Saturday, November 21, 2009

Artists in our Modern World

This past weekend I participated in an open studio event with many different artists, just the most recent in a series of events, shows, courses, classes and seminars that place one in context with artists in our modern society. To the uninitiated, the label artist conjures up images of the starving waif, wearing tattered clothes and suffering for Beauty with a capital B, the myth of Van Gogh and his contemporaries, but that was always a myth—Whistler, Sargent and Picasso never starved--and the modern reality is broad, wide and deep as any part of our society. As an observer of people, it is fascinating to arrange portraits of the artist types in categories and evaluate them as a group.

What if we were going to write a situation comedy based on a group of artists in our modern (or is it Postmodern) world? We would start with broad strokes! So, I won’t address the quirks of individuals, the extrovert versus the introvert, or the people person versus the materialist, but instead let’s look at some of the varying and overarching types of personalities that are drawn to the “ARTS.” This can become the basis for entertainment, especially when I am stuck on a plane and can’t paint!

The Truly Talented: Sometimes native talent is a blessing. The motivated, focused individuals soar—their work is recognized early, they quickly grasp their mediums, they have quick and able minds, they are sought by agents and galleries, promoted by good publicists and guided into a life in the arts. These are the people you find with established portraiture businesses, solid gallery shows, or consistent product output and sales, and they really do make a living as an artist in our modern world. But True Talent can also be a curse--the dabblers are also truly talented…The corollary to this group is almost a mirror image, the people who are easily bored with their native talent, the ones who easily master a style or a medium, work in it for a while, then move to another and another and another, never creating a body of work, and ultimately leaving artistic endeavors behind. These show up at a gallery or a show and soon disappear to try something new. An excellent teacher of mine once pointed out to the class that a hard working amateur often surpasses the truly talented in skill and accomplishments simply because they recognize that hard work and efforts will be needed and excellence can be learned.

The Seeker: This is most often a young person (although not always), either a recent college graduate or a earnestly studying student who is genuinely attracted to Art as a career or maybe its a pastime… and just as genuinely seeks to find a voice, dabbling in various mediums, not yet committed to a course and essentially rudderless on the river of life. Sometimes they are truly talented and are dabbling…sometimes they are just full of “sound and fury signifying nothing.” They fervently discuss goals, art movements, styles, graduate school and may have had a good mentor who has provided some direction. They are slightly contradictory in their opinions, deeply invested in their slightly better than amateur work and full of passion and vigor, but unsure where to point their efforts. They sometimes adopt strong political beliefs, or seriously avoid adapting to life in modern society, and they often have an affected aloofness, especially with their elders, a trait that is quaint when recognized as emblematic of their youth. They gravitate toward photography as a medium for its immediacy and topical nature, and for the fact that in a relatively short period one can master basic composition and take some fascinating pictures that will show well. It would be an interesting social experiment to follow these seekers as they “find themselves” and track how many actually stick with their artistic leanings. There is a sub-genre of this group, the “posers,” for me a much more fascinating group of youthful people who wear art like a fashion, as a tool for attracting the opposite sex and invested in creating an “aura.” This group genuinely commits to the effort required in maintaining the image as well as the image itself. They are often enjoyable characters and their art is merely an extension of their personality.

The “I am more than just a _______(Fill in the blank):” This is where I squarely fall as a type--whether it is a housewife, businessperson, draftsman, engineer, teacher, or administrator, this is the group who have grown beyond the “seeking” stage and recognize that creativity is a fundamental source of satisfaction in for their lives, so they find spare moments and toil away at a chosen medium, building up a closet full of work that is shared a few times each year at local events or little galleries. This is the mid-life crisis group, the people who suddenly stop “seeking” and devote themselves to a style and realize that it will take their lifetime to master their work. This is the group of small victories, the people who make up the backbone of civil arts organizations, writer’s critique meetings and art societies. For the most part, one can find some excellent accomplishments in their collected works. Then, when the kids are grown and the pressures of successful modern life are slowing they become…This type would be the best for the lead in our sit-com, as they are easiest to relate to the audience, and they can be our “straight guy” to take the brunt of jokes or provide the emotional center to the ensemble…

The Creative Retired: As a group, this is the most attractive—fun, spirited and full of history, you’ll find them at seminars or classes, especially at places like the Spring Maid Beach Seminars in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where the venue and the professional atmosphere attracts a highly talented and world renown set of instructors. These are the folks who travel to the regional art shows and enjoy hanging their work, sipping coffee and swapping stories. 90% of the seminar attendees are women, many quite talented in their own right, and very encouraging as class mates. And their subgroup, which we can refer to as The Bored Husbands Club, despite the fact that the group always seems to include a few wives, the gang who golf and play cards while their spouses splash paint and draw. There is no better group to have to dinner! I am convinced this is why many great professional artists teach, just to be around these non-pretentious, inspiring people. In our show, this is the source of the best comedy relief, sarcasm, slap-stick and quick wit!

The Self Employed: These are the working artists, not necessarily the Truly Talented, but clearly beyond the journeymen stage in their craft and focused in a most business like way on their annual production, venues for sales and marketing opportunities. These are the people who have decided that it is a living, and they have often found a particular “style” and a set of salable images that they recreate and take on the road. They are to be admired, as they often supplant the posters and prints of today’s mass producing society with real works of handmade art, even if much of it is duplicative and caters to mass tastes. This is the group most impacted by a recession in the economy, the working artists.

The “Fabulous Marketeer:” These artists prove that old WC Field’s adage, “there’s a sucker born every minute….” Consummate name dropper extraordinaire, personally promoting and ego driven, these are never introverted artists, and their work may or may not display talent, but it will always have intellectual thrust and be thought-provoking. This is the group who fights over grants, schmooze at the receptions and openings, seem to know everybody, and like the social butterfly, make pompous pronouncements and carry their own conversations…they connect and prompt and network. Now, there is really nothing wrong with some of these artists, and the very best have always been flamboyant and rampant in their promotion—just look at Dali! Frankly, many of my artist friends hate that certain trademarked “Light” painter, but I have seen a number of his early works before the coffee mugs and puzzles, and the man actually has a great talent and skill. But even schlock artists can market themselves into a successful career. This label is for the artists who spend more time marketing than perfecting a craft—and what a great foil for our situation comedy’s more stable personalities!

The Myth Embracing, “Life Style” focused: These are the aging beatniks or hippies or dreadlocked, tattooed and pierced artists who frequent coffeehouses and regional shows, who’s work is just above the amateur grade and year after year it stays right on the verge of actual success. These are the people who hold artistic myths as a fundamental psychological truth—for them, artists can’t be middle class, or well dressed, or of a particular political persuasion. Have you ever wandered a tent show a few years later and found the same bearded man showing the same pictures and describing his deep connection to the images that didn’t sell years ago (and probably won’t sell today…)? Don’t confuse these with the iconoclastic (or downright odd) artist with True Talent—these are a different group, related by a desire to avoid the trappings of modern society and, let’s be honest, hard work. They are iconoclastic by desire and affectation; they hearken back to the Woodstock Nation, or a basic misunderstanding of an Island religion, but for the most part they fall into two categories, either “angry” or “happy.” Personally, I prefer the “happy” sort, as they are less strident in their politics and less demanding as acquaintances. They are great to have over for tea, and full of interesting ideas. This group of artists is not the most reliable, so while they volunteer for committees, it is often better to find a “self employed” artist to run the show.

And finally, The Teachers—Teaching is an art in itself, and not many are good at it. Teaching artists are to be respected and encouraged, despite their methodology or style. Some enforce their particular style and manners, creating an army of duplication that honors and spreads their vision. Others quickly provide a long list of techniques, while still others simply critique and try not to demonstrate and influence. Having a teacher in our midst always provides the lesson and the “voice of maturity” while occasionally getting the best laughs!

Next, for this idea to be successful, we need to pick a few repeat settings where the group gatherings…we’ll save that for another long airplane ride….
:-)

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