Go Sadness! Cary Leibowtiz

This past Thursday, Savannah College of Art and Design played host to visiting artist Cary Leibowitz. Part of the Pathetic Art Movement his short lecture kept a conversational tone that was informative yet continuously entertaining. Primarily language based, his work is full of social commentary addressing issues such as adolescent angst, superficiality, cultural and religious stereotypes, fame, and American history in such a witty and sharp brevity.

Within the first few minutes of his lecture he states, “If you think I am self involved… well… I kind of am.” As I touched upon in an earlier post, artists have a certain conversant love of “self,” and Leibowitz was no exception. However, there was modesty, and honesty that you found within his work and character that was refreshing.  He mentioned how earlier in his career he had a compulsive need to be liked by everyone, and so he would fill rooms with numerous different goods that would satisfy a range of needs. He admitted that his signature “candyass” became a crutch. He confessed that after a long days work, he wished he had gone to view a new show or two, but the reality of the situation was that he went home and watched a lot of television. He was just tired. He commented that if he really wanted to create something he would, and if not, watching TV was just fine. Refreshing.  Though a simple statement, it best describes the hilarity and wonderful way of it all. His works of multiples are mostly manufactured goods, where he does not necessarily need to put in many hours of studio practice. Nonetheless, he did not pretend tto aganize in the studio, or suggest that he attended every gallery opening possible. He kept it real. For the truth of the matter is that we all get tired time and again, and sometimes we just need to sit and relax. Iit is not the end of our careers as artists if we do. Below are just a few examples of Leibowtiz work and I strongly suggest to further learn of his career and creations.

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http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/28293/cary-leibowitz-in-new-york/   \