotta tell them something. I think you should make them smile or think...or smile and think.
There are choices...you can free associate words to the painting...you can tell them what it is creatively, you can tell them what it is not...or you can say something interesting to help tell the story of your work. Sometimes a song lyric works...sometimes a poem or joke punchline...a famous quote...bible passage...or a small anecdote about how or when the painting was made.
I use all of these methods...and when a painting is sold...I engage it's new owner in a name game on the back of the painting.
I enjoy this process immensely. Both aspects...the fake and real titles. Maybe too much…
Here are some of the my favorite festival artwork titles…
I threw a nail gun at this painting on Monday. I hated it so much. Now, it costs $7,000- It all works out.
(this painting sold that day, for less than asking.)
Painting with Samantha watching while drinking wine and reading at sunset. Soft Bleu Serenade. $6,750.00
(I really don’t remember what painting this title was for)
I cannot fathom owning this painting past today. I’m shocked it’s even hanging here, now. $2900.00
(eventually sold at a different show for more than this price).
I stole this from a massage parlor, the sound machine is not for sale, though. $1500.00
Is it more mysterious that an elephant exists or that it looks like it shouldn’t exist? $1900.00.
(I love this GK Chesterton Quote, though I did not copy it faithfully. Painting sold $1500.00)
I can’t decide if it’s beautiful or ugly, which of course, makes it desirable. $1200.00.
(It was ugly and got cut down into a smaller painting which sold for $200.00)
Michigan cheated, but Mel Tucker…
(This is fun stuff to title a painting in the Detroit Metro Area. I dont remember the details now. Go Green.)
The Bitter the Blues, The Better They Keep $2,750.00
(I am obsessed with Fred Neil. This is 100% my favorite song lyric of all time. It’s from the song: Blues on the Ceiling. The Album: Bleecker & McDougal 1965)
This Painting Will Make Your House Smell Nice. $1,250.00
Regarding the Heart Paintings that I really hate to make, but they make people happy:
sold.
I’ll leave you with one final title that is a true story. The occasion occurred in front of my booth and I laughed for an hour continuously. Nobody saw it happen but me. So I looked crazier than usual. I could not get it out of my mind…so the next day I made it the name of one of the paintings.
I don’t know if I captured the occurrence very well in the name tag, but if you imagine a little girl with a unicorn painted face and her height relative to her mother’s height…and you imagine mom bending to pick up a piece of paper on the ground…and the little girl walking directly to the body part corresponding with her face’s height…adorned in crisp white shorts…a unicorn impression, a pressing if you will, perfectly made in 3D upon the canvas of white pants.
sold
A personal note…
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