Sharp Dressed Men

Artists dress the way the paint. I’m pretty sure it’s not the other way around. Look at one of the leading minimalists, Frank Stella. Besides the fact that he used to be the best dressed painter on earth – when he was young and handsome – you can clearly see how his slick, expensive suit matches his intellectual, rather cold, work.

It becomes even more apparent when he is put next to any of the abstract expressionists. Expressionism is very macho, even bombastic. Coherently most of the artists looks like men’s men with jeans and a tattered t-shirts, and facial expressions a mix between Hemingway and Bruce Springsteen.

Think of Dalí with his surreal moustaches. Or a bare breasted Picasso. In these postmodern times we don’t like to think about the artist. We pretend that the artwork can, more or less, stand its’ own ground. We praise the ideas and the concepts. If it was possible, some of us would like to delete the signature completely.

It’s just talk. It’s not even possible to begin to think a world of art without iconic artists. The best painters and sculpturers are stars of their fields just as any rock star would be. And the way to boost real success is to know how to build a good image around your personality. Don’t let yourself be fooled by the fact that “a good image” can mean “very low key and humble” for some artists.

Where am I going with this? I’m not really sure… it could be some sort of criticism of commercialism in the world of art, or the fixation with personality in a mass media society. But I really don’t mind those things all that much.

I do think that artists used to dress better 50 years ago, however.