Otis Jones' Raw, Sophisticated Minimalism

People seem to have an easier time accepting the consciously raw and sensual in music than in visual art. You know what I mean. It's called rock and roll. Who but the most committed snobs among us would deny the artistic genius of the Stones' "Satisfaction," or hold that because of its simplicity it's inferior to a nine minute opus from Radiohead featuring Thom Yorke warbling on about God knows what? So why the different standard for painting? Maybe because people perceive painting as something that only other people do, or that is liked only by overly-educated people. Or maybe that painting is supposed to be difficult or it's not painting. Or that "real" painting has to feature lots of human faces revealing psychological states or shades of emotion a la Leonardo's Last Supper. Well, I'm here to set the record straight. Painting is to be enjoyed.

My friend Judith Trepp, herself the creator of many dynamic, emotionally-rich minimalist works, pointed me toward this article by John Yao at Hyperallergic about a new batch of sensual and accesible minimalist works from the 70-something, Dallas-based painter Otis Jones. These images get under my skin, in an excellent way, and make me want to return for repeat viewings, kind of like hearing "Satisfaction" a zillion times and never getting tired of it. And don't get me wrong, I like Radiohead.