Garth Herrick's Apotheoun is a Smithsonian Competition Semifinalist

[Garth Herrick]

Originally Posted by Garth Herrick

I believe one of the principal jurors (the artist component of the jury) was Sydney Goodman, a Philadelphia artist and teacher of international repute, that I once studied with at PAFA. 25 years ago, he'd wander into my student studio cubicle, not say a thing about my work, but praise the art postcards I had taped up to my wall. He took some of them for his own inspiration. In 1994 I painted the ancestral version of Apotheoun, "Apotheosis of the Chunnel". Sydney Goodman awarded this as the top prize best of show in a local exhibiton in 1996. Whenever we'd cross paths, we would nod hello to each other. He seems to remember me, and acknowledged that when he autographed his monograph book for me during a retrospective exhibition of his at the Philadelphia Museum of Art eight or nine years ago. Naturally I thought he might like Apotheoun if I entered it. Perhaps he did to an extent; it is hard to know what the other three judges had in mind for the final selection. I thought this painting would be as good a gamble as any, given his role on the jury. I have not personally been in contact with Mr. Goodman in several years. Some day it would be interesting to sit down with him and hear how he viewed this jurying process for the National Portrait Gallery.

Dear Michele,

Yes as I stated above I do know Sydney Goodman and he may know me as a former student. I have not been in contact with him for five years, so there is no conflict of interest in this competition. I would love to meet with him after the show opens and get his take on the whole process. As I said above, he greatly admires the earlier version of the painting that led up tp Apotheoun, which is the reason I entered it.

I don't know if he has a website, at least I could not find one. He tends to paint on a colossal scale both in conception and size. In school he always wanted me to simplify my modeling of form in paint. I found one web image. He frequently puts himself in his paintings. In this case he is holding the camera at the bottom.

Garth

[Michele Rushworth]

I must have missed your earlier post about him. (Hard to keep up with everything posted on SOG sometimes!)

It would be fascinating to hear his take on how everything unfolded at this competition, though I imagine he wouldn't tell any of the entrants about it.

[John Reidy]

Here is a web link to some of the artists and work for the exhibition.

http://www.portraitcompetition.si.ed...st/splash.html

It is interesting to see these pieces and I'm not surprised. What I see is that we are all serious artists, serious about our goals and sense of guidelines that we aspire to. Each of the featured pieces is art and I am moved by all of them, they just serve a different master than I, so to speak.

It is not up to me to judge if they are worthy of the exhibition because they are.

If I were the judge, the show would be different (but probably very boring).

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thanks for posting the link, John. It was interesting to see. There were some I could relate to, and some I couldn't. I guess it's different for everyone because art is so individual.

On a positive note, given the finalists, it is remarkable that realistic, representational work with more traditional elements made it into the semi-finals. Maybe some even made it to the finals. If they do this again in three years who knows how much will have changed in the art world!

[Sharon Knettell]

I thought it was very sad. I think we are conditioned today to thing that ugly and discordant work ( every piece on that site) is to be treasured because it is new. It could be dog****, but it is 'cutting edge' after all. We think of work of high aesthetics and craftsmanship as boring.

Representational artists all too often repeat themselves and go for the hackneyed and trite, which is why we are so often and justly ignored.

[Alexandra Tyng]

I definitely know what you mean, Sharon, though I guess I probably sound wishy-washy to you. Nothing on that sight really grabbed me, though I liked a couple of things. At the other extreme, I agree with you that

Representational artists all too often repeat themselves and go for the hackneyed and trite, which is why we are so often and justly ignored.

That is exactly why Blake Gopnick of the Washinton Post wrote his article trashing traditional portraiture. I am not saying I agree with everything he said and the specific things he said, but it is important to know and understand what modernists hate about traditional realism, and why.

It is equally important for modernists to know what traditional realists hate about modernism, and why.

That is exactly why I said somewhere above that the kind of work (this piece of Garth's for example) that bridges tradition and modernism, that uses tradition to say something new, is, I think, the most powerful direction in art.

[Garth Herrick]

John, and everyone,

As far as I know, the selected ten artists featured during the competition have nothing at all to do with the judging and selection for the exhibition. They are just ten interesting artists the staff elected to promote the competition last summer and help set the pace for the submissions.

How did they all fare in the competition? I don't know for sure, but it seems only Armando DeJesus Dominguez was fortunate enough to become a semifinalist. I wonder if he is a finalist also?

So I am not sure how this artist selection can reflect upon what the exhibition will be. I just wanted to clarify my understanding.

Garth

[John Reidy]

Thanks Garth

I wondered how the 10 could be promoted earlier than the final opening and this explains it.

To be open-minded about this I will wait to see what form the finalists take.

[Jean Kelly]

Congratulations are still in order here, your painting is amazing and to be one of the finalists is an honor. I visited the site, and am really curious now to see the winners. I couldn't possibly keep a journal going as I'm not a "word" person. Do you keep one Garth? I'd also be interested if others do this.

Jean

[Steven Sweeney]

Do you think there might be anything at all to a theory that some judges could be intimidated by a title (