The Unmistakable Mark of the True Artist

The other day I was flipping through the channels and stumbled upon a movie I had never seen before. After about 5 minutes a thought struck me - "this movie must have been directed by Robert Altman!" Did some checking and I found out that I was indeed watching an Altman film - Buffalo Bill and the Indians.

Aside from the question of whether it was a good movie or not, I was impressed by the fact that a director can have such a clear and unique vision that even a few minutes in you know who made it.

Many directors have shown this quality: Stanley Kubrick, Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, Terrence Malick, and now the new auteur Shane Carruth (among others). And of the course the genius who started it all, Orson Welles.

These filmmakers produce art that shouts to the world, "This Is Me...This Is My Contribution".

This sort of artistic fingerprint didn't begin with the advent of motion pictures.

If you came upon a painting by Vincent Van Gogh that you had never seen before, would you have any doubt whatsoever as to who had painted it? Obviously he was too bold and ahead of his time for 19th-century tastes, but how his work has held up! I had the great thrill a couple of years ago to visit the Orsay Museum in Paris, which contains a large number of famous Impressionist and Expressionist paintings. In that environment it's clear to see who had a clear vision. And when you get to the Van Gogh section - POW! Jumps out like no other.

I try to judge my own paintings in a similar way. I take a few steps back mentally and think, "if people saw this unlabeled on a museum wall, would they know I made it?"

This sort of thinking brings up a troubling problem: when does an artist cross the line from 'clear vision' into 'self-parody and gimmickry'? Notably, J.J. Abrams has caught flak for his signature 'lens flare'. But is this a valid attack? In certain ways, didn't Fellini repeat himself movie after movie? In how many films did Kubrick portray a character with head tilted downward and maniacal eyes staring through the top of his skull? How many times has Malick shown treetops? But these are some of the greatest artists of our time.

This challenge comes to musical artists as well. The Flaming Lips created a masterpiece with The Soft Bulletin. They built on that idea with Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. At this point the band obtained an unprecedented level of success and released their most accessible recording to date At War With The Mystics. I sense that they felt a backlash for 'selling out' or 'repeating themselves' or whatever (I completely disagree), but something compelled them to release the borderline unlistenable Embryonic.

I'm sure that some fans feel like it's the most Lips recording, but I don't think I've listened to it more than 5 times since it came out.

On the other hand, at least it's unique. And that should have some value, right?

Even with art that I personally find atrocious (and shall remain nameless), I have to give some points to the artist for being distinct.

In the end I guess the one thing an artist can do that is unforgivable is to be nondescript.

If you have nothing to say, better to keep quiet.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a world traveler, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.

Favorite Paintings: Vincent Van Gogh

This series will list some of my favorite paintings by my favorite artists and attempt to explain why.

Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night

Van Gogh is my favorite painter of all. And this painting exemplifies all of the reasons why. Since the invention of the camera, there isn't much need for a painter to be a literal realist. But the function of an artist is more vital than ever - to capture feelings and senses that mere words or even photographs cannot convey. This painting is all about the sensory experience of being on that cobblestone road, next to that cafe on a summer night. You can hear the sounds of the patrons, smell the food from the kitchen, hear some alley cat down in the dark end of the painting. The light reflecting on the street just perfectly encapsulates that magical feeling of being out in the evening.

The Red Vineyard

I love this painting because of the sky. If you think about it, the sky isn't yellow. But Vincent is driving home a feeling: that intense sun pounding down on those workers is relentless, enveloping everything. Like the great poetry of ee cummings, this painting may not make total intellectual sense, but it makes complete emotional sense.

Starry Night Over The Rhone

This painting is about light, light, light. Van Gogh's first goal in life was to be a minister, and he said that one of the reasons he began painting was to draw attention to God and creation. This painting is just glorious in its depiction of celestial beauty and how those heavenly bodies illuminate and decorate the earth by reflection. It's almost as if the world is being purified by the night sky. Breathtaking.

A Wheatfield with Cypresses

Van Gogh is the epitome of "not appreciated in his time". Can you imagine what people in 1889 thought when they saw this? "That's not what the sky looks like! Why is everything so swirly?" But that's the whole point, isn't it? This painting is all about movement. Somehow, with some simple brushstrokes, Vincent was able to convey this wild feeling of life, wind, movement, aroma, sound...this painting is absolutely electric.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a world traveler, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.