July 29th, 2008

I’ve been thinking a lot about messages lately, namely the messages that artists are trying to convey to their audience with their work, if they are at all. You’ll probably notice that I post a little less frequently, and that’s because I’m focusing on finding works that actually have a purpose. I appreciate the scribbly drawings of a hesher rocking out in a van, but it’s not what I’m interested in right now. What I am interested in is work like Marian Bantjes’ new piece for Creative Review titled Love Stories. Each piece in the series is an illustrated text story of someone that she loves, and very few can illustrate text as well as Bantjes. This series explains fairly well what I mean about a message. It’s personal to the artist, explains to the reader something powerful that is felt, and does so in a way that is original and insightful and beautiful. Ta da: art. Bantjes covers the loves of her life including, oddly enough, the dentist and cake. Oh my God do I understand her about the cake. Each piece reflects the nature of the person(s) who inspired it, and at the same time shares a personal insight about that person’s relationship with the artist. Even without her immense talent, Bantjes could never have failed with this work, because she’s discussing an emotion as she feels it. I’m pretty sure that I can’t discuss this in less than 2000 words or more than three. Art must feel.
Marian Bantjes: Love Stories
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