The French artist Louis Cane once said to me when he was going through a catalogue of my paintings that I should “make a lot of noise”. However, he wasn’t very specific regarding what kind of “noise” I should be making. For me, there are two kinds of noise. There is “cheap noise” and then there is “expensive noise”. “Cheap noise” is of the vulgar shouty variety. Sometimes though it can work and it has worked for several artists, but it is a slippery slope. It reeks of desperation and shameless whoring. And it runs the risk of cheapening good work. The focus ceases to be on the work. “Expensive noise”, on the other hand, is more august. This is a fine and subtle noise where stealth rather than shouting reigns supreme. In this case, you create something so powerful and profound that people naturally gravitate towards it and sometimes in a furious stampede-like way. And the artist hasn’t muttered a word.
By Nicholas Peart
13th August 2026
(c)All Rights Reserved
Image: djsaga
Latitude Post 