Having finished reading O’doherty’s grandly verbose book, what most impacted me was his statement that the ceiling has lost its interest or has seen a decrease in usage for the modern artist. He wrote at length about the renaissance era paintings and their excellent use of ceilings and elaborated on how unbelievably detailed and beautiful they were. I began to wonder why modern artists have chosen not to use the ceiling as a medium for their work.
I never stopped to contemplate how infrequently I look up before reading O’doherty’s comments on ceilings. Perhaps we don’t gaze around or explore our surroundings to the fullest today. As a society we are so rushed and ready for the next big thing that our attention is usually focused only on what is directly in front of us. Maybe we can’t appreciate the sort of permanence implicit in a piece of work done on a ceiling either. In order to pay attention to the ceilings, you would have to pause for a few seconds and observe what is above you which means taking time out of your busy schedule, which could translate into lost time, all because you took the time to look up. Never mind that ceilings today house all sorts of heating and cooling elements and are often made of panels that would not support a work of art. In the rush to get new construction up and open, it’s not likely that an artist would be allowed the privilege of enough time or space to create something on most commercial ceilings.
Today’s artists are often on timelines to produce work for their communities and clients. The luxury of being paid to create a timeless classic in a public place belongs largely to the past. Trends, fads and fazes seem to drive the artist to put his/her work on the ground, at eye-level for the audience so it’s directly in front them, the image travels fast, and it’s less time-consuming to view. If more artists had the opportunity to arrange their work in neck-craning or otherwise engaging places, I feel we could once again capture timeless moments that would be worthy of more than a mindless glance.
wolff