Does Subject Matter Alone Qualify as a Consistent Body of Work?

In my last blog posting, I discussed what is typically considered a “consistent body of work.”  For most art critics and gallerists, consistency generally refers to the recognizability of an artist’s work.  This relates to the artist maintaining a consistency of style, color schemes, process, form, degree of abstractionism and other elements.  My own work consists of five separate series.  Within each series there is a consistency that is easily recognizable.  However, the series themselves vary wildly from one to another.  Here is an example from three of the series to illustrate the range of styles and other criteria between each series.

 

 “Disparity”

Organic Aluminum series

 

“Canopic Jar”

Artifacts From a Former World series

  

" Confined Man”

Figurative series

Obviously, the three series differ from one another.  But, within each series the sculptures have enough similar elements that each of the three series could be considered a consistent body of work. 

 However, I’ve created a sixth series, titled “It’s About Time.”  In this series, my goal was not to arrive at a consistent look and feel to each piece but to explore my fascination with the concept of time.  Ever since I can remember, time has been a vast puzzlement to me.  And now, as I’ve gotten older, this puzzlement has only increased.  When I look in the mirror at a white-headed man, it’s hard to imagine that this aging presence had once been a cute little baby.  In fact, my first sculpture in the series, “I’ll Never Understand Time,” was created to explore this very thought.  The work juxtaposes a baby’s body, based on an actual photo of me as an infant, with my current head.   

 

 “I’ll Never Understand Time”

  

Original photo composite for “I’ll Never Understand Time”

With this sculpture as a beginning, I began further exploring the concept of time.  In the series, I wanted to portray the changes and dissolution that are the result of the passing years.  Sculptures in the series are of two types.  The first group consists of self-portraits based upon the idea of time, such as “I’ll Never Understand Time,” and “I’ll Never Understand Time II,” which depicts a head of the present me with the head of me at about seven years old.

 

“I’ll Never Understand Time II”

Other works in the series, like “As Sure as Death and Taxes,” incorporate materials from my daily life in order to fix a period of time into a tangible form.  This particular piece consists of tax forms and returns from the year of my retirement combined with a wooden coffin made from leftover beech flooring from when I refloored my office.

 

 “As Sure as Death and Taxes”

 Another piece in the series that consists of items from my everyday life is “It Will All Come Out in the Wash.”  This piece is composed of dryer lint that I collected for a year attached to a section of log from an apricot tree in my back yard.

 

“It Will All Come Out in the Wash”

As you can see, the pieces in this series are very stylistically different from one another and appear to have no commonality other that being based on the concept of time.  For gallerists and art critics who often insist on consistency, these works would not be considered part of the same series.  However, because of the mutual theme that underlies all the pieces, I do consider it a consistent series.  As I’ve said, oftentimes, pieces in the series are based on materials that have been a part of my daily life; and I’ve used these materials to help anchor myself to that period of time.  Since the materials, themselves, differ so greatly, it seems only natural to sculpturally incorporate them in a way that would seem most fitting to the material.  This would enhance the consistency of the theme of time but would result in a series that would not be classically considered a consistent body of work.

So, what’s the consensus?  Would you consider the series “It’s About Time” a consistent body of work or not?  I’m curious to hear what you think.

 

 Why a Consistent Body of Work?

In the art world there is often talk of the desirability and necessity of a “consistent body of work.” This simply means that the output of an individual artist, regardless of the medium, be recognizable as the work of that specific artist. Thus, an art patron could easily recognize this painting as the work of Piet Mondrian even if she had never seen this particular piece.

"Composition A" Piet Mondrian

Do you know what sculptor created this piece?

 "Recumbent Figure" Henry Moore

I, personally, had never seen this sculpture before, but I immediately recognized it as the work of Henry Moore, the famous English sculptor.

These two examples highlight what is meant by a consistent body of work. Their style, color schemes, shape, form, degree of abstractionism, and additional elements are consistent with other works in the artist’s oeuvre.

Most artists create a body of work around subject matters, methods, styles, and further criteria about which they feel passion. In doing so, they give themselves the opportunity of exploring and experimenting with those artistic factors that most inspire them. They also gain the additional benefit of gaining greater technical proficiency in their chosen media.

Often students, novices, or emerging artists try on a variety of artistic “hats” as they seek to find that which most speaks to them. However, after this beginning phase, the majority of artists (and almost all professional artists) settle in to creating a consistent body of work by which they are recognized.

But is this necessary? The preponderance of gallery owners would say “yes.” These gallerists spent a lot of time promoting the artists they represent and developing relationships with clients who are drawn to the work of individual artists. If the artist were to frequently change their style, the gallerist would have to repeat the process again and again at a cost of both time and money. Thus, most galleries see a consistent body of work as a necessary criterion to carrying the work of an individual artist. In fact, I’ve heard a few gallerists state that consistency and passion are even more important than creativity or skill in making sales.

While I fully believe in the concept of a consistent body of work, I personally find it hard to be constrained to any one style. As I began sculpting, I worked on small, table-top sculptures made of acid-stained cement with a rich textural surface such as “Burning Sun” and “Burnt Offering.”

   "Burning Sun" from "Artifacts from a Former World"

 "Burnt Offering" from "Artifacts from a Former World"

These two pieces and others I created definitely fit the criterion of a consistent body of work. However, as time passed, I wanted to explore other styles, such as figurative work. I considered my first works a separate series that I called “Artifacts from a Former World,” and began work on a second series (or, if you will, a second body of work), “Heads and Hands.”

 "Man with Hands by Face" from "Heads and Hands"

 "Bearded Man" from "Heads and Hands"

To date I have begun work on five different series of sculptures. Within each series of sculptures, the work is consistent and recognizable as being from that specific series. However, the series themselves vary from one to the other. Unlike most artists who move from one series to the next, I find that I still continue to work on all my series. I find interest and passion in each series and want to continue exploring the allure that each holds for me. Thus, I am still working on the “Artifacts from a Former World” series that I began over a decade ago. 

This may not be a path that is taken by most artists, and probably not advised by most gallerists. However, for me it seems to be a path that fits my own passions, creativity, and need for variety while still adhering to the definition of a “consistent body of work.”

 If you have any thoughts on the subject, I would love to hear from you.

In my next blog posting I will talk about a sixth series I have recently begun. This series, “It’s About Time,” is based not on the general consensus of what constitutes a body of work but is, instead, based on a unifying theme that overlies all of the sculptures within the series. The theme of time.