Casualism

Regular readers will know that I went through a phase where almost all of my long form had single-word titles*, (you guessed it) AND there’s a vin diagram where that group overlaps highly with familiarity with Casualism in Art, specifically painting- the Wikipedia article on the same is succinct if you need to get up to speed (and has a ton of links btw). It’s a term I’ve only become familiar with fairly recently, as this critical idea emerged originally while I was away from the discourse earlier in the 2000s. Having noted a colleague reference it recently, and reading below, well…

(from Wiki) “The term Casualism was coined in a 2011 essay which defined a new type of postminimalist painting that features a self-amused, anti-heroic style with an interest in off-kilter composition and impermanence. These artists are interested in a studied, passive-aggressive irresoluteness that reflects wider insights about culture and society.” Given that I’ve described my practice as seriously un-serious, I have an entire project dedicated to impermanence, I embrace automatism (a form of anti-heroism, since the author relinquishes most of authorship), I believe work doesn’t even exist without a viewer, and in general center the notion of accepting two or more things can both be true, it sure sounds like if ever there was an “ism” that I fall within… well, there’s a good chance I’m actually already a member in good standing.

BTW, yes, there are creatives that have been featured here that are on Sharon‘s original list of Casualists (Cordy, Keltie, Chris, Rebecca and others) and you’ll certainly be seeing more soon as I invest in personally understanding the broad strokes that casually (haha) tie this “group” together. Also nice to understand a bit more deeply why I am so attracted to the cohort of writers Sharon has pulled together over at Two Coats of Paint.

*Here’s a quick-hit list of my blogs with one-word titles, in reverse chronological order:

• Light
• Vibe
• Nontraditional
• Immediacy
• Disappointment
• Evaluation
• Work
• Titles
• Color
• Sabbatical
• Nonobjective
• Formalism
• Awe
• Pivot
• Toward
• Curating
• Habituation
• Practice
• Focus
• Pacing
• Thankful
• Momentum?
• Numbers
• Devotion
• Layering