Bruce and Naomi Chat about Art two
Bruce Wang Citizen Wang Studio
Article By Bruce Wang @ citizenwangstudio.com
Bruce: I see that every artist of every art, no matter what level of skill, they have raw artistry and have blonde ambition, to be remembered beyond their natural life. Lifespan.
Naomi
Why is it called blonde ambition?
Bruce
It was Madonna.
Naomi
Ah, she definitely had ambition.
Naomi
You definitely have Blonde Ambition.
Naomi
She wasn't a natural blonde, was she? No, she made herself into one.
Bruce
Whatever the rating, must the sheer act of making a mark in order to be remembered? The cavemen or women in the Lascaux caves must have had some blonde ambition when they did their drawingsBlonde Ambition in every stroke with a brush, or chisel, or needle, or whatever. The mere fact you're making something in the world to be seen forever.
Naomi
How about…I'm just thinking about artists that have assistants, so they do the stitching, or they do the painting, you know, back through the ages and it still happens. Their names aren’t attached to the work.
Bruce
They're not credited.
Naomi
So, what's that all about? Well, maybe that's the day job. And then in the rest of their time, they are making their own marks that they can call their own.
Bruce
A lot of these assistants were apprentices Titian was such a good apprentice that he outshone his boss and was sacked.
Naomi
Oh yes? You don’t want your apprentice to get better than you are.
Bruce,
Titian had enormous Blonde Ambition, when the local Art Society were putting out tenders for their oval ceiling in their grand palace, and were inviting tenders from all the local artists. Titian got an insider to get the measurements of the oval for him and he painted and erected the oval picture on the ceiling by breaking in one night, erecting his picture and preempting all the other artists.
Naomi
Gosh, yes, that's cheeky.
Naomi
So, he definitely had Blonde Ambition
Naomi
it's interesting that this expression originated from Madonna. This is a massive generalization, but I often experience female artists as more ambitious than their male counterparts. Although perhaps ambition isn’t the right word…
Bruce
I think so, although there’s artists such as Tracy Emin and Sarah Lucas.
Naomi
But we know about them, they're an exception, aren't they? Yeah, that's why they stand out because they're unusual, they really sort of had to maybe go against their natural instincts and push in order to be seen and they've done it, which is great. I admire them, but I find promoting my work very hard. I like it when it's recognized by someone if somebody says ‘Oh, I like that’ and they get something from it, but I can't sell myself. Hmm You're better at self-promotion than I am.
Bruce
Oh yes.
Naomi
Yeah. Good that you sold so many books recently.
Bruce
Oh, I sold over 100 The last three months!
Naomi
well, that's great!