Art and Sam

I've been an artist all my life (sketching predominantly) . . .



I think it's because my full name is Samuel Ward Granger. Ward is "draw" spelled backwards and I've been doing that since before I can remember. Today someone in the Art of Manliness caused me to ask "What is art according to Sam?" "Where did I get my sense of aesthetics?" I hope to define where I started and look where I'm going artistically.

I've always been a bit fan of Albrecht Dürer and his wood cuts, because of his ability to create depth with definitive lines. There is a staunch Germanic character to his work that nonetheless is very intricate . . .

I've always enjoyed Salvador Dalì's work. I appreciate how though his subject matter is at times ridiculous, he always treats it with depth, detail, and sincerity. That makes it surreal rather than absurd (also known as why bother? ).


My roommate (Owen Fifield) is a Fine Art's major and I've been enjoying his work because he does incredible photography with a great sense of depth and also deals with complex and simple subject matter with the same attention and sincerity . . .

As I grew to appreciate the robustness of my Catholicism and especially Eastern Catholicism/Orthodoxy, I got into Iconography. I appreciate how icons don't pretend to be real images, they try to be symbols or signs that direct you to a higher reality. They facilitate prayer and that practical element makes for some beautiful functional art, especially if you see them in a church . . .

I also became a huge fan of Mikhail Nesterov, who incorporated iconographic elements in his scenes of Russian life. This offers the viewer an awesome look at how intertwined the live of Russian peasants and the presence of icons had become. If you're interested in Russian history focusing on the cultural inspiration of Orthodoxy read The Icon and the Axe. Or just look at Nesterov paintings . . .

I think art is something I can take out of me. I look at everything artistically. I've drawn long enough to have an eye for depth, contrast, and texture. I think of the labor and love that goes into anything someone does in terms of how a devoted artist gives himself for his work. There comes a time in life when one needs to stop debating beliefs and morality, long enough to look back on life and say, "It's a beautiful thing."

Tübingen Wörter
Wort: die Seligkeit: blessedness
Verb: jmd./etw. werden (wurde/ward, geworden): to become something