An Artist’s Views on his Work

Leonardo, Vol. 6, pp. 345-346.Pergamon Press 1973. Printed in Great Britain AN ARTIST’S VIEWS ON HIS WORK Steven 1 . Sles* Due to paralysis since birth, I paint with a brush held between my teeth. I consider each of my canvases a concrete spark of passion and reflection of what I most value in life-love, sentiment and reason made visible. Above all, I strive for harmony and equilibrium of intellect and emotion, which I believe to be the secret essence of good art and the good life. I regard an art work as an act of love, a manifestation of a search for goodness and significance amidst the labyrinth of existence. An artist can be regarded as one who communicates what other members of society feel but are unable to express. Thus, an artist bears a responsibility that should not be wasted on banalities; his work should be conceived as much more than mere examples of transitory fads and fashions. Each artist offers to people a visual world reflecting his outlook of life and his personal experiences and he has the right of sovereignty over this personal world. Life and nature are so complex that it is natural to find a wide diversity of expression. No artist can impose his personal conceptions on other artists who strive through their works to affect their society, however, he can hope to make a contribution to their efforts. Some critics have accused me at times of being too much an optimist and dreamer but the truth is that this enthusiasm is the result of my own will and that my fantasies are based upon reality. I am well aware of the tragedies that inundate us all too frequently. I do not consider myself a member of any particular school of art [I, 21. I have been influenced by many tendencies-impressionism, abstract expressionism , classical Western and Indian art. At first, I dedicated myself to nonfigurative or abstract painting; later I required my works to contain suggestions, hazes of tangible objects. Now I begin with a figurative base, sometimes of a social concern, upon which I superimpose visual elements of a nonfigurative kind. I consider each of my paintings a visual poem and, as a poet, I use ambiguity to better express what I think is true, an aspect of *Americanartist living at 49 Calle Conde Altea, Valencia, Spain. (Received 17 November 1972.) reality of life as I see and react to it. My paintings are, therefore, not always easy to understand at first sight but I believe they will reward the viewer, if he makes an effort to grasp their meaning. An art critic expressed a part of the essence of my work when he wrote :‘Oil,silk-screen and stained-glass givedimension of quality to the works of Steven L. Sles. Tormented faces, the brief, intensive and evocating landscapes and the warm chromatism and almost Mediterranean reality round out an interesting and acute exhibition’ [2]. My oil painting ‘Woman of Tragedy’ (Fig. 1) is an example of one from a series of tormented faces [2]. It follows a series of over one hundred silk-screen Fig. 1. ‘Womanof Tragedy’,oil on canvas, 100 x 70cm., 1967. (Courtesy of Vereinigung Der Mund und Fussmalenden Kunstler in Aller Welt-VDMFKW, Liechtenstein)(Photo: M. Peiia,Valencia,Spain.) 345 346 Strl~m L. S1t.s Fig. 2 ‘Th. Fiirries of M y Being’, aniline inhs on paper, 100 v 70 cm., 1971. (Courtesy of VDMFKW) (Photo: L. Vidal, Valencia, Spain.) studies that I call ‘Vues sur I’humanitC‘. In the painting I explored the use of subdued colors to express anguish, which is in strong contrast to the more colorful works that I made at that time. Figures 2 and 3 are examples of work in ink where I studied the use of a very fluid medium yielding effects that were partly accidental, partly controlled. Fig.3 ‘Sensiralite’,aniline ink on paper, 100 x 70 cm., 1972. (Courtesy of VDMFKW) (Photo: M. Pefia, Valencia, Spain.) REFERENCES 1. 2. Elhihition catalog (Bellinzona, Switzerland: Centre Scolastico Nord, 6 Sept. 1969). Evhibitioii catalog, ‘Arte y Grabados’ (Barcelona: Real Club Artistic0 Jnstituto Barcelones de Arte, 4 Nov...