Statement–April 26, 2011, On the Ordering of Art, first published in Po10tial Magazine, November 2011

Michael Boles, Unnatural Selection, 2011. Aluminum, copper, chrisacola,
sodalite, and acrylic. 31" x 56" x 1." Available for purchase–please contact the artist.

The "ordering" of art has occurred over millennia. It is a reflection of our society's values and structure. Society without structure is chaos. One cannot truly make works of art that express chaos, as doing so would suggest prior knowledge and negate from the outset the intent.

Ordering by no means refers to following some pre-determined canon or style, which in the early-twenty-first century obviously has ceased to exist. Ordering in this context refers to considerations that transcend the object and refer to the time and place wherein the object is placed, as well as the material information that is present. Stunning a viewer is so easy within contemporary trends that making objects that don't so much stun as mesmerize becomes a challenge. The underlying legacy of art has as its roots endless qualities that do just that.

Most people want to look at works of art of all types. All of us are visual creatures. Most people by now understand that works of contemporary art often pose more questions than they answer. Times will arrive when viewers of art will come to trust their own innate visual judgment and instincts once again, rather than relying on the quasi-intellectual judgment of those who seemingly could care less about genuine visual experience.