Masonry - Greg Mason Burns

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January 14, 2017

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 12, 2017

Greg

Collaboration: Zaratan by Greg Mason Burns and Daniel Gawronski

[caption id="attachment_3010" align="alignleft" width="240"] Daniel's Trees, as drawn simply by me as a visual example[/caption] I recently did a residency in Lisbon, Portugal and while there I met the other artist-in-residence, Daniel Gawronski. Daniel is an Australian artist who works primarily with sound art. His method is interesting in that he takes images from the natural environment and uses those to map musical compositions. We both attended the residency at Zaratan Arte Contemporanea in Lisbon, but this collaboration was an accident. For the audio, Gawronski used a photograph of trees from a forest Sintra, Portugal, outside Lisbon, to create a music scale....

April 25, 2016

Greg

Redefining The Surreal (Novo-Surrealism)

[caption id="attachment_3015" align="alignleft" width="282"] Redefining the Surreal: What does the gap look like?[/caption] While some of my work may have a hint of Surrealism in it, I am not a Surrealist by definition. And yet I feel as if I am a Surrealist in spirit and maybe by nature as well. To start, I care nothing of dreams and the contradiction between them and real life. This, shown with great realism, is the definition of Surrealism. However, there is a deeper meaning to Surrealism, and if André Breton was right in that Surrealism was a revolutionary movement then I certainly fit...

January 13, 2016

Greg

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 5, 2016

Greg

Telling the Truth in Art

[caption id="attachment_3250" align="aligncenter" width="1100"] A truth about flamenco is that it’s more commercial than it should be[/caption] Telling the Truth in Art Nothing irks me more in art than criticism that uses modern fashion as a justification for it's existence. In fact, if a piece of art is being criticized because the piece fails to follow modern fashionable conventions then the piece is very likely by definition "art". I don't say this meaning that art must or even should break conventions (I don't believe that at all). But art that conforms to prevailing fashions intentionally is missing something, and that missing piece...

October 24, 2015

Greg

A Critique of the Definition of Documentary Art

Documentary Art: a Definition [caption id="attachment_3563" align="alignleft" width="155"] Documentary arts: An image tells us a story, whether it has detailed facts or not[/caption] The first thing that comes to mind when we think of a documentary is usually a film. Beyond that, we typically think of writers and photographers, especially those of the journalistic type. But that's not all. Painters were definitely the documentary artists before photography was invented. Painters such as Raffaele Carelli and Johann Moritz Rugendas documented the landscapes they visited. In fact, the Hudson School was probably the dominant American documentary arts style of the 1800s. They influenced the...

October 13, 2015

Greg

How to Look at Art in Four Steps (when you don’t know what you’re looking at)

Have you ever wondered how something can be called "art" when it apparently looks like something you could have created using the leftover paint from painting your garage? Well, in this great video by University of Pittsburgh Professor Terry Smith, at the Andy Warhol Museum, he explains how to look at art using four steps: What: Look at the art and ask: "What am I looking at?" Share these thoughts with other people. Try [caption id="attachment_3257" align="alignright" width="193"] How to Look at Art in Four Steps: The Chair in the Blue Room (2019)[/caption] to describe it and keep an open mind. Describe the...

September 16, 2015

Greg

Choose Your Palette Based on What You Want to Paint

Choosing your palette is not as difficult as you may think. Let me give you an example. I'm also a rock climber. Some climbers take all of the gear they think they may need during a climb while others only take the gear they anticipate that they'll need. I had one climbing friend ask another partner one day, "So what gear do you take with you?" The second answered, "It depends on the climb." And so it is with your palette. Choose your palette, don't let it choose you. Look, I get it, some people like the palette they work with....

September 6, 2015

Greg

The Future of Selling Art: Why This Is a Good Thing

Yeah, I know, there are thousands of artists peddling their works on eBay, but how many of them auction in the hundred's of thousands of dollars? If they're coming straight from the artist then the answer is none, but why can't there be high-priced auctions over the Internet like there are in famous auction houses? Well, eBay and Phillips are teaming up to do just that, and that's great news for everyone. Why? Because this is the future of art. [caption id="attachment_3213" align="aligncenter" width="1100"] City VII Roses - Oil on Canvas (2014)[/caption] Think for a moment where artists sell. Mostly it's to...

September 4, 2015

Greg

The History of Plein Air Painting: A Documentary

Put together by Plein Air Magazine, this Outside the Lines documentary on the history of Plein Air painting is a good watch. It's about 38 minutes long, and covers American and European lines. The cinematography is excellent, too. A lot of history here, so enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F86HvkQaz-o My own history with plein air painting is turbulent. I've never considered myself a great drawer, and I've always felt that drawing is something a plein air painter needs to excel at. I'm sure abstract works can be done plein air as well. But all the plein air painters I see these days are doing exactly...

August 9, 2015

Greg

Kindness Can Save the Arts

[caption id="attachment_4572" align="alignleft" width="191"] Essen Coal #1 - Photography on Archival Paper[/caption] Kindness Can Save the Arts I do a fair amount of research on the art world in general, and occasionally I come across something that strikes me as appropriate and smart. As was such with this quote by Paul Warwick, co-producer of China Arts in the UK, that I found in this Guardian article about Why Radical Kindness is the Key to Artistic Development. Paul said: "...

June 23, 2015

Greg

How to Buy Art if You’re Not a Millionaire in Six Easy Steps

We've all heard about the famous artist getting auctioned off for millions of dollars, and we've all heard about the starving artist as well. However there's two sides to this: it's not just the non-famous artist who's getting left out, but also those who'd like to buy art but have a standard middle-class mortgage to pay. This article is for those who'd love to decorate their home or office with some art they love but typically can't afford it. Here are six steps on how to buy art in a good way: [caption id="attachment_3146" align="alignleft" width="178"] The BATHE - Oil on...