Artist Talk: March 30th

On March 30^th I attended the artist talk entitled “Self Portrait,” which featured Richard Emery Nicholson. Mr. Nicholson began his discussion by stating that he has been highly influenced by William Carlos Williams and Albert Camus. At first I thought it was a bit unconventional for him to cite writers and not artists as his greatest influences, but as the talk went on, I began realizing more and more that Mr. Nicholson draws from all kinds of places for his work, such as his childhood to buildings he’s been fascinated with to verses that have inspired him.

While in some ways I wish Mr. Nicholson had addressed this concept of the “Self-Portrait” directly, by listening to him speak about his art up until this point in his life, I got a sense that every piece he has created has been some reflection of himself and the point in his life he was in. When he was drafted, for instance, Mr. Nicholson documented his life with painting and photography. He created pieces such as “Shooting Gallery Landscape” in Cambodia. When pursuing his MFA, Mr. Nicholson worked on “Variations on the Shaker Theme.” At different periods in his life he’s combined painting with ceramics, which reminds him of building a house by hand with his father when he was little. All in all, Mr. Nicholson embodies this idea that to be an artist, one must take and give. By being an active participant in his art and allowing it to be shaped and create by his experiences, Mr. Nicholson offers a reflection of himself in his work.

The artist concluded his talk citing Camus’ “Literary and Critical Essays,” by stating, “a man’s work is nothing but this slow trek to redsicover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple image in whose presence his heart first opened.” Camus captures this sense of searching through the means of art for one’s self and creating pieces that not only reflect one’s self but essentially capture him/her on the canvas itself. From the talk, I was left with the sense that for this is Mr. Nicholson’s goal—to put himself on the canvas. As for me, listening to the talk reinforced the idea that in whatever kind of art I create, I should leave traces of myself on the canvas or the page, because if art doesn’t speak to who you are, what is it really?