Kenneth C. Knowlton: Retrieved Icon
Artist(s):
Title:
- Retrieved Icon
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 1998
Size:
- 19" x 25"
Category:
Keywords:
Artist Statement:
Computer-Assisted Mosaics
Many kinds of art (abstract, cubist, minimalist) demand serious effort from the viewer, first of all to “see” various things, then to find some personal or shared meanings. To me, mosaics and similarly fragmented pictures are superb examples. They offer a variety of visual games and need to be viewed in many ways so that the viewer, building on past and present experience, asks: “Why do I see what I think I see?” Perhaps at least this question will then carry over to life in general.
It’s not always that grimly serious. If I portray a teapot, using pieces of a smashed teapot, it’s obviously an in-joke for a group who are looking back on, among other things, many years of teapot picture-making. But, as with all other art, there should be more to enjoy and think about than the first and most obvious interpretation.
Exactly how and when (and even if) a computer was used is as irrelevant as the details of paint and glue. Except for performance art, which mine work is not, the finished works alone should convey whatever meaning there is. (Ideally, you would not want or need to read this.)
