I decided to change the name of this website to no longer pretend it had a focus primarily to painting. But to all fine art that I dig. I have decided to get rid of the Painter title with my name, as I figured it was too much of a play on the work of Joseph Marioni. Yes I still like the guy, who wouldn't.
I was in Moma, staring at the enormous Barnett Newman painting there and it hit me that I shouldn't feel a need to title myself. My name is my title and that is all I should need. Not to take anything away from anyone else. Everyone has their own ways of going about things. I just felt it was time for me to be Jeffrey Collins, and not Jeffrey Collins: Painter. There was really so much more to this idea when I was sitting there in front of Newman, but I guess I really should have written it down. I had a number of eureka moments in NYC during my stay while working on getting interviews for my film "Untitled: Stories of Painting 1970-2012". But like so many other times, I never wrote them down. Oh well. At least I got what I felt was the strongest one. The one that has stayed with me since that day.
I wanted to send out a web based Thank You to the many people in NY that I met and hung out with. Those I did film...Peter Reginato, Karen Wilkin, John Zinsser, and Klaus Kertess. Those that I didn't get to film or at least not yet...Michael Brennan, Daniel Levine, Ruth Ann Fredenthal and Ronnie Landfield. I had a blast with all of you. You are all wonderful people and I look forward to many many more conversations with you about life love and art.
Cheers.
I leave you with this image I got outside on 8th Avenue at about 10PM. A couple trucks getting rid of what the CW television station had put up but apparently not paid for. Since they left the advertisement turned around and it ended up looking like a giant Ad Reinhardt painting on the corner. It was pretty wild watching these guys. I hope I will get to see it again.
