CPSA and UKCPS: originality in concept, design and execution

Impression, Sunrise - the work which started the Impressionist movement
Claude Monet, Impression, soleil levant, 1872
Oil on canvas, 48 x 63 cm - Musee Marmottan, Paris

The building blocks of original work by an artist are concept, design and execution.

The emphasis of the new rules for CPSA and UKCPS (see yesterday's post) is on work submitted for competition being solely the work of the artist ie original work. But what does this all mean? I noticed quite a few questions coming up yesterday about what is and is it not OK.

So today I'm going to try and do an overview - from my own perspective. Irrespective of whether or not you are involved in or following the current debate about the changes in the CPSA/UKCPS rules, this topic is likely to interest a lot of people and you may also have a view. So - here goes - feel free to jump in with a comment about your own perspective on this.

For those interested in the exhibitions, please ask CPSA or UKCPS if you're not sure what they mean by these terms. I've left the contact details in the links at the end.

Concept

At one of my first classes at the Princes Drawing School, I was talking with one of the other artists and we were telling each other about our work. I told her the name of my website - Pastels and Pencils - and her immediate reaction was "Oh - so you have more of a craft approach than a conceptual one". I was non-plussed. I'd never really thought about it before - but I've thought about it a lot ever since.

'Concept' in the world of art

The reality is that there are an awful lot of different ways of thinking about art - from the conceptual art movement which is associated with a lot of contemporary art to those who prefer to think about it being purely about aesthetics. However that's a VERY big debate and we'll leave that on one side. Well apart from a quote which illustrates what I mean.

In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work . . . all planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes the machine that makes the art."
Sol LeWitt (American, 1928-2007), in "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art," in Artforum, summer issue, 1967.

Concept in the world of CPSA and UKCPS

For the purposes of CPSA and UKCPS and their exhibitions/competitions, I think "concept" is a much simpler notion - albeit they completely fail to define it on either site! Which I think is a pity as both societies have quite a few members who have not had any sort of formal training in the fine arts.

However CPSA does provide some help with its FAQs page for Exhibitions.

It is critical for artists to be original and to nurture their own special vision and style.
CPSA - Exhibition FAQs

What is an original concept?

For me "Concept" is the vision or the idea behind the artwork, it's the notion of what should be displayed and how it might be created. Put simply

• It's your idea
• It's the thing in your head which you want to get down on paper.
  
• It's your way of seeing.
  
• It's your view of the world.
  
• It's what dominates your way of thinking.
  
• It could be a metaphor or a 'pun'
  
• .....or it could just be a thing of beauty to you which absorbs and interests you.

Now down to the nitty gritty. This means if you copy from a photograph taken by somebody else, then you are using their concept.

• You haven't had the idea, the photographer did (unless they did it under your direction).
  
• It's not what you saw, it's what they saw.
  
• It's not your view of the world, it's their view of the world (unless they did it under your direction). Get the picture?

An original concept comes from the artist and where/how they live their lives. However, in my opinion, total complete originality can be a very difficult thing to find. For example, we are all influenced all the time by:

• what we see others produce - that's why we have 'art movements' eg Impressionism or conceptual art or "BritArt" or Realism - here's a list of art movements; and by
  
• our culture - that's why we have indigenous aboriginal art, traditional Japanese art etc.

When Monet painted "Impression, Sunrise" he had an original concept and an original style of execution. It shocked people - and made them think - and then some of them wanted to paint like that too!

An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement more or less strictly so restricted (usually a few months, years or decades). Art movements were especially important in modern art, where each consecutive movement was considered as a new avant-garde. Movements have almost entirely disappeared in contemporary art, where individualism and diversity prevail.
Wikipedia - Art Movements

An artist can also produce a derivative work which has an original concept and is copyrightable in its own right - it can be a new way of seeing. But they don't copy work to do this and it's a lot easier to do this if the original work is out of copyright! For current definitions which apply to work in the USA see below. I'll find the UK definition and add it in later. I've emboldened the relevant bits.

Definition of a derivative work

US Copyright Office Circular 14: Derivative Works notes that:

A typical example of a derivative work received for registration in the Copyright Office is one that is primarily a new work but incorporates some previously published material. This previously published material makes the work a derivative work under the copyright law. To be copyrightable, a derivative work must be different enough from the original to be regarded as a "new work" or must contain a substantial amount of new material. Making minor changes or additions of little substance to a preexisting work will not qualify the work as a new version for copyright purposes. The new material must be original and copyrightable in itself. Titles, short phrases, and format, for example, are not copyrightable.

Wikipedia - Derivative work

Tomatoes Basil Garlic
photographer Nicole Caulfield

This is an original photo by my friend Nicole. She uploaded it to the reference image library on Wet Canvas and it is now copyright free. Many people have used it to produce their own work. However, some people have entered the works produced as a result in art competitions and won prizes.

Now do you think the judge was giving the prize for the execution or for the concept and design? When the same photo generates work which wins again and again I think I know which it is. See her post for more about this - Why I believe in photo restrictions for competitions.

Design

Design is about composition - the decisions you make about how we will see your concept of the subject matter.

For a lot of people, especially those working in a more conventional framework of drawing and painting, it's about making a choice about what elements of composition to use and emphasise (or underplay) and which principles of composition should inform their arrangement. Others may take a different approach.

One of the reasons I sketch a LOT is because it really helps me think through compositions and has enhanced my ability to 'see' compositions. Just like if you practice drawing every day you actually get better at drawing, sketching on a regular basis helps you to see how to frame compositions and how different perspectives or views can make a subject more interesting or arresting. It's work and practice, work and practice that provides the inspiration - as with most things. Unless you are in the incredibly fortunate position of having a totally natural talent, the only way you get good at something is if you do it a lot. Artists who work from the photographs of others are essentially cheating themselves of their own potential to develop their skills.

Back to the nitty gritty. If you use somebody else's photograph you are essentially using someone else's design. The photographer made the choice about:

• what the subject matter is
• where the four lines which frame it are (this is the ONLY element which is altered by cropping)
• which are the dominant elements
  
• which principles should be applied in creating a focal point and the pathway round the composition

Only if you change enough for the new work to be genuinely a derivative work which is copyrightable in its own right have you done enough to make the design your own. Cutting margins off one or more sides does not do enough if you work in a photo-realistic way.

I found that in doing the first project of 2008 on composition - see Composition - a range of perspectives - that there were an awful lot of people telling me that they had been looking everywhere for help with composition.

I think a lot of the problems which exist at the moment in relation to work entered in competitions is because people haven't acquired a solid grounding in matters relating to design and composition. It's a big subject and it's not that easy to crack quickly - again we're back to the perspiration/inspiration equation.

Execution

Execution might be thought of as being made up of two things - technical skill in the use of your chosen media and your preferred way of working or style.

Both coloured pencil societies are very much focused on technical matters to do with medium of coloured pencil. Admiration of the way people execute technical skills of laying on colour seems to be of primary importance to many members. While it may be important to be competent, that is just one factor in the total equation of composition, design and execution which goes into creating a drawing worthy of being shown in the Annual Exhibition.

What I notice is that at both sets of exhibitions, the range of styles is not as wide as I see in other media at other exhibitions. If I wanted to be really controversial - why not! - I'd say most works in both exhibitions are realistic in style and competent but 'safe' in execution. They just don't demonstrate the breadth of artistic licence that I see elsewhere. I think that is a very great pity.

People like John Smolko (who recently won Grand Prize Winner of the American Artist 70th Competition) really stand out for me because of the way he has generated a new way of working with coloured pencil. I was very pleased to tell him so when I met him at the 2006 CPSA Exhibition in Albuquerque. I find his work inspirational.

However I'll leave with a quotation from the beginning of the American Artist feature article about John Smolko. It's something which those pondering on rules for exhibitions might want to reflect on. Does Lenhart's contribution now mean that Smolko's work is ineligible for CPSA and UKCPS competitions - I think not! I'd give Mr Lehnart a medal!

One of the watershed moments of Ohio artist John P. Smolko’s life, he recalls, occurred when his critique-group colleague, abstract expressionist Tom Lehnert, told him, “John, the most honest kind of line you can make is a scribble.” Up to that point, Smolko had been a traditional Photorealist.

“I’d get into art shows and notice that everything was the same,” he says. “Lehnert’s comment inspired me to explore the expressive line with all its beauty and dynamics. So I experimented and made up my own style of crosshatching.
John Smolko
John P. Smolko: 70th Anniversary Competition Grand Prize Winner, American Artist

Links:

• United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society
• contacts
  
• Colored Pencil Society of America
• Exhibitions - Frequently Asked Questions
• 16th Annual Exhibition
  
• contacts