Statements
Common people do not know who Velázquez was.
There is no incentive for the common person to know who Velázquez was.
Common people would prefer contemporary artist Casey Baugh to Velázquez.
Neither contemporary art historians nor artists understand Velázquez’ staggering talent and/or that he represents the pinnacle of figurative painting.
Both contemporary art historians and artists equate Velázquez with say Goya, Manet, and Matisse.
Contemporary art historians and artists have read David Hockney’s Secret Knowledge and accept his conclusion – in the past artists used devices/shortcuts/tricks when painting .
Very few individuals today possess genuine knowledge in the practice of painting.
No one currently possesses technical skill even close to that of Velázquez.
Today, every phenomenon does NOT have value in itself. Nothing may be practiced as an end in itself.
Today we have capitalism.
Capitalism nourishes selfishness and alienation. Capitalism wants faster production and higher turnover.
Income is a prerequisite for professional painting.
The artist’s options
Educate the public in painting. Get common people to understand what the training entails, what the work involves.
Preach the history and significance of painting.
Talk about Anthony van Dyck, Edgar Degas, Antonio Mancini, etc.
Speak about the personal experience and open up for dialogue.
Make demands on your fellow man. Enrich them thus.
Meet great resistance.
Win the common person’s confidence by producing unambiguous painting – genuine humanistic and constructive art that speaks a universal language independent of the zeitgeist.
Disregard social order and trends and become a martyr.
Achieve humiliation by live role playing the suffering artist.
Claim that a painting is a unique and timeless product.
Have a lucrative job. Buy your artistic career.
Try to distinguish yourself as a unique individual. Create conflict and capitalize on fame.
Take advantage of opportunities for access to exclusive and isolated arts establishments. The most common opportunity is to be privileged – to have connections and inheritance in the shape of status and money.
Close the door, don’t let anyone follow you.
Refuse to recognize or do not admit to anyone that painting is dead.
