Or, how I learned to
stop worrying and love the art world (in a grocery store)
Once again I must
shake off negative vibes due to members of art world and media once again
oohing and aahing over an exhibition I really wish just was not there. No, I
am not a critic so not naming names, I am sure there are several just in
Manhattan that fit the bill actually, but as a lifelong lover of art, an
awestruck admirer of artists, and what they can do, it pains me that the
viewing public is being what I strongly feel is misled, and encouraged to make
poor judgments, about the nature of art being made today.
As writers and
exhibitors of art, we take on the responsibility of deciding what people will
see. If those getting their feet wet in the art scene turn a blind eye to all
the good that is out there because we showed them the first work they saw for
the wrong reasons, we are damaging the present and future of art – if no one
buys from artists, how can they go on? Can the market afford any more losses?
More important, can humanity afford to lose the vision of great artists?
My main issue with
the work I saw was simple – it represented an attempt, albeit an almost technically perfect one, to
communicate in a way that others (I immediately thought of 2 artists I know personally)
are doing better with less notoriety. By successfully I mean that the technical
ability is there to make the difficulty of their choices transparent to the
viewer, providing an experience of seamless enjoyment and understanding of
highly personal work that, while edgy, also flaunts an irresistible beauty, and
elicits an immediate reaction of “Wow!”
You should love a
piece of art because someone has done something remarkable and irreplaceable
and it has opened a door in your life. You should not embrace art because
someone else thinks you should, no matter what that someone’s name is, and you
should not dismiss all art just because others say you are supposed to like something
that you know just sucks.
As in "The Emperor's New Clothes," Andersen’s
cautionary tale of a vain emperor conned into parading about naked, sometimes
it takes an innocent to call attention to a fallacy that those entangled in the
system fear to point out. My epiphany came several years ago, while checking
out in Trader Joe’s. A youthful cashier was making pleasant conversation as he
packed my groceries, but when I told him I wrote about art he came to a dead
stop, looked me right in the eyes and asked:
“Why is all the art
in Chelsea so bad?”
It isn’t, of course,
but there are always enough dubious presentations to give would-be art lovers
like this young man pause. And we all pay a price for that, the viewers who
don’t get to see the best, and the great artists who get lumped in with the
less talented and inspired simply because they do not have the means or
political pull or desire to forcefully push to the front of the pack.
Another caution,
just got an email from a suburban gallery with lovely images of work that is
simply highly commercial and decorative, often these objects are fabricated for
the artists. Saving this for another post, but décor is something you can
create yourself with objects from many sources and you can obtain them without
paying a high cost for those objects and have fun doing, and re-doing, it. Art
is a living offering of love and insight that exists in your space to have an
intimate and dynamic relationship with you. Before acquiring an object that
matches the sofa from the nearest storefront, please look at what is out there
in terms of cost and value. When I
speak with people about this they are often dismayed to learn that they could
have made a purchase from a significant body of work in an artist’s own hand
for what they spent on something they will probably toss in a couple of years
or give away on Craigslist.
One thing I really
hate seeing is an artist with a gallery and following presenting a new concept
in their work that someone else has been doing better for a while. It starts to
feel like art is a closed shop union for those who are already making money or
can buy in to publicize themselves, and we all know that is not healthy for the
future of art. Great artists, famous or not, struggle and reach and dig to find
the next vein to mine, and it pays off in highly original and soulful work that
is new yet unmistakably theirs. I feel sad walking into a show of new works and
thinking, “Hey, that looks like…”
Artists never give
up. You should not either, keep searching and looking and walking through those
gallery doors. Something is waiting for you, it just may, like true love, take
time and commitment.
Q
arranges private and group studio and gallery events featuring a very select
group of artists, to join please contact me at beauartsltd@gmail.com and tell me about
the art you dream of… Linda
image via wikimedia commons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor's_New_Clothes
