Randall Cabe Essay
#16 Paul Ruscha (Visiting Painting)
#17 Randall Cabe (Response Painting)
Dead ducks falling, written in a strong triangular shape with what looked like a blood pattern dripping across the format in a dancing diagonal; a piece of square plastic packaging-window and a CD; that, and a note saying make a painting in response. Making a painting for a sequential Exquisite Corpse that was not something I would paint in my daily studio practice would have been disingenuous.
So, the closest thing I had to a duck and to the blood-red in the artwork that was sitting in my studio, was a 1960s badminton birdie I had inherited from all the crap I had salvaged from my grandparent’s house, after my grandmother died. I had always wanted to paint the birdie but never had made it a priority, despite it having great sentimental value.
The strong shapes employed in the piece I had to respond to were a nice catalyst for the design of my own picture. I basically stole the pictorial tensions from Morandi and the dramas from Diebenkorn, so that made it easy…or difficult. Even so, I harbored resentment. Then, as I had to crate-up the piece to send to the next artist, I wished I had had more time, like I always do.