The Value of Work

Paint Dancer - detail

One week ago exactly was Labor Day, and being that I am always late, I feel it appropriate to talk labor today. Every now and then, you see a painting that rocks your world in some way....it could be the technique, the paint quality, the colors, the rhythms or the subject. Subject it was. "The Floor Scrapers" by Gustave Caillebotte. Not only is it a lovely painting, but it elevates the stature of the laborers by its subject, even though the workers are situated at the bottom of the picture plane. Lovely. I love to work with my hands as well, as do most of the people in my family. Even though our education leads us to work in a cubicle, most likely on a computer in what might be considered a white collar job, there are those of us that would be most happy working with our hands in whatever may be considered to be blue. Matthew B. Crawford speaks to this subject in his new book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work. Sitting down all day is highly overrated.

Labor

Painter   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

Labor is a notion that I would like to celebrate in my work. The process of working with one's hands is, in my opinion, one of the most satisfactory things a person can do.....we can lose ourselves in the daily rhythms of cleaning, gardening, repairing and painting, whether a picture or a dwelling. In The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, Thomas Moore says that caring for one's dwelling is important to the soul.....that is, as opposed to hiring someone to do our own "dirty work". I believe that is true. Cleaning our brushes with care is part of the creative process. Cleaning our bathrooms can be equally as satisfying. Two of my sons live in San Francisco where turn-of-the-century Victorian homes abound. These dwellings are often several stories with loads of decorative turned and lacy piece-work. Not an easy job to paint! On a walking tour of the Mission district, I shot photos of a house painter, perched high up on a ladder, seeming almost relaxed in the rhythm of the strokes. "Painter" is the result. I hold this man in high regard. That is the story. "Painter" can be seen at Second April Galerie in "The View From Here".