“How long did that take you?”
Edifice Complex, 37 x 59 inches, © 2005
My good friend Carol Krueger mentioned the above question in an e-mail conversation the other day, repeating something she had overheard at SOFA Chicago this past November. The speaker went on to say that it seems that this is what Americans always want to know – not what influenced or inspired the artist, as people from other countries might ask, but just how much time did you put into it.
This struck a chord with me, for this is without fail the number one question I am asked whenever the subject of my art comes up with strangers at a show reception or people I know from some other context, such as relatives or co-workers. I try to see it in a positive way, telling myself that this person is taking an interest in my work and just wants to strike up a friendly conversation. But no matter how many times it happens, I’m still taken by surprise. I struggle for an answer, saying that I don’t really know because I work on multiple pieces at one time and don’t track minutes spent on any single one.
The truth is though, that I do find that question just a bit odd. I think however well-intentioned, it tends to devalue the work, making it all about the time spent, as though I could have spent the same amount of time doing anything else at all, even clipping coupons, and derived the same amount of satisfaction out of it. No thought of all the time spent over the years honing my skills and perfecting my technique and doing the unfun stuff like entering shows and making portfolios and other marketing stuff.
Edifice Complex is one of my personal favorites. I like the subtlety of the color scheme and the simplicity of the composition. This one took me a very long time because I put a lot of piecing into the top and did a lot of extra stitching for the texture.
