Motivation to paint
Introduction
Explaining the unexplainable
Existence
I think therefore I am
Impressionalism
Visualise the feeling
Self-portraits
Who am I?
Art that I like
Australia
Beauty in the wasteland
Europe
The underbelly
Iconography
Picture writing
Chinese Art
Traditional and modern
Man Coerces Woman to have Sex for Reasons Other than Her Own Desire
Unappreciated Genius
In art circles, there is a widely held belief that art that is popular is somehow diminished in integrity. It was a belief exploited by Melbourne International Arts Festival director Kristy Edmunds when justifying her failure to run a popular festival. According to Edmunds, worrying about the box office "infantilises the whole experience."
I partly agree that being popular is not always a sign of quality. For example, it is safe to say that my painting Man Coerces Woman to Have Sex for Reasons Other than Her Own Desire (see above) will never hang in a gallery besides da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Dali's Persistence of Time, or in the boardrooms of the rich and famous. Very few people find it aesthetically pleasing to look at while the subject matter is one that almost no one wants to think about. Nevertheless, the painting has brought me a great deal of intellectual and emotional stimulation.
Where I disagree with the likes of Edmunds is their notion that being popular somehow diminishes artistic integrity, or that there is no room for popular art. I wouldn't say that Shakespeare, Picasso, Mozart or Goya are in any way diminished by the fact that they appeal to a wide audience. Admittedly, the works of Madonna and Steven Spielberg are tremendously popular, but few people could honestly argue that the works have great artistic integrity. That said, I see Madonna and Spielberg as entertainers rather than artists and they do a very good job for the entertaining role they play.
I think there are a few reasons why artists like the idea that being popular means a lack of artistic integrity. The main reason is that artists find it comforting to think of themselves as a modern-day Van Gogh struggling through life with their genius being unappreciated. These artists cling to the dream that after they die, their paintings or poetry will be found locked away in a dusty cupboard and future generations will see the talent that their compatriots could not.
While it may be a comforting for artists to think their genius will be discovered in the future, I'd say if an artist is not discovered in their own lifetime, in all probability they wont be discovered at all. As for the exceptions, Van Gogh probably wasn't discovered until after his death because he had an objectionable personality. He couldn't relate to people, and he probably made no effort to sell his work. If he had, I'm sure he would have been discovered in his own lifetime just as Dali, Picasso, Mozart and da Vinci were discovered in their lifetimes. As much as it may pain artists to accept, there is a good reason why their talent is not appreciated. In 99.99 per cent of cases, their talent only exists in their own mind. When I hear them talk of their talent, I am often reminded of an old joke advertising pies:
"Pies like mother used to make - $2
Pies like mother thought she used to make - $4"
As for myself, I would like to believe that I am in that 0.01 per cent of artists that truly has talent. In all probability; however, I am in the 99.99 per cent of also rans. I am not fussed though. For me, if I ran a marathon, I would do everything in my power to come first, but if being at the front were beyond me, I would fight in the pack and still gain satisfaction from the journey. Painting is gratifying. Thinking about painting is gratifying. Showing paintings is gratifying. Ideally, it would be nice to be getting lots of money as well, but if that never occurs, as long as the gratification remains, I have no need to bitter about my "genius" being unappreciated.
To be honest, I really can't relate to artists that are concerned by a lack of recognition. At its heart, art is an individualistic pursuit. When caveman first held up their hand to the cave wall, and spat out pigment to make a silhouette of their hand, they were in a moment of reflection upon their own existence. That moment of reflection was all that really mattered. If they somehow managed to convince the tribe that their mystic cave paintings had some kind of higher purpose, all the more power to them, but that really wasn't an essential part of creation.
Judging Art