When I was in art school I was taught that certain artistic expressions were obsolete. The teachers explained that Painting in an impressionist style was passé because the impressionists of the 19th century had explored all there was to explore in that genre. This was true, they said, with every preexistent art form. Such tired ways of thinking are still prevalent. Simplification of the creative process is a post-modernist mode of thinking and uses an erroneous Darwinian model. It says that we consume styles as they are created, like a succession of animals going extinct to make way for superior life forms. Once impressionism, abstract expressionism, and other forms of painting are invented, they live for a season, and then go extinct. One of the many flaws of post-modernism is that such thinking uses the Darwinian metaphor incorrectly.
A more accurate use of the evolutionary model would be to envision art as an ecosystem. As we observe the system, we can expect every niche to eventually be occupied by a Relevant art form. Just like the Arctic is populated by unique animals we can expect every artistic niche to be occupied by a type of art that conforms to that niche. We should expect abstract painting to emerge in large urban areas to reflect the international style of large cities. Areas of great natural beauty would foster artists expressing their interaction with that world. Performance art would flourish in areas where political life is perceived as a more dominant reality. The larger reality is that no real artist conforms to any metaphor, no matter how compelling. Expectation of conformity in the art world is nonsense. Artists cannot be expected to reject authentic expression simply because it is out of fashion. Art can be many things, and art forms such as impressionism, tonalism, regionalism, and social realism can persist long after academics in metropolitan areas declare them extinct.
I practice what I hope is a unique variation of impressionist painting. I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. To confine myself to the philosophical world of performance art, or other non-painting forms of art would make no sense. Painting will not only remain relevant, but every previous form of painting will be used and reconfigured into new and vibrant styles of painting.
In short, the news of the death of painting has been greatly exaggerated.
If you would like to see my personal painting evolution, including abstraction, impressionism, and marker paintings, please see my Instagram feed here: https://www.instagram.com/bradteare
Brad Teare –January 2018
