Flowchart (www.cphomedecor.com), two views of wall painting, acrylic, metal clips, watercolor and gauche on 140lb. Sennelier, wall width: approximately 18 ft.; individual watercolor dimensions: approximately 3.75 in. x 3.75 in., 2005

Painting Images



Notes on Flowchart:

As proprietor of a thriving, young business I rarely have time for my hobbies. After spelunking and mycology I miss watercolor painting the most. In my undergraduate days, had actually been a pretty good painter. (I minored in art, you know.) This summer I had planned to take residence in an artist commune and let my creative juices flow. But the week before I was to leave, the server went down on the e-business portion of my company and I had to schedule an emergency retreat with my web development team. In addition to feeling glum over my ruined plans, the retreat was a complete failure; for three days I sat in a room with graphic designers, computer programmers, and accountants, each speaking a different jargon. It was as if we were trying to rebuild the Tower of Babel. The night before the final day of the retreat was the worst. I lay in bed, wide awake, wondering how I could have ever called myself an entrepreneur. It was then that I remembered the words of David Antin, one of my college art professors. I recalled he once said, that to be avant-garde (which I always associated with being an entrepreneur) one need not invent entirely new tools if what one has in his toolbox gets the job done; one need merely invent what is lacking in the toolbox as it currently exists. For me, watercolor is a toolbox unto itself--a toolbox that contains an ever-expanding set of tools--such that I have never been at a lack with watercolor. For the next eleven hours I worked at a feverish pace, using watercolors to create a schematic of the website. I entered the meeting, and with the help of my assistant, pinned the images to the wall in a flowchart arrangement. With an economy of language the group began to interact with the images, communicating their ideas freely and easily. I hereby offer Untitled (flowchart) as a mildly aestheticized recreation of that sublime moment.

-Brian Goeltzenleuchter, President Contraposto Home Décor Co.