Mosaic Fine
Art
The following text
discusses some of the reasons why original mosaic work may be the most
under-represented medium of fine art in the US, especially when compared to
the prevalence of mosaic art in Latin America, the Mediterranean, etc.
The Undiscovered
Fine Art
Mosaic is as
versatile a medium as oil painting and lends itself to an infinite variety
of stylistic treatments. In fact, the vocabulary of mosaic technique is so
complex that it was possible for archeologists to determine how many unknown artists
worked on a mosaic mural unearthed at Pompei simply by the signature style used
by each artist. Why then is mosaic the most under-represented medium of fine
art in the United States?
Fine art mosaic is rare, particularly in the US, for several reasons.
Significantly, these reasons have little to do with the capacity of the medium
to express an artist's individual vision and style.
Mosaic as
Architectural Application
From the very
beginnings in ancient Greece, mosaic was used primarily as an architectural
element like fresco painting or bas relief sculpture. Being heavy and
immovable, great works of mosaic art could not be transported to galleries or
readily exchanged. Thus, a culture of collecting and speculating on mosaic art
did not develop the way it did for fine oil painting over the last few
centuries. The marketplace did not cultivate demand, and artists pursued other
media.
Mosaics are
Time-Intensive
It is no
coincidence that most grand works of mosaic date from periods when slave labor
was plentiful. A mosaic can take weeks and weeks to complete, while it is
possible to complete an accomplished oil painting in a single afternoon.
Mosaic involves cutting stone or glass or ceramic materials, and hand setting
pieces that are often tiny.
Cost & Availability of Mosaic Materials
Oil paints and
brushes are not cheap, but at least these materials are offered by local art
supply stores. When mosaic materials are available in the US, they are usually
expensive, and the selection is extremely limited or not suited for
making detailed images.
Mosaic as Craft
In the US, craft
is a devalued term, and for good reason. When someone who has never worked
with their hands becomes disenchanted with their career, a craft is often
pursued as an outlet. While the patient amateur is perfectly capable of
producing amazing work, all too often the effort is half-hearted, even
frantic, with speed of completion being the driving concern. Mosaic is
generally regarded to be a "craft" of this sort because it is
"quick" and "accessible". After all, nearly anyone
can glue broken china to a flower pot in a few hours, and this sort of
quickly-executed mixed media seems to be the only form of mosaic art
seen in the US. (Keep in mind that this criticism is particularly severe
considering that the author is a self-taught mosaic artist who loves mixed
media mosaic.)
But what about
more serious efforts at mosaic? Is mosaic art any more accessible than oil
painting? To the contrary, it is easy to argue the opposite may be true.
Mosaic can be unforgiving, particularly to the novice attempting a figurative
picture, and a firm grasp of the image to be portrayed is required
because details cannot be added later by the light stroke of a brush. Also, it
is not nearly as easy to create a desired color by mixing component colors, at
least not until the artist becomes more experienced with the materials
and learns how to create color gradients. In short, mosaic, like oil painting, has
intrinsic strengths and weaknesses, and there is a vocabulary of techniques
that need to be mastered before an artist can take full advantage of the
media.
Joe Moorman
- Riverson Fine Art
