You Can Hire an Artist

And now for something completely stylish!  I’ve joined the party organized at Ben Locker’s blog called Elegantly Dressed Wednesday. The confab gives us the opportunity to observe and celebrate how original people choose to step out and face the world.  I’ve arrived late and several guests (and perhaps even the host) may have already left the scene.  But now I can make an entrance. By following the links for EDW  I was excited with the discovery of such various new writers and their muses.  I felt like I had just made the rounds at a very stylish soirée.  (If you would like to see how others have defined elegance click on the Elegantly Dressed Wednesday button on the sidebar to find a outline of the party premise and a list of participating bloggers.  Apparently Ben Locker has moved to another site, Ben Locker: scorn and noise, but the EDW section has yet to join him.  Never mind, we’re having fun.) (Addendum 1/2010:  The blog Ben Locker:  scorn and noise no longer exists.)

My spin on the theme will be to feature visual artists’ attire and their artwork.  For the most part I always say that an artist’s work tells us all we need or want to know about an artist.   And for many visual artists the less we hear from them and know about their personalities and lives the better.   But those that can pass muster should be noted, applauded, and paraded.

Many will find my first choice for a subject quite obvious.  Georgia O’Keeffe was celebrated with love by Alfred Stieglitz’s photographs.  Even without his brilliant photography it is obvious O’Keeffe was very striking person.  However I think we can give some credit to her style as much as her physiognomy.  Are those eyes so compelling without the brim of a hat?  Or those hands so sculptural without that black collar?  But apparently she is one of the few that actually can put a paper bag over her head and still look marvelous!

Georgia  O’Keeffe is perhaps best known for her large paintings of flowers but I prefer her landscapes.  When I first was acquainted with her work I thought she took great liberties with making nature abstract and exaggerating color.  But that was before I went to New Mexico and saw the natural landscape and the particular views she was using as subject matter.  Now I know that she painted exactly what she saw, simplified yes, but we all do that to some degree.

I would say that O’Keeffe’s paintings are as elegant as her personal style.  But, will the examination of other artists give the same result?  I have a feeling that, as I observed earlier, the art will win.

Delving into this subject has been a load of fun for me and it has added some levity to the blog.    So thank you Ben Locker, for coming up with this amusement.  I considered also taking my topic to the the alternate party that Ben Locker  frowned upon – Half-Nekkid Thursday, but by my choosing to explore visual artists and their work I think I’d be breaking the rule that the examples be “of you or by you”.  It might be fun to consider anyway, visual artists and their half-naked art, so perhaps I’ll entertain the idea anyway as a party of one.  We’ll see.

Kathleen Benton