Criticism Archives - Greg Mason Burns

Do You Understand Art

Portrait of Mrs. Edward L. Davis and Her Son, Livingston Davis, oil on canvas by John Singer Sargent, 1890; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Do You Understand Art is the fourth in a series of guests posts by my collectors and fans. In this post, Nivea Bona reflects on how art makes us feel something and how we try to rationalize that even when there's no need to do so. Below, Bona shares how this notion challenged her in other parts of her life, and I challenge you to tell me which side I lean toward: intent or in-the-moment...

January 16, 2024

Greg

in Art, Criticism, Exhibit

Bowdoin College Chapel is an abstract photography image.

How to Write an Artist Grant (from the perspective of a grant reviewer)

How to write an artist grant is a difficult question to answer. Artists are good at making art, not doing administrative funding tasks. Yes, I'm an artist. I've written a lot of grants and I've only succeeded once. That's probably not a great score, but that's more to do with competition than anything else. I'm also a grant reviewer who is lucky enough to have gotten a behind-the-scenes look at what a good grant looks like. I wrote an article for the Maine Arts Journal on my experience as a grant reviewer to help artists navigate this tricky realm. To give...

July 2, 2023

Greg

in Artistic Process, Criticism, How-to in Art, Publications

Blur #3 is an abstract photo of a tiny paint swab no more than 1/4" in size.

Truth and Lies

Before he wrote The Wealth of Nations, in his book The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith pontificated something extreme with regards to charity. He roughly stated that we don’t know the difference between making ourselves feel good and “doing it for God” when being charitable towards other humans. This got him into some trouble with the church. It was only a little trouble because he had sprinkled in enough references to “God” to keep him safe. Smith had learned from his friend David Hume's failures. Hume didn’t lie, and society severely punished him both academically and socially. Adam Smith...

February 17, 2023

Greg

in Criticism, Publications

Walking on Both Sides Part 3 is a mixed media collage using newspaper headlines to contrast reality.

Manipulation of the Art Market

The manipulation of the art market is the stuff of legends and actually pretty transparent. It's run "in secrecy" by the super wealthy in a way to make them more wealthy. It's about intimidation, and that game works for them. This is why I always tell people to buy what they like. Don't buy art to match the décor (the art will outlast the décor) and don't buy art to compete as an investor either (the game is rigged before you even enter it). Artists suffer the worst consequences, but there is a way to solve this: buy local artists...

March 28, 2022

Greg

in Criticism

Manipulation #11 - House on Newcastle is an abstract photo of Galway, Ireland using oil pastel and acylic paint with red, green, and blue coloring.

The NFT Market is a Massive Ponzi Scheme

[caption id="attachment_4568" align="alignleft" width="225"] Manipulation #11 - House on Newcastle Photography on Archival Paper (2021)[/caption] Seriously, if you're considering getting into the NFT market, seller beware. It is not really buyer beware if you can convince people to jump into the game. Simply put, the more people in the game the easier it is to sell and make a profit. I can't say it as well as Canadian Artist Kimberly Parker puts it, so you should read her article posted below. In short, she did a massive data scrape of those markets that sell NFTs, and the results show that the...

March 28, 2022

Greg

in Criticism

Essen Coal #1 is an abstract photo of the Welterbe Zollverein mine in Essen, Germany.

Reception Theory as a Visual Art

A Definition of Reception Theory Reception Theory judges an audience's response to a particular communication method. In particular, it began as an analysis of how readers interpret literary texts. Interpretation is inherently built into Reception Theory. This means there is a gap, a difference of opinion, between what the communicator meant and what the audience understood. Reception Theory academics often tackle the two sides of the theory: what is communicated and what is interpreted. How I Interpret Reception Theory I work specifically with that space in between what is communicated and what is interpreted. To me, that space is fundamentally emotional. This is...

March 19, 2022

Greg

in Art, Art Project, Artistic Process, Contemporary Art, Criticism, Drawing, Painting, Photography, Reductivism, Video

Copelouzos Family Art Museum – 35 x 35 Project

[caption id="attachment_2900" align="alignleft" width="268"] My Contribution to the Copelouzos Family Art Museum: Art Is Not Free / I'm Walking on Both Sides - Oil on Canvas - 35 x 35 cm (2020)[/caption] UPDATED ON 12/20/21 WITH LATEST - SEE BOTTOM OF TIMELINE FOR UPDATE Scam or Not? Read On...

May 10, 2020

Greg

in Criticism

Why Artists Should Sign Their Work

[caption id="attachment_2989" align="alignleft" width="300"] Color Study of Ponte 25 de Abril[/caption] I haven’t had a good rant post in a while, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the act of signing artwork. More specifically: how the chic way to sign an artwork these days is to not sign at all. And I’ve thought a lot about why I sign my work, too. However, I’ve never really come up with a better answer than “it’s mine and therefore I should take credit for it.” This goes back to my feeling that we should be declarative in what we do. I don’t...

June 26, 2017

Greg

in Criticism

Novo-Surrealism Artist Talk at Zaratan

[caption id="attachment_5102" align="alignright" width="233"] Zaratan Arte Contemporanea: Novo-Surrealism Artist Talk[/caption] This video is of the Novo-Surrealism artist talk I gave in January, 2017 at Zaratan Arte Contemporanea in Lisbon, Portugal. The topic was Novo-Surrealism and the Media's Message versus the Audience's Understanding of Reality. About 10 people attended live and about 200 people attended on the live broadcast on FB Live. The discussion lasted about an hour. It covered the theory, possible avenues the project can take going forward, and how open the idea can become. I was a bit nervous, as I had not given a serious artist talk like this...

January 14, 2017

Greg

in Art Project, Criticism, Residency

Beauty and Evolution: is Beauty a Defense Mechanism?

[caption id="attachment_3797" align="alignleft" width="208"] Beauty and Evolution: Definitely some evolved vices in this painting[/caption] Beauty and Evolution I can´t argue against this. Denis Dutton has a pretty convincing argument one way or another, but how true is it? His theory suggests that what we perceive as beauty is as evolved as our bodies are. He argues that the shape of a diamond is eerily similar to that of a pre-historic stone spearhead. Furthermore, these stones weren´t just made to kill animals but to show off abilities for the purpose of mating. Think about it, a man makes a stone not to kill,...

January 13, 2016

Greg

in Contemporary Art, Criticism