Last time I realized that I have something in common with the members of American Abstract Expressionism.
In one of my previous posts, I stated that I have something familiar with Impressionists. What was that? It was a fact that for Impressionists, their studio was mainly outdoors. They did not want to paint in indoor studios. I am the one who does not want to take pictures in indoor studios either. For me, it is a rather dull activity. I want to walk, feel the air of the city in my nostrils and my hair. The main difference between Impressionists and me is that the first ones often painted rural landscapes. I prefer walking in the town. It is Warsaw that is my main field of creative activity. But what do I want to write about American Abstract Expressionism?
Harold Rosenberg, an art critic, in one of his essays, wrote in 1952 that for Abstract Expressionists, painting is action. Creating is an act.
He declared that the process of painting is more significant than the finished picture itself. Who were the most crucial members of Abstract Expressionism? They were, among others, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, or Mark Rothko. I already wrote that it is also the process that counts for me. The final product of my photo walking is quintessential to me, but the most crucial is that I do what I want to do. The fact that the process of creating, writing, taking photos, preparing a subsequent edition of “Diaries” or a collection of pictures (like “Negation of the End,” or “Birds”) is more vital to me than the final project itself.
I do not care whether my works become famous worldwide during my lifetime or not. I care that I fight with myself to be as creative as possible. The process of a fight with myself that I do not give up is a tremendous feeling. I have no doubts that painters, as mentioned above, also had joy from their creative processes.
PS
I wrote this text on the 25th of April, 2021.
