Titles-useless blather?

When I was in art school, it seemed to me as if 7 out of 10 artworks were titled "Untitled" (or the sorta mysterious "Ohne titel" if you were cool enough to be German). Now my first impression of " Untitled" works is that of pretension. I know-this is not fair, but I seem to be hard-wired for this-and prejudice is hard to shake.

Maybe I tend to go too far on the other side in compensation. Everything that leaves the studio gets a title (well, "Untitled" is used if the work is nascent and I haven't come up with a name yet-usually NOT for lack of trying).

In the past few years, titles have started to appear before the work has been created. The analogy of writing dreams down comes to mind-the more you record, the more you seem to remember. With titles, the more work I do with them (and therefore become more conscious of them), the more they "appear" to me. This morning, I woke to a title-a phrase just kinda floating in space-you know, like a cartoon with a speech balloon. It's happened before and I thought nothing of it. But relating it to you, it is sorta strange, yes?

I've always loved words-their origins, meanings, spellings (and mispellings-don't grade me on this blog-although a good speller, I'm a lousy typist and this thing does not have a spell check)since I was a wee thing. Obscure ones, big ones and the ones that make no sense-all wonderful to me. Good writers are few, but people that turn words into strange mixtures that somehow borrow sense are even rarer (there's an analogy with sculpture coming here) .

In some of my works, I think I'm after coupling the titles with visual elements in the work-not to make a literal statement- a joke with a punch line or a story to impart a moral belief-but to create a thought that borrows sense but doesn't fully possess it. One that kinda deals in what I find to be a truer reality. Dunno about you, but I find life to be more about half-said/half-thought things than sentences complete with periods. This post is about titles, so more on this thought later.

An aside here-occasionally, I sell artwork to unsuspecting buyers. I wonder what the proportion would be of a) buyers who forget the title of the work immediately b) buyers who rename the work c) those who actually remember and use the title.

Here's the upshot: my work will continue to be titled before it leaves my hands. But the jury is definitely out on the issue as to how much titles matter. I welcome comments on this issue and especially what it means to the commenter.

I'm posting two photos today. One is a collage within a box called "Wedding (R-K)", measures 15" X 7" X 4" (paper, wood, tin, miscellaneous found objects), and sells for $235 (photo on right). The other I completed yesterday and it is called "Putting Lincoln to Bed" (See, the title is right on the front of the pc!). This one measures 12" X 16" X 1" (wood, acrylic and encaustic, paper, pencil) and is $100 (photo on left).

I soon will be getting a copy stand and, hopefully, this will improve my photography. If you need more info on any of the pcs, please contact me with questions.