art beat / By Katherine Almy

Inside the Brain of Carl Muecke

Clement Greenberg, the art critic who is said to have defined modern art, talks in confusing circles about the purity of art, stating that, “The arts are to achieve concreteness, ‘purity,’ by dealing solely with their respective selves — that is, by becoming ‘abstract’ or non-figurative.” In other words, a work of art shouldn’t mean a damn thing.

But despite Greenberg’s steadfast conviction that he was right about everything and most of the rest of the human race just didn’t get it, he misses the point that we make art in order to communicate. We are an inherently social animal, and we just have to talk about our experiences. Some talk more subtly to be sure, but what of it if some of us shout?

For Carl, art is an avenue for expressing his thoughts and feelings about the world around him. He can shout at the television news, or he can make art. And Carl is really a storyteller at heart, as is evidenced by his website: www.whatintheworldiscarlupto.com. I highly recommend you take a look at it, because you can see the images and read the stories that go along with them. The show that he has up at Vanity, in Eureka (109 F Street), is a better place to really look at the detail of his work, but do both to get the depth of his work.

Carl’s work will be up at Vanity through the month of March and then it will troop over to Arcata Exchange for the month of April (well, actually it will be transported, but one can almost imagine the work making the trek on its own). You missed the Arts Alive! opening, but you’ll get a chance to meet Carl at Arts! Arcata on April 11. He describes himself as a curmudgeon, but he really doesn’t qualify — he’s too pleasant. He’s a lot of fun to talk to, so it’s worth getting to the reception to see him, and then come back on another day to get a good look at his work without all of the socializing to distract you.

Carl sent me this quote from Edward Abbey, one of his heroes: “Most of us have no more awareness of the grandeur, beauty, mystery, complexity, vitality, form and infinite possibilities of the world of earth and space, than the ant has of the landscape beyond the denuded perimeter of his anthill.”

A humbling thought to keep in mind from someone who is doing his best to peer out past the perimeter.

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