“a Room of One’s Own, a Mind of One’s Own” by Robert Storr
Reading Response #8
Reading: “A Room of One’s Own, a Mind of One’s Own” by Robert Storr I don’t often consider the artist’s studio when I am looking at art, but Robert Storr’s commentary on the perception of the “artist studio” was interesting and reminded me that there are other aspects to the creation of a piece of art other than a brush with paint being placed on canvas. I particularly enjoyed Storr’s descriptions of different artists’ studios, especially the studio of Willem de Kooning. The interpretation of Kooning’s intentions with respect to his studio was intriguing; I had never considered that an artist may be uncomfortable with success and wealth. I had heard of artists spending frivolously and with a lack of responsibility; this now makes sense in some cases when one takes into account Storr’s interpretation of artists, like Kooning, being uncomfortable with the idea of wealth and having more money than they could ever understand. I also appreciated Storr’s mention of Agnes Martin. Although Storr did not describe Martin’s work in great detail, her name sounded familiar to me and her minimalistic style sparked some recollection. After a google search, I realized that I had seen some of Martin’s work in Taos, New Mexico at the Harwood Museum. The works shown there include the faint blue and white horizontal lines of Ordinary Happiness and a few other works that I don’t remember quite as well. It’s really turning out that I’ve seen paintings and pieces of art by many famous artists and have never realized it; they’ve just never stuck. I’m going to try to start paying closer attention when I’m looking at art. Back to the reading: although I enjoyed the reading, I am a bit confused about Storr’s final point that “artists work when they can, and how they can.” Even with the detailed descriptions of several different artist’s work space, it seems like Storr wants to get the point across that artists don’t put thought into their space and merely work
Reading: “A Room of One’s Own, a Mind of One’s Own” by Robert Storr I don’t often consider the artist’s studio when I am looking at art, but Robert Storr’s commentary on the perception of the “artist studio” was interesting and reminded me that there are other aspects to the creation of a piece of art other than a brush with paint being placed on canvas. I particularly enjoyed Storr’s descriptions of different artists’ studios, especially the studio of Willem de Kooning. The interpretation of Kooning’s intentions with respect to his studio was intriguing; I had never considered that an artist may be uncomfortable with success and wealth. I had heard of artists spending frivolously and with a lack of responsibility; this now makes sense in some cases when one takes into account Storr’s interpretation of artists, like Kooning, being uncomfortable with the idea of wealth and having more money than they could ever understand. I also appreciated Storr’s mention of Agnes Martin. Although Storr did not describe Martin’s work in great detail, her name sounded familiar to me and her minimalistic style sparked some recollection. After a google search, I realized that I had seen some of Martin’s work in Taos, New Mexico at the Harwood Museum. The works shown there include the faint blue and white horizontal lines of Ordinary Happiness and a few other works that I don’t remember quite as well. It’s really turning out that I’ve seen paintings and pieces of art by many famous artists and have never realized it; they’ve just never stuck. I’m going to try to start paying closer attention when I’m looking at art. Back to the reading: although I enjoyed the reading, I am a bit confused about Storr’s final point that “artists work when they can, and how they can.” Even with the detailed descriptions of several different artist’s work space, it seems like Storr wants to get the point across that artists don’t put thought into their space and merely work