{"id":941,"date":"2006-05-04T10:29:47","date_gmt":"2006-05-04T15:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/art-inaction\/"},"modified":"2006-05-04T10:29:47","modified_gmt":"2006-05-04T15:29:47","slug":"art-inaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/art-inaction","title":{"rendered":"Art Inaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Witold Rybczynski has an article at Slate about how architects create a brand for themselves<\/a>. Near the end, he brings up a point that I’d like to ponder (and would like you, dear reader, to ponder): <\/p>\n

Most architectural careers are marked by a deliberate evolution–a slow simmer rather than a fast boil. The drive to establish their own unique brands pushes young architects to distinguish themselves early–too early. Moreover, public recognition of an architect’s particular approach–Meier’s minimalism, Stern’s traditionalism, Santiago Calatrava’s bravura–can serve to stymie the natural artistic evolution of a designer’s style.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This has me thinking about the conflicting impulses for just about any artist: how does one achieve commercial success without freezing one’s artistic development?<\/p>\n

It brings me back to a post of mine from last year<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Years ago, the first time I phoned the critic and novelist David Gates, I asked him about the novel he was working on. He said, pretty facetiously, “I\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2m in a sort of bind. If it comes out like Jernigan<\/a> [his first novel, which I adored], people will say I\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2m only capable of writing that type of book. If it comes out nothing like Jernigan<\/strong>, people who liked that book will complain that this one is no good.”<\/p>\n

A few years later, when I read it, I thought, “This is pretty good, but it\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s no Jernigan<\/strong>.” I was a little embarrassed about that reaction, but hey. I read the book again a few months ago, and enjoyed it a lot more than I remembered the first time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So can you think of artists who’ve achieved renown, financial success and some degree of celebrity who’ve managed not<\/em> get caught in that stasis?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Witold Rybczynski has an article at Slate about how architects create a brand for themselves. Near the end, he brings up a point that I’d like to ponder (and would like you, dear reader, to ponder): Most architectural careers are marked by a deliberate evolution–a slow simmer rather than a fast boil. The drive to … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Art Inaction”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22,4,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-literature","category-urban-issues"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4C7K-fb","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1212,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/underworld-evolution","url_meta":{"origin":941,"position":0},"title":"Underworld evolution","author":"Gil","date":"November 18, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're like me (fate worse than etc.), you revel in the amazing subway stations in foreign countries. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best intro to this article about making art from metro stops: Building beautiful metro stations isn't just a chance for cities to show off. It also provides\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Architecture"","block_context":{"text":"Architecture","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/architecture"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1275,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/steal-a-little-and-they-throw-you-in-jail-steal-a-lot-and-they-make-you-king","url_meta":{"origin":941,"position":1},"title":"Steal a little and they throw you in jail \/ Steal a lot and they make you king","author":"Gil","date":"January 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's a neat interview with architect Renzo Piano, who over the years has inherited a bunch of projects from other architects (for a variety of reasons). When you visit buildings by other architects, what do you look for? Haha! First, I enjoy them very much. Second, I steal everything. Stealing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Architecture"","block_context":{"text":"Architecture","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/architecture"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16411,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-562-leslie-stein","url_meta":{"origin":941,"position":2},"title":"Episode 562 – Leslie Stein","author":"Gil","date":"November 7, 2023","format":"audio","excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show 562: Leslie Stein \"As far as developing a style, it's all experimental. It's all just making mistakes and then seeing what are good mistakes.\" With her wonderful, hilarious & heartfelt new graphic novel, Brooklyn's Last Secret (Drawn & Quarterly), cartoonist Leslie Stein brings us the story of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/lesliestein2023comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C652&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/lesliestein2023comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C652&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/lesliestein2023comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C652&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/lesliestein2023comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C652&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/lesliestein2023comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C652&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":942,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/raze-the-roof","url_meta":{"origin":941,"position":3},"title":"Raze the roof","author":"Gil","date":"May 5, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I wrote a little about brand awareness among architects (and, by extension, other artists). Today, I offer you an article from BusinessWeek on remaking the McDonald's brand: The traditional McDonald's yellow and red colors will remain, but the red will be muted to terra cotta and olive and sage\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8609,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-110-thru-these-architects-eyes","url_meta":{"origin":941,"position":4},"title":"Episode 110 – Thru’ These Architects’ Eyes","author":"Gil","date":"March 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show: Witold Rybczynski - Thru' These Architect's Eyes \"An architect doesn't build something just because he wants to build it. But as a writer, you can say, 'I have an idea for a book.'\" Witold Rybczynski joins the show to talk about architecture! 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