What defines 21st Century Art? Who is at the top? What is the current era? How does the art system work? Who decides what / who is important? + FOOD: Pan-Seared Salmon

{ART ZOMBIES - 21st Century Art}

Artist: Brett-Murray's "Somnambulance" series, 2014

Metal, paint, gold leaf - each 6 feet +/- tall

(art courtesy of goodman-gallery.com)

ART

What is 
21st Century Art?

Who are the top artists now
and why? 
What is the name 
of the current era in art history? 

So far in 21st century art, there have been no styles or "-isms" (that have stuck) defining our current era in art history. Riding at the top of the market today are individual artists, not a unifying style. These few artists have become famous working in their own "signature style" and some in multiple styles.

It has always been true, the role of "the artistic theory" behind the image or object defines art and creates it's value, aesthetically and within the art world's marketplace! Of course there is value in beauty, perfect presentation, talented technique, time in creation and certain favorite mediums, but those pale in comparison to the importance of the "intellectual concepts" and "human emotions" that are the substance of all great artworks. 

Many collectors today still want painterly oil-on-canvas "paintings". Across the US and around the world, MFA programs produce artists who can draw well and are great painters or have perfected other traditional art techniques, but classic oil-on-canvas paintings, pastels, watercolors and realistic drawings are "rare" at the current international art fairs showing the best art of today. (see Zombie Formalism below) Conceptual works in all media, digital photography, sculpture, video, neon/light, digital output, documented performance art, installations, constructions, awkward drawing styles and simple graphic paintings seem to rule-the-day and attract the attention of top tier art collectors.

"Pluralism" (multiple styles at once) has been suggested to describe the art of the 21st century. The video series titled "Art21" has tracked many of the various incarnations of art since 2001, but "Art21" is a trademark and is not descriptive about the artworks, what-so-ever. In reality, no styles or "-isms" have risen to the top to define these current times.

Recently there has been a BACKLASH termed: "Zombie Formalism". (Zombie=because the movement brings old styles back to life, much like a retro-fashion trend, & Formalism=because the techniques are formal and old-school / paintings, pastels, watercolors and realistic drawing.)

Riding at the pinnacle of the art world today are a few dozen artists, working in individual styles, but they have one thing in common, they have all been anointed by galleries, museums, the art press and collectors as famous "Art Stars". When we look at contemporary culture in the world today, fame seems to be the driving force in so many areas: Chefs, Entertainment, Music, Politics, Law, Architecture, Entrepreneurship, and now the "Art World".  

Q 1: How does the 

art system work? 

A: The art world's "MARKETPLACE" over the past 150 years or more has operated by a simple and basic process. Recognition of an artist has come through a combination of: savvy gallerists selecting and promoting the artist's work; constant and major discussion of the artist in the "art press" (both good and bad); and verification of worth through acquisition of the artist's work by top tier collectors; then acquisition by major art museums in the art centers of the world; and finally by rising prices on the secondary market (at the major art auction houses, when the artist's work is re-sold).

There it is, this is how the art system has worked ever since the end of the academy system in the mid-19th century. No artist can "make" this valuable recognition of their art happen, the artist must have an organic rise to prominence.

Q 2: Since Impressionism, 

who has decided 

which art pieces and 

what artists are important?

A:

Paul Durand-Ruel, an art dealer in Paris and then London, recognized the artistic potential of the Impressionists in the early 1870s and provided support to his painters through stipends and solo exhibitions.

Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, a German-born art historian, art collector, and a prominent art dealer in Paris, became one of the first champions of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Cubism.

In the United States:

Alfred Stieglitz from 1905 to 1917 ran the "Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession" which he renamed 291 Gallery (because it was located at 291 Fifth Avenue, NYC). 291 became an internationally famous art gallery and single-handedly pioneered the future of artistic photography. 291 showed the works of Stieglitz himself, Ansel Adams, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand and many, many more "art" photographers. He also created the publication Camera Work, to showcase photography as an art form. Equally important, Stieglitz used his 291 space to introduce the United States to the most avant-garde European artists of the time, including Henri Matisse, Auguste Rodin, Henri Rousseau, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brâncuși, Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp, etc. He showed the paintings, drawings or sculpture of great 20th century masters like Georgia O'Keeffe, Max Weber, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Elie Nadelman and many more. Indubitably the most important early embracers of modern art in America was Alfred Stieglitz. He launched America into the art world it dominated for three-fourths of the 20th century. New York continues to be the epicenter of the art world.

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney advocated on behalf of living American artists and in 1914, Mrs. Whitney established the Whitney Studio in Greenwich Village. Here she presented exhibitions by living American artists whose work had been disregarded by the traditional academies. By 1929 she had assembled a collection of more than 500 works, which she offered with an endowment to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. When the offer was refused, she set up her own museum, one with a new and radically different mandate: to focus exclusively on the art and artists of this country. The Whitney Museum of American Art was founded in 1930, and opened in 1931 on West Eighth Street in Greenwich Village. The Museum moved to West 54th St. in 1954, the Marcel Breuer building on Madison Ave. in 1966 and the Piano Whitney building at 99 Gansevoort St. on May 1, 2015.

Peggy Guggenheim used to say it was her duty to protect the art of her own time, and she dedicated half of her life to this mission. In 1921, Ms Guggenheim traveled to Europe, and soon found herself at the heart of Parisian bohemia and American expatriate society. Many of her acquaintances were great artists and become her lifelong friends. Between 1939 and 1940, in the midst of World War II, Peggy busily acquired works for her future museum, keeping her word to “buy a picture a day.” In Oct. 1942 she opened museum/gallery named "Art of This Century". She held temporary exhibitions of leading European artists, and of unknown young American artists such as Robert Motherwell, William Baziotes, Mark Rothko, David Hare, Janet Sobel, Robert de Niro Sr., Clyfford Still, and Jackson Pollock. Pollock was the “star” of the gallery, who was given his first show by Peggy late in 1943. She went on to create the Guggenheim Museum which still carries her name. 

Ileana Sonnabend of Sonnabend Gallery first opened in Paris, in 1962, and then on New York's Madison Avenue in 1970. In 1971 she relocated to SoHo where she helped make the POP artists famous and NY's SoHo Arts District the international center of the art world. From the early 1970s until the 1990s, SoHo launched most of the great artists of that era, we see in modern museums today. In the 1990s the Art World started shifting to "Chelsea" between 10th & 11th Avenues and by dawn of the millennium Chelsea was the undisputed "Contemporary Arts District" of New York City.

"Charles Saatchi invented an entire art movement in the '90s. Mary Boone had the magic formula in the '80s. Larry Gagosian sits at the center of his own solar system…", as do scores of the larger galleries in the Chelsea contemporary arts district and around the world. These galleries select and anoint the artist who rise to the top tier, today. "Museums, art schools, and art magazines are also power centers in their own way, as are the new digital communities." writes Walter Robinson of Artspace.

The top tier collectors today number in the thousands and they live all over the globe. For these collectors art acquisition is a passion and for many of them it is also looked to as a good investment and the best place to protect a portion of their money.

There are many great collectors like Ronald S. Lauder (Neue Galerie New York), Philippa de Menil (Dia Beacon), Alice Walton (Crystal Bridges), etc. who are building or have built their own museums to showcase their personal collections and their particular passion within the visual arts. 

The New Museum (director Marcia Tucker until 1999) joined forces with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, American Center Foundation, the Peter Norton Family Foundation to become a resource to buy, commission and exhibit the work of promising, emerging and young artists. The New Museum has mounted ambitious surveys of important figures such as Ana Mendieta, William Kentridge, David Wojnarowicz, Paul McCarthy and Andrea Zittel before they received widespread recognition. The New Museum building, at 235 Bowery St., opened in 2007 and was erected through the help of Michael Bloomberg and the Carnegie Corporation. 

Currently Lisa Phillips the director and Massimiliano Gioni the associate director and director of exhibitions, work with many curators including Eungie Joo, Lauren Cornell and Ryan Trecartin, in selecting the artists and exhibitions featured in the New Museum's galleries. Massimiliano Gioni focuses on the presentation of international artists who have not previously shown in American museums.

Adam Weinberg, the Director of the Whitney and a major supporter of contemporary artists today, has put an exclamation point at the base of NYC's Chelsea Arts District, with the spacious and newly opened "Whitney Museum of American Art" at 99 Gansevoort St. and Washington St., in the West Village/Meatpacking District and near 13th St. and 10th Ave. Also the southern-most part of "The High-line" which snakes through the center of the Chelsea Arts District, ends at the new Whitney Museum. 

Summery:

Thank goodness ART and THE ART WORLD is constantly changing, constantly evolving, and always new. It's probably too soon to put early 21st century art into a box or "-ism", as we will not accurately know the outcome and the winners, until years from now, when the wheat has been separated from the chaff / those who are merely charismatic players have been separated from the truly talented contributors. 

FOOD
Pan-Seared Salmon Fillet

- Rinse the fillet in cool tap water 
- Dry the fish on all sides with paper towels
- Heat a large pan over high
- Add a few tablespoons of high smoke point oil, like grape seed oil 
- Season the salmon on all sides with ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper. 
- If skin on, place skin side down in pan, if no skin put bone side down and watch the heat, you may reduce heat to medium, but you don't want the fish to cook too slowly.
- DO NOT move fillets, let them form a crisp crust 
- When the "opaque" is half-way up the side of the fish (3 or 4 minutes)
- Turn fillets over and cook a few minutes more 
or until the fish is barely pink in the center (or 140º F in the thickest part of fish)
- Remove fillet to paper towels & drain for a second.
Serve with the crusty side up.

If you want a sauce…
- Wipe out the oil in the pan
- Add a glass of white wine
- 1 Tbs of lemon juice
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1 small minced shallot
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- Stir constantly until reduced by half
- Add 2 Tbs of COLD unsalted butter. 
- Melt the butter slowly as you stir into a silky sauce
- Season to taste with salt and pepper
- POUR over the plated salmon fillet.

Until later,

Jack

ARTSnFOOD, is an online publication dedicated to "The Pursuit of Happiness through the Arts and Food." ™ All rights reserved. Concept, Original Art, Text & Photographs are © Copyright 2015 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. Any gallery, event, museum, fair or festival photographs were taken with permission. Images © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.

Handwritten Manuscripts by Balzac, Brontë, Jane Austen, Mozart, Edgar Allan Poe, Thoreau & George Washington - At the Morgan + FOOD: Mushroom Mozzarella Bake

Honoré de Balzac:

Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850)

"Eugénie Grandet" 
Autograph manuscript and corrected galley proofs signed, 1833

ART
Handwritten
Manuscripts
at the 
Morgan Library, 
NYC

Recently ARTSnFOOD dropped by the Morgan Library in NYC. Some of the most interesting aspects in the library's collection are their various original manuscripts. These direct connections to great minds are views into the origins of ideas and art. The handwritten manuscripts (we have also included a cast of George Washington's face, made from life) give truths beyond the edited and final versions of these books or music or art. 

The handwriting and personal connection adds to our insight into the works, the writers, the composers and the artists - glimpses into their personalities. These original pieces are like shaking hands with the "human" behind each work.

Honoré de Balzac:

Honoré de Balzac (May 1799 – August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. Owing to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multifaceted characters, who are morally ambiguous. 

Emily Jane Brontë:

Emily Jane Brontë (1818-1848)
{poem}

"The night of storms has passed" 

Autograph manuscript, 10 June 1837

Brontë wrote in a tiny, crabbed script on irregular bits of paper, from 1836 to 1846 —fortunately, Brontë dated most of her poems— these verses reveal that she had indeed reached the heights she had attempted.

Jane Austen:

Jane Austen (1775–1817)

"Lady Susan" Autograph manuscript, written ca. 1794–95 

and transcribed in fair copy soon after 1805

Jane Austen (1775–1817)

"Lady Susan" Autograph manuscript, written ca. 1794–95 

"Lady Susan" by Jane Austen is an epistolary novel, an early complete work that the author never submitted for publication, and describes the schemes of the main character—the widowed Lady Susan—as she seeks a new husband for herself and one for her daughter. Although the theme, together with the focus on character study and moral issues, is close to Austen's published work (Sense and Sensibility was also originally written in the epistolary form), its outlook is very different, and the heroine has few parallels in 19th-century literature. Lady Susan is a selfish, unscrupulous and scheming woman, highly attractive to men, who tries to trap the best possible husband while maintaining a relationship with a married man. She subverts all the standards of the romantic novel: she has an active role, she is not only beautiful but intelligent and witty, and her suitors are significantly younger than she is (in contrast with Sense and Sensibility and Emma, which feature marriages by their female protagonists to men who are 16 years older). Although the ending includes a traditional reward for morality, Lady Susan herself is treated more leniently than the adulteress in Mansfield Park, who is severely punished.

Mozart:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

Symphony no. 35 in D major, K. 385 : autograph manuscript - Symphonies, K. 385, D major

Autograph manuscript of the "Haffner" Symphony 1782

By mid-1782 Mozart had been a Vienna resident for more than a year, beginning to prosper from the success of his new singspiel, The Abduction from the Seraglio. Yet Leopold Mozart refused to bless his marriage proposal to Constanze Weber, and thought nothing of disrupting his son's professional life. In the midst of preparations for the first all-Mozart concert in Joseph II's imperial capital, Papa insisted that Wolfgang compose a new work for the ennoblement of Salzburg's mayor, Sigmund Haffner. In other words, a gratis job, unrelated to Wolfgang's new career and income. The wonder is that Mozart obliged posthaste, despite being harried. Between July 20 and August 5 he wrote the new D major serenade-symphony in six movements (not to be confused, however, with an earlier Haffner Serenade, K. 250). During the same fortnight he also made a wind-band arrangement of music from The Abduction ("If I don't do this, someone else will beat me to it and take my profit"), composed the noble C minor Serenade for winds (K. 388/384a), and married Constanze without Leopold's permission.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) detail

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) detail

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) detail
The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 
2 bassoons, 2 horns in D and G, 2 trumpets in D, timpani, and strings.

Mozart stated that this movement was to be played with fire, "Allegro con spirito".

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) detail

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) detail

Hear this Mozart piece on YouTube at this link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3rI-nFMFZE

Edgar Allan Poe:

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
{poem}

"Tamerlane"  
Autograph fragment [1828?]

Tamerlane - The poem itself follows a Turkic conqueror named Tamerlane. The name is a Latinized version of "Timur Lenk", the 14th-century warlord, though the poem is not historically accurate.

Tamerlane ignores the young love he has for a peasant in order to achieve power. On his deathbed, he regrets this decision to create "a kingdom [in exchange] for a broken heart". The peasant is named Ada in most of Poe's original version of the poem, though it is removed and re-added throughout its many revised versions. The name "Ada" is likely a reference to Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Byron, a renowned poet whom Poe admired. In fact, the line "I reach'd my home — my home no more" echoes a line in Byron's work Don Juan.

Henry David Thoreau:

Henry David Thoreau 1817–1862

Autograph manuscript journal entry dated Walden, 5 July 1845; 

from a collection of 39 journals - 1837-1861

Walden (/ˈwɔːldən/; first published as Walden; or, Life in the Woods), by noted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self-reliance. First published in 1854, it details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years, two months, and two days in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts. The book compresses the time into a single calendar year and uses passages of four seasons to symbolize human development.

Henry David Thoreau 1817–1862 Walden - detail of handwriting
above: title page from the original printed book

Henry David Thoreau 1817–1862 Walden - detail

Henry David Thoreau 1817–1862 Walden - detail

Henry David Thoreau 1817–1862 Walden - detail

George Washington:

George Washington (1732-1799)

Autograph letter signed, dated Mount Vernon, 20 May 1792

to James Madison "The Stones of Venice"

"The Stones of Venice" re: the study of Venetian architecture.

George Washington (1732-1799) letter - detail

George Washington 
A life-cast for artist Jean-Antoine Houdon's reference:

George Washington - direct plaster cast of his face

In 1785 the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon visited George Washington (1732–1799) at his Mount Vernon residence. There he observed the general and made a plaster cast of his face—the Morgan's life mask. He then used the mask to complete the face on his clay bust of Washington, which he left at Mount Vernon. Houdon returned with the life mask to Paris, where he sculpted the final marble life-size sculpture of Washington now in the Richmond Capitol. The statue was commissioned by the Virginia legislature and was erected in 1796, the year Washington issued his farewell address following his second term as president. The Morgan's life mask of Washington is unique and represents the truest likeness of the country's first president.

George Washington 

detail - direct cast of his face

George Washington 

detail - direct cast of his face

George Washington 

detail - direct cast of his face

Jean-Antoine Houdon's George Washington marble sculpture
at Virginia's (Richmond) capitol rotunda.
The statue was installed in 1796.

See more manuscripts at ( www.themorgan.org ).

(Source: photos taken with permission at The Morgan Library, NYC plus additional information from The Morgan Library NYC website and Wikipedia.)

FOOD

MUSHROOM

MOZZARELLA

BAKE

1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced 

3 tbsp butter 

3/₄  tsp seasoning salt 

2 tbsp whipping cream 

1 tsp dried parsley

1/₄  tsp black pepper

3/₄  cup grated Mozzarella cheese 

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

In large frying pan or electric frying pan with lid (slightly ajar), fry mushrooms in butter over medium heat until softening.  Keep cooking until water evaporates. Remove lid of pan.  Add seasoning salt; stir-fry until mushrooms are nice and brown. Add whipping cream, parsley and black pepper.  Allow to simmer over low heat until whipping cream reduces a bit.  This can happen extremely fast.  Arrange mushrooms in shallow casserole dish.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  

Yields 6 servings

1 serving = 127.3 calories

Until later,

Jack

ARTSnFOOD, is an online publication dedicated to "The Pursuit of Happiness through the Arts and Food." ™ All rights reserved. Concept, Original Art, Text & Photographs are © Copyright 2015 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. Any gallery, event, museum, fair or festival photographs were taken with permission. Images © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.

Affordable Art Fair Spring 2015, NYC (#2 continued) + FOOD: Pan Blackened Fish

Nelson De La Nuez- The King of Pop Art®, "Shoe Diva"
Bruce Lurie Gallery, L.A., CA

ART
Affordable Art Fair 
Spring 2015, NYC
Issue #2

Affordable Art Fair’s mission is to promote emerging artists and make contemporary artwork affordable and accessible to all.

Alain Kurylo, "Empreinte",
bronze, ed. of 12,
Carina Haslam Art

Craig Alan, "Dali" Populus Figurative Series
LCFA lawrence cantor fine art

Craig Alan, "Enchanting" 40" x 40" Populus Figurative Series
LCFA lawrence cantor fine art

Craig Alan, "Enchanting" detail, LCFA lawrence cantor fine art

Craig Mooney, "Picknic", oil on canvas, Carina Haslam Art

Gary John, "Comics" acrylic on Korean Newspaper, 30" x 30"
Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 

Michael Suchta, "Captain Marvel", Acrylic on 7 layers of Plexi
Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

Nelson De La Nuez, "Rock 'em Sock 'em", Mixed media on canvas
Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 

Rodger Stevens, "Glyph (target fixation)"
silver and maple, 4" x 5" x 3"
Mayson Gallery

Michael Suchta, "Albert Einstein", 6-7 layters acrylic on plexi
Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 

"Ann #3" (detail) 2015
screen print on somerset tub paper
Jealous Gallery, London

Will Martyr, "Miami Beach Hut IV" 2014, acrylic on canvas, TAG Fine Arts

Xuezhe Shen, "Memory of Yanbian", digital print, 2015
ArtSpace Gallery, Seoul, L. Korea 

Amanda Barrow at The Project Space, Julio Valdez Studio, New York, NY 

Asterisk Projects, Brooklyn NY

Bob Tabor, "Horse 15", 35.5 x 39 inches
C print mounted on plexi
contempop expressions gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel

Bob Tabor, "Horse 40" 36 x 49.5 inches
C print, ed of 18
contempop expressions gallery, Tel Aviv, Israels

Chamnan Chongpaiboon, "She no. 3", Acrylic on canvas
40 x 47inches, Bangkok, Thailand

Chamnan Chongpaiboon, "She no. 3", detail,
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 47inches, Bangkok, Thailand

Fran Beallor, "Perfect Poise" Balance Series, 2014, 9 x 11 inches
colored pencil on toned paper
The Project Space, Julio Valdez Studio

Magnus Gjeon
"No time to grieve for roses when the forests are burning"
27.5 x 27.5 inches, photo - ed of 50,
La Lanta Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

Magnus Gjoen bio

Murray Hidary, Sakura iii 22-3
Digital Photo Print, ed of 20. 27" x 40"
Sylvia White Gallery, Ventura, CA

Richard Silver, "MYC Library", 24" x 72", ed of 15, C-pint on Plexi,
contempop expressions gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel

Shin Koyama,
"Mr. Pika Chan - Swimmer"
arita porcelain
17" (h) Unique, La Lanta Fine Art,
Bangkok, Thailand

Shin Koyama,
"Pika Chan - Peacock"
arita porcelain
17" (h) Unique, La Lanta Fine Art,
Bangkok, Thailand

Visarute Angkatavanich, "White Dancer", C Print face mounted on plexi, 31.5 x 31.5 inches,
ed of 10, La Lanta Fine Art, Bangkok, Thailand

Yael Shachar, Photo (cropped)
printed on wood, 2013, ed of 5 + 2AP,
Corridor-Mika Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel

Yael Shachar, "X-Girl" Photo on wood, 2013, ed of 5 + 2 ap
Corridor-Mika Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel

(Source: Photographs were taken by ARTSnFOOD staff, with the permission of the fair and each individual gallery represented.)

FOOD
Pan Blackened Fish

Ingredients

4 firm white fish fillets

(firm fleshed fish such as red snapper, catfish or redfish,

cut about 1/2 inch thick)

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

3 Tbs. Paul Prudhomme's Blackened Redfish

       Magic Seasoning Mix

Preparation

Rinse and dry the fish fillets.

Prepare the Blackened Seasoning Mix.

Using only a seasoned black cast iron skillet, place it on the burner EMPTY. Turn burner on high heat, until it is extremely hot (about 600°F). This dish will set off every smoke alarm in your neighborhood! It's better to cook it outdoors on a gas grill or a butane burner, because the cooking produces a tremendous amount of smoke.

Lay the fillets out on waxed paper, dip the fish into the melted butter, then sprinkle lightly with the blackened seasoning mix. When the skillet is hot, (has a white circle in the bottom) immediately place the fish in. Stand back, it will splatter and smoke. Turn the fillets over after 30 seconds and blacken the other side for 30 seconds. (Better to do only one or two fillets at a time.)

Be sure the skillet is hot enough and absolutely dry.  Be sure not to over-season the fish - the herbs and spices should highlight the taste rather than hide or overpower it.  You don't want to overcook the filet - there's a big difference between blackened and burned.

Remove the fish to your serving plate. 

Turn off the heat and stay away from the hot skillet.

Serve with a sliced tomato lightly dressed with vinaigrette.

(Source: Shared with Jack A. Atkinson by Paul Prudhomme.)

Until later,

Jack

ARTSnFOOD, is an online publication dedicated to "The Pursuit of Happiness through the Arts and Food." ™ All rights reserved. Concept, Original Art, Text & Photographs are © Copyright 2015 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. Any gallery, event, museum, fair or festival photographs were taken with permission. Images © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.