WELCOME TO WILDLIFE ART JOURNAL
TIMING, IT IS SAID, IS EVERYTHING. And soon, our time will have arrived.
Indeed in art, one's knack for possessing it—or not—has been known to make or break careers. Timing can represent the eternal tipping point dividing artists whose brilliance is recognized during their own life spans from those destined for appreciation posthumously, or worse, to be forgotten forever.
What are the names of the artists who painted on the cave walls at Lascaux and in the natural alcoves of the Matopos Hills? Who chiseled the priceless pictographic rock art in Utah? When an artist's vision blossoms into something remarkable; when his or her work becomes "recognized" after struggling in obscurity; when a painter or sculptor or photographer is courted by galleries, collectors and museums because they're expressing something important and original; it all involves different manifestations of timing.
Wildlife art is not simply about creative people who are drawn to motifs involving wild, non human creatures. I have been writing about the art of nature for decades, traveling far and wide to hear the stories artists have to tell. And fortunately, I have made many friends along the way. This magazine will be for you, a bridge between the best of old-school, art oriented, journalistic narrative and all that new media offers in engendering art appreciation and commerce.
The ambition of Wildlife Art Journal resides in this simple statement: to be "the world's leading forum for artistic celebrations of wild animals and the landscapes they inhabit." It is intended, by design, to offer plenty of terrain and we aspire to take you on a journey that is not wholly predictable. By that slightly amorphous definition, Pablo Picasso and Neanderthals would qualify equally as artists worthy of discussion; so would Jamie Wyeth, other living legends who still dwell amongst us, and masters of ages and movements going back to pictographs. Be forewarned: We will not hesitate to, on occasion, stray to the controversial that presses the barriers of personal comfort zones. If not, it wouldn't be art.
So let us now state the obvious: As for launching an online "publication," a digital international magazine devoted to tracking the genre of "wildlife art", one could argue that our timing with Wildlife Art Journal couldn't be worse, given where things stand presently in the world. Printed media, as we knew it in the 20th century, is melting away like the glaciers in Greenland. On the other hand, we prefer not to embrace gloom. The rules of how media engages the art collector are changing before us. What hasn't changed is the passion you feel for great art and its role in our daily lives.
We believe the timing has never been better to hatch a great idea, especially one that can reach you in the most remote corners of the planet. Moreover, challenges confronting the natural world cannot wait for discussion later. We need to be connected in ways we have not been before. Better, more exciting information results in more astute collectors.
Whether you are reading these words from home, office, city, cell phone, or laptop in the outback, we welcome you. Whether you are in northern Scotland, a suburban flat in continental Europe, a hut somewhere in southern Africa, a studio in New Zealand or connected wirelessly in the backcountry of North America, we're triangulating to the same place. We've somehow found one another and that is good. We hail from different neighborhoods and cultures but we are part of the same nature-loving community.
The point is that Wildlife Art Journal refuses to accept the stolid view that "wildlife art" itself must, according to certain high priests in the academic cognoscenti, be automatically treated with aspersion, because of an artist's choice of subject matter.
This, we believe, is nonsense.
We also refuse to accept the assertion that a self-described artist who puts dead sharks in tanks of formaldehyde and sells his works for tens of millions of dollars is any more valid, relevant, and visionary, say, than a painter who started one's career at the Art Student's League and cut one's teeth early as a magazine illustrator. Wildlife art may have traditional, prosaic, utilitarian, and tribal origins, but no art form today is more avant-garde than one reflecting the state of the human condition, the health of the environment, and the issues that will shape the survival of civilization as we know it.
This is zeitgeist.
If that doesn't make this art form urgent, then what does?
Wildlife Art Journal will feature stories on living and deceased painters, sculptors, and photographers, interviews, announcements of important events such as museum exhibitions and gallery openings, auction figures (when available), dispatches from artists on research trips far beyond the confines of North America, and forums that will enable readers to have an online exchange with people in the art business. We welcome you to converge, here.
Where we intend to go is a place where no previous iteration of a wildlife art magazine has ventured. We promise that you will be entertained. There will be opportunities for each of you to weigh in, should you so choose.
How often will we come out? Perpetually, actually. Stories and content will be continually updated to keep it fresh, so keep checking back. We'll be light on our feet and easy on your eyes.
We have several surprises in store.
Wildlife Art Journal is intended to be relevant equally to the artist, collector, and venues where fine art is sold and displayed. Tell your friends about us and if you get a chance, drop us a line: editor@wildlifeartjournal.com.
For now, greetings from Bozeman in Montana, USA.
Todd Wilkinson, along with Jared Swanson, Seabring Davis and Carter G. Walker, Editors
I am so happy!!