The reason I'm so confused by this term is that I thoroughly believe that anyone is capable of making art. We all are. In fact, I know people who are more an artist than I and they don't even make art. It's in the way they carry themselves: the way they articulate words and tinker with anything tangible, almost unconsciously. Then there are those that make art, but do not consciously think it's good enough to display and become discouraged out of any sort of exhibitionism for their work. There are also some that make art and don't even know it.
There are also those that claim to be artists, which is all good, provided you backup your statement, you ballsy prick. Like I said, I've mentioned this argument before.
There is a massive grey area to be seen. For instance, in the dictionary the term "artist" seems fairly straight forward: the centric line states "a person who produces paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby". Fine. Later, the same dictionary mentions singers, dancers, and actors. Except what the hell is a singer creating? All they really do is remember someone's lyrics and make their vocal chords vibrate. However, they do have the capacity to provoke emotion, just as much as Christo's big bedsheets, Serrano's Piss Christ and Rothko's squares of color.
The fact of the matter is, everything that has been indeed deemed "art" has provoked some sort of emotion one way or another. Your kids crayon drawings, your dog barking (ever hear that barking solo from Eels?), the suds on your car. This is where the problem presents itself to me, because all I see is grey.
If somebody were to walk into a room and a friend of mine turns and says "Hey, that guys an artist!" I'd say "Fuck him". Not the most well-rounded argument, but it's a state of mind.
HOWEVER
There are people who I do truly credit as artists. They've paid their due's, and got paid. Fine. My big problem is finding the line between your seven year old kid and the man who hangs work every two weeks in seven countries. A prime example of this can be seen in the film My Kid Could Paint That.
Although I'm not looking for the answer just yet, let it be known that I'm still on my quest. Because nothing makes me feel dirtier than calling myself "an awwwwtist".
Although I'm not looking for the answer just yet, let it be known that I'm still on my quest. Because nothing makes me feel dirtier than calling myself "an awwwwtist".
tbc.
2 comments:
I used to really care about that as well, but then I realized, who am I to tell people what they should identify with? So what if someone who makes really kitschy photographs calls themselves a photographer? So what if a student does? Some people find a great deal of comfort in labels. Other times, it’s just easiest way to answer, “what do you do?”
Even if you find the perfect definition for “artist,” you should be aware of the fact that everyone will continue to use their own definitions because that’s just how the meaning of words work. Everyone’s got their own definitions, and they’ll change depending on what people are exposed to or thinking about, but the definitions are similar enough that we can understand each other. I don’t know how controversial this might seem to you. But I used to be obsessed with trying to figure out the meanings of words when I was younger until I realized that meanings don’t exist outside of people and so cannot have independent meanings.
Hope this makes at least some sense?
That actually does make a lot of sense, and I somehow knew you'd be the one to provide some insight on the situation. Thanks sabina.
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