In continuing to talk about message and purpose in art, let me throw in the work of Ethan Hayes-Chute. I believe that ultimately abstract works, which Hayes-Chute’s work is mostly, are more of a mirror than they are a message. Of course the artist is usually discussing a fucking ton of things with their work in the abstract, the vast availability of space for discussion is probably the reason they chose abstract in the first place. But ultimately that space is what the audience is going to see, and they will fill it with themselves (because that’s all any of us have as a reference). Hayes-Chute’s paintings feature slivers and shards of daily life, as if the world had been blown up and reassembled by gravity and wind alone. What does your life look like flying through the air in millions of pieces? Is that the question he’s trying to ask me? Maybe, but it’s the question I ask myself when looking at his work. He provides the space, and I fill it with myself. The key to creating art that will effect the audience, that can, in fact, change the audience emotionally, is to create on canvas those spaces that the artist has in common with the audience. Everyone will fill in the blanks differently, but they will need to fill them in, and they will do so together, artist and audience. Does E. H.-C. manage that? I wouldn’t have mentioned his work if he didn’t. Plus, I have daydreams about building a boat with my friends, and he actually did it. That’s a whole different kind of message.
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