When people talk about skill in art, they tend to stress the making of it. But in addition to good craftsmanship, art has to have a deeper, dreamier side, something that stimulates the mind.
The quirky young artist Joe Fig, who has delivered to the Parrish Art Museum a dozen of his intricate, precise three-dimensional sculptural models of famous artist’s studios, is a master craftsman. Not only does he painstakingly re-create the studios in minute detail based on photographs, but he also makes replica figures of the artists. The result is breathtaking, like looking into a fully stocked dollhouse for the very first time.
His work is flawless, providing endless pleasure to museumgoers who like nothing better than to bliss out on skillfully made, cool-looking stuff. For others, like me, the models are a bit too perfect, too intricate and too precise to inspire deep thought, more at home in a haute toy store than a modern art gallery.
