"That's Nice" or "That's Art"
I would like to assume that the majority of emerging artists struggle with what to create at certain points. Not necessarily from a creative block perspective, but more from a I have a limited amount of time where should I direct m
y energy? I think there following are categories that represent the type of artwork one can spend time on:
Your own - The type of art that you love to do
For social network - The type of art that is guaranteed to appeal to your group
For art world - The type of art that will be appreciated by the art elites
These three areas are not mutually exclusive and could very much overlap. At the high point of an artist's career, it is more than likely that the artist is doing their own artwork that appeals to their group as well as the art world. However, it is just as likely that those same artists will deviate and do things that only they love that is not appreciated by others. They could just as easily sell out and paint things that their heart and soul are not in but has mass market appeal. In other words, it is possible that these three forces continually tug at an
artist.
If this makes sense, I will now shine a spotlight on how this is currently affecting myself.
My own artwork (1) is a continually evolving experience. There are days where all I want to draw or paint are faces, and will not touch landscapes. There are other days where the abstract bug hits me and I just wish to splatter paint. I kind of feel like Picasso when he was obsessed with Musketeers after watching a movie. I am continually wanting to draw my own Musketeer. Yet, I wonder if my musketeer will ever be considered more than just a "hobby." (I am politely implying that to be doing art, requires a full-fledged business).
For my social network (2) my artwork that deals with Hungarian themes are always well-received. If I draw or paint something with a hint of Hungarian then any and all Hungarians think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. This is not to say that they may not like my other artwork, but the theme resonates with them culturally and personally. There are days that I love to draw and paint Hungarian themes, but I have little interest in doing "only Hungarian art." There are some artists who will draw the Hungarian cowboys of the Great Plains over and over again.
The art world (3) loves abstract pieces. I see some posts by galleries or artists and the comments are "OMG" "Life-changing" blah blah blah. And I look at those pieces and it feels to me that the artist could have splattered the paint any which way and it would still look the same. Then you look at the next artist who does abstract and theirs looks similar. In the end, you can't tell an abstract artist from the next abstract artist. And yet, people are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for paint schmeared on canvases. How do you penetrate such a market if the market only wants garbage and is willing to pay high money for garbage?
Yes, I am calling the majority of modern abstract art in galleries garbage. This is coming from a me, someone who absolutely adores Jackson Pollock.
There are others in the art
world who are doing some really cool things and some things that are atrocious (in my opinion) but successful (which means that I am trying ascertain if they truly are atrocious or if I just don't understand).
I am left with this question: can I paint what I personally am interested in that my social network will approve and promote which will lead to an entrance into the art world?
Last year, I drew ballerinas constantly and became known as an artist of ballerinas. Those who took ballet or have children who did were enthralled. Others thought it was "nice." I shifted from ballerinas to drawing abstract comic and portrait drawings which were confusing to my social network. However, some artists understood the novelty. These shifted into World War 1 themed, which we know nobody is interested in unless they are a hardcore history buff.
This year I have decided to begin 2021 by simply drawing in ink the Citadel of Visegrád (The imbedded image). No fancy abstraction. No portaits. No mixed media. Maybe even no color. I have never done this before, and in keeping with last year's goal I will do a minimum of 3 of those types of artwork before decided to give it up or continue. That means that currently it is my "own artwork" (1) and may be approved by the social network (2). But will someone from the artworld look at it and think "that's good art" or will they just say "that's nice."
Maybe that's the underlying goal with this blog, to get my pieces from "that's nice" to "that's art."
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