James McNeill Whistler: Adaptation of an Radical Artist's Template (Part 2 of 2).

Display of artwork by C.T. Rasmuss, artists studio space (2010).

 Dear Redtree Gallery,

"My name is C.T. Rasmuss and I'm an artist who wishes to display his artwork at your fine establishment.  And I'm quite sure if given the opportunity, that I have enough artwork to fill the entire space of your gallery; even if hung semi-Salon Style; as I would also be including my best and latest work.  The title for this show that I'm presenting to you is: Open to The Public, as this cycles around the main concept that I have in mind for the purpose of this exhibition; My goal follows in the steps of 19th century artist and founder of "art for arts sake", James Mcneill Whistler.

As I wish to present my art to the public in a new, inventive and revolutionary way, as I believe he was bringing the art-world into the revolutionary 20th Century, I to wish to be on the fore front of bringing it into the 21st century, a century heavily fueled by heavy advances in social media.

The main statement revolves around my Blog, which I've been maintaining since 2010, I have over 200 posts on art topics and art I've done, concentrating mostly on the paintings/sculpture I've produced, steps taken, processes, influences, etc.  My purpose in maintaining this blog has been to keep a log for myself as well as  inform the "public", on a world they might not be familiar with, because the way I see it; what good is it if the people your doing it for has no real means to understand what is being presented in front of them?.

In being part of many shows in the past or just as a guest to exhibits, whether they be in Manhattan or here in the Midwest, the atmosphere seems to be dominated by appetizers, wine and small talk, which I have no problem with, but artistically speaking: my will is for the people to be more engaged with the art, which experience shows that when this actually happens, it makes the wine and cheese taste much better, which also makes a happier gallery, because their patrons/guests are naturally taken over by the art; which is a big reason for my motivation as an artist, we all want something to talk about(in this case it's art) so leave what's outside the gallery, outside and: "take a load off".

So to you, I'm including a brief detail of what I'm suggesting, curatorial-wise:  I will include a wide variety of works, price-wise, style, size, medium, etc. they will fill the space aesthetically to the dimensions of space, with a mix between salon style and "white cube" hanging.  The main theme, is my Blog, where rather than the normal: title, price, medium simple label or even a brief description; I will be including an actual(uniform through the space) printout from my blog, including photos, sketches, pretty much however the blog appears, some will be cutoff because of the uniform approach...being that its a blog this will give the viewer the opportunity to gain further info. at their discretion if they so chose, also during the opening, the public has more information on the artwork that speaks to them(as many museums today use headphones), and therefore a way to generate conversation: "art for art's sake" between the artist, patrons and gallery.

Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room  James McNeill Whistler, oil & gold leaf on canvas, leather & wood.

Now for the above image, known as Whistler's 'Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room'; it was painted between 1876-77 and is considered to be one of the greatest surviving aesthetic interiors, the most marvelous example of the aesthetic movement interior decoration, and part of the Aestheticism movement in which the battle cry was: “art for art's sake”, whose works are sometimes described as “autotelic” from the Greek autoteles, “complete in itself”; which backs up my goal of establishing the importance of each piece in the exhibition as an individual evoking person-ability between the painting and viewer(interaction with information on each piece via my blog and other accompanying visuals), encouraging the intimacy fine art deserves.

This was a statement piece then and remains unchallenged today, aesthetically speaking, this is also just one aspect of a truly multi-dimensional artist who was widely known throughout the art-world as an expatriate artist, writer, performer and self publicist, among other things like part-time gunrunner.  These are all great or interesting attributes, but I'm most interested in: "His purposeful use of past art and his awareness of the collapse of private & public spaces..." - James Mcneill Whistler; uneasy pieces by David Park Curry

“From the invention of the picture gallery in the early Renaissance until the last quarter of the nineteenth century, paintings were generally displayed salon style...frames touched frames, leaving no room for labels”(as well as no room for due individuality);as I've already briefly mentioned, example shown below:

"...Whistler's work as an exhibition designer played a crucial role in development of modern styles of displaying art...He controlled every aspect of his installations...he designed distinctive designs for pictures and made sure the baseboards and crown moldings were colored to harmonize with the fabrics he used to cover the walls. He even designed color-coordinated uniforms for the guards. Whistler's installations were unlike anything contemporary art lovers had ever seen, and his exhibitions were widely discussed happenings.”
-Mr. Whistler's Gallery; The Art of Displaying Art – Magazine Antiques;Nov. 2003 vol.164 issue 5, p142; Myers, Kenneth John.

The Artist's Studio  James McNeill Whistler, oil (1865).

His contributions as well as other artists of the aestheticism movement, lead way to the presentations we see today: “the white cube” which by 1960's completely replaced the outdated, salon style of the past.  Again my hopes are that all my future exhibitions from here on out will follow in the footsteps of a master, “a master of breaking the mold”, as you'll see by showing up to one of my next exhibitions:)

example of a modern day "white cube" exhibition

I feel now is the time for a neo-renaissance starting with the weakest link, the connection between the artist, viewer and artwork itself; somewhat like the dark ages so long ago, but that's another story..

Follow this link to view part 1 of this 2 part series.