I finally read the artist bio on that piece I've been staring at for months

There's this huge digital painting in the local gallery downtown (you know, the one on 3rd Street) that I walk past every week. I just assumed it was done in like a week or something, maybe with some fancy auto-brush tool. But the bio said the artist spent 14 months on it, using only three layers and a single custom brush. Made me feel kind of dumb for thinking it was something quick and easy. That's 14 months of their life right there on the wall, and I almost dismissed it as a weekend project. Has anyone else ever misjudged a piece just because you didn't stop to read the story behind it?

2 comments

2 Comments

evab5216d ago

That story knocked me sideways when I read it. Fourteen months on one piece with just three layers, that's basically a whole relationship commitment right there on the wall. I've definitely walked past stuff thinking "that's cool I guess" and then found out later the artist went through something huge to make it. Makes you wonder how many other masterpieces we just glance at without really seeing them. The bio is the key, always read the bio.

jesse_craig2616d ago

Yeah, "knocked me sideways" is exactly the right way to put it. I've had that feeling a few times where you read something about a piece and it just stops you cold. There's a painting at a local gallery I walked by dozens of times before I read the artist's note about painting it while their kid was in the hospital. Now I can't even look at it without tearing up a little. You're totally right that the bio is where the real story lives, it changes everything once you know. It's kind of humbling honestly, realizing how much I probably miss because I'm just skimming the surface.