Monday, December 27, 2004
De Kooning - Late Works 2
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| 'Untitled V11' 1985 | 'Untitled' 1987 |
- If we were all to get hold of an encyclopaedia or dictionary and look up the various medical terms for dysfunction and mental illness in society we would probably quickly come to some drastic conclusion as to our own personal mental health and the health of people around us: the whole world is 'mad'!. Through history certain words such as mental, idiot, fool, crazy, nuts etc. have been used in everyday language to express our fears of the encroachment of Mental illness. Recently Psychologists have sought to assuage our fears by analysing mental illness and inventing new more accurate and consumer friendly terms for the various varieties of Mental illness, many of which we suffer from at some time or another at differing levels of intensity, in order to treat it. The old simplistic divisions between 'Madness and civilisation' are still lingering ideas in modern times but lie underneath the multi layers of new terms developed for a more refined view to reflect the complicated nature of the mind. If in doubt though or in moments of rash emotion people still resort to primitive fears, to a time when people with mental illness were cast out of 'civilized' society. Alzheimer's was discovered relatively recently, If de Kooning had been painting in the 19th instead of the 20th Century people would not have recognised his condition and his late work would not have been given the kind of informed support that it does today. Also today it is known that by the age of 85 at least 40% of us will have Alzheimer's, and with a growing older population probably a larger percentage in the future.
A thought occurs to me: what if de Koonings late work were more expressive and gestural than his earlier work instead of more linear and non gestural as it is. Would critics have the same problem with it. Would it fit in with the traditional idea of the expressive artist? Certain Abstract artists did draw upon the idea of art as gestural and about sub-conscious communication between body and mind, the paintbrush following the intuitive urges. Has de Kooning stepped out of the boundaries of this relationship with the art audience. The self proclaimed gestural abstractionist turns cool and distant. He now stands back from his work instead of standing close by the large canvas, 'inside the painting'.
# posted by Neil @ 7:48 AM 
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I loooove De Kooning's late stuff: it's sooooo smooth, elegant, neural looking, as if he's describing the remains of his own synaptic network....saw a TV documentary about this era of his work a few years ago and it really turned me on to this stuff...
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