Artist David Salle once overheard Jasper Johns saying, “the first obligation of a painting is to make the wall look better that it’s hanging on.” There’s certainly that, says Salle, as well as a dozen more jobs that a painting can do, including saying something about its author, its owner, and the time in which it was made, for example. A good painting checks most or all of the boxes.
A painting's first obligation
A painting's first obligation
A painting's first obligation
Artist David Salle once overheard Jasper Johns saying, “the first obligation of a painting is to make the wall look better that it’s hanging on.” There’s certainly that, says Salle, as well as a dozen more jobs that a painting can do, including saying something about its author, its owner, and the time in which it was made, for example. A good painting checks most or all of the boxes.