ILLINOIS HISTORICAL ART PROJECT

Painting is an activity which gives me more pleasure than any other work which I have ever attempted to do. I have never set myself any a priori aims or goals or purposes in my work unless personal expression may be termed that. I have adopted no definite patterns and do not consider myself as belonging to any "school." Neither do I give conscious thought as to what my work may bring or mean to others. It is an old story that art, like every other manifestation of life, is never completely isolated or separated. I mean by that to imply that art of today, notwithstanding the fact that there have been in recent times so many new developments and departures, is a direct descendant of the art of former ages. In other words, all art is based in part on other art. Therefore, the work of every individual artist is, in the broad sense, influenced by the work of other artists. I do not ape the work of any master. Yet, unquestionably, selective study of the work of the great masters has had its effect on my own compositions. But I repeat that I am unable to detect in my work the specific influence of any one man. The dominant influence behind my expression is an interest in the environment in which I live. I give no thought to the demands of the galleries or of the art market generally. Neither am I affected by the standards of what passes for criticism. Each of my paintings is a manifestation of the attempt on my part to give personal expression to the impact of Chicago and America upon me. Joseph Va-vak.