artists vs art appreciators (part 2)

(continued) I ended up sketching the guy in front of the picture window, but it was hard to finish once the library closed.

Also at the library, I came across some very cool art. They are small tree sculptures made of copper wiring. Kathy Horniman makes them.

I was surprised because I don’t often see good art at the library, which would make sense.  Good should be exceptional, by definition. It wouldn’t be logical for something that can be valued to usually be above average in value.

Anyway, I particularly appreciate the artist’s descriptions of her work. She doesn’t get into the interpretation, symbolism, or even inspiration about the pieces. She simply explains how she did it and what she used. Finally! Someone who understands and respects the limits of an artist’s statement.

That brings me back to the conversation from part 1. I was telling my friend that I don’t like reading an artist’s interpretation in the description because the artist is telling me how to feel about a piece without letting the piece itself do the work. If I am supposed to feel sad when I see a painting of a girl looking out over the harbor, then the artist should convey sadness visually. If he tries, but I don’t feel sad, I don’t want to read something telling me to feel sad about it because I’ll just think the artist doesn’t know what they’re doing. Maybe the painting makes me feel peaceful rather than sad, but I like it anyway.

She replied that someone once said that there is a big difference between how artists and non-artists look at a piece in a museum. The artist simply looks at it and moves on. The non-artist reads the accompanying description. I wish I knew who said that, because I think it’s so true. I suppose many artists make the descriptions for non-artists, so they have something to tell them why they should care. Plus, most art appreciators are probably not artists. So the whole business of art could be based on things that artists may not even know, much less care about.

http://www.coppertreesbykathy.com

this is the website to the art I liked. If I ever have money I will definitely buy one.

Update: I added a photo of one of Kathy Horniman’s sculptures, with permission.

artists vs art appreciators (part 1)

I have been away from my blog for a few months because I had to plan my wedding, but it finally came and gone and I’m relaxed enough to write again. The hard part is getting back into the groove of writing, or semblance of one that I had. The last thing I was working on towards this blog was a book I was reading, but I left that in Minnesota, so I had to come up with something else. I did have a conversation with a friend, on which I can ruminate.

We were in a coffee shop talking about the art for sale that was hanging on the wall, which got me on the subject of what I like and don’t like in visual art. I like a dynamic and interesting composition. Every dot, line and corner of the piece should have a purpose. I am actually looking at a real life scene now that would make a great piece. I’m at the library and there is a lanky man in a lime green jacket and spruce green hat sitting at a table. Behind him is a large picture window with an enormously tall tree. When he’s sitting up straight it works, because his stature reminds me of the tree. But occasionally he will lean forward while typing and the relationship is lost. Now a chubby man with an orange vest has sat in front of both and totally ruined the picture. But I wonder if I couldn’t still sketch around him on MSpaint.

looking for news…

I read the Wall Street Journal today, as I do everyday, this time looking in the Economy section for some news on art. I didn’t see any. They were mostly articles featuring broad economic news, which is to be expected. That’s one example of how difficult it can be to try to learn and discuss a narrow topic like mine. So I looked in the Arts & Entertainment section, where I found out that a former Cuban, who escaped to Miami with her family at the age of 14, is now a major art collector and is going back to Cuba to put it on display.
Cuba isn’t known for their freedom of expression, so I was surprised they would allow her and her collection back into the country. Especially since a Cuban blogger recently complained about being denied the chance to take a trip out of the country for the 19th time.

I see some parallels with these stories to the exports vs. imports issue in our country. We are told to fear a “trade deficit”, that it results in loss of jobs, even though the fact that we import more than we export is simply a sign of our wealth. Just like the fact that I am able to buy more from stores than I give in the form of goods is a sign of my decent economic standing. It would not be good for me, or the store, if we could only barter. I suspect the Cuban government fears that having the blogger leave might cause a loss to their economy but having the art collector visit is more of a boost. Unfortunately, that micro-managing just squelches free expression.  They keep a blogger today but lose a lot more in the long run.

on artist rights

This year I started freelance writing. I’m excited about it, incidentally, but that’s not what this post is about.

Today I sold an article but I had to give up any rights to it. That was the first time I had ever sold a full rights article, making me effectively a ghostwriter. The customer complimented me on the writing and then said he wanted the full rights. It got me thinking about how my writing was going to have his name attached to it and other people weren’t going to know the truth.

I find it very odd that this system exists. I don’t think it’s odd that I gave up my rights. This is how my mental process went: “Ooh no, I don’t get credit for that anymore…. although I do get paid more…..and I know if I did it once, I can do it again…. plus, I can link to my constant content site from any portfolio that I make.” So it’s not irrational for someone to give away the rights to their creation. What I find odd is that this isn’t considered unethical on the part of the customer. I guess I find it somewhat distasteful that people will attach their name to something that wasn’t made by them, even if they did pay for it. The pay squares it away with the person who created it, but it doesn’t square it with the reader because they believe that the byline and the writer are the same.

I wonder if anyone has made a career out of other people’s writing.

a preview

I wanted to write a post today because I haven’t written one in a few days, but I don’t have anything specific that I have researched enough for. So I’m just going to make a list of things I eventually want to delve into. Most of these things I jotted down in a notebook when I was planning this blog.

1. Investigate the local art scene in my town, Lawrence, KS

The forerunner of any ideas I ever had about this blog involved making fun of some of the local sculptures around town. Some of them are quite terrible (I might have to delete this later, I was going to try to avoid negativity in this blog. Oh well) But as I thought about it more, I wouldn’t be content with that. I enjoy the intersection of ideas more than just spouting shallow opinions.

One day, after I had given up on the blog, I was at an art museum and noticed the description on a Chinese jade sculpture. It depicted a place in China over a hundred years ago that was a retreat for poets to work on their commissioned pieces. It struck me that, for centuries artists had to make a living off their work or do something else. That thought led me to a new curiosity about the economics of art, particularly in my neighborhood.

2. Industrial age

I don’t hear very much about the effect the industrial revolution had on art, but it was huge and I want to explore it.

3. Books to finish

I have two books to finish reading so I can write about what I learned from them. One is about the history of American antiques and the other is about the Taos Society of Artists and western expansion.

4. Adding pictures!

I haven’t done that yet because I am deliberately not doing things that could be distracting to me. I’m holding off on those until I am posting regularly, which is the more important thing.

to blackout or not to blackout?

WordPress, Craigslist, and Wikipedia, among others, are protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). Many WordPress bloggers have joined the protest by electing to have their sites blacked out from viewers.

I chose not to. I realize that a lot of people are passionate about this protest, but in my case it would be just an excuse not to post. I don’t fully understand the legislation yet so I haven’t come down on one side or the other.

So I want to take this opportunity to explore the issue since it relates to my topic.

I found an informative article on PCWorld. It was tough to find something unbiased.

Basically, SOPA and PIPA are both intended to prevent domestically based websites from being party to any form of piracy. Most people agree that piracy is wrong, but opponents of the bills fear that it will do more harm to online companies than help prevent piracy.

From what I have read, I tend to agree with many of the opponents (though not all and I will get to that). I think a likely outcome of the acts would be akin to the Federal Government shuttering a small pawn shop because it was found to be selling a stolen watch. Most opponents of piracy would think that measure is too extreme.

At the same time, I don’t like the arguments from opponents of the act that make piracy sound almost noble. Sure, Hollywood seems to be full of rich people and many artists are still being paid a lot for what they do. But that is not an excuse for stealing and wrongly redistributing someone’s art. There may be artists that have benefited from distributing their art for free, but can we at least grant them the freedom to decide for themselves?

Further, I doubt that piracy is as harmless as some suggest. For an illustration of what has happened with the movie industry, consider a grocery store located in a high crime district. It is no coincidence or conspiracy that the store’s merchandise is much more expensive than the goods in a suburban store. The store owner must take into account the risk of just keeping in business. He probably has more security and insurance than a suburban store. In the same way, it isn’t just the movie producers being mean when the tickets are so high. I know many people justify piracy by pointing to high prices, but, if it wasn’t the initial reason for those high prices, any basic understanding of economics will show that the piracy will only make it worse.

In conclusion, while I think piracy is wrong, I am not convinced that the SOPA and PIPA wouldn’t be more harmful than helpful to stop it.

planned obsolescence (part 3) – great for art

This is the third post in a series about planned obsolescence and it’s effect on art.

In my last post I gave an example, from my own life, of how a device made obsolete for it’s original purpose can find new life as part of a design for something else. But an object simply made defunct by changing fashion may have an even better chance of finding a new life, once fashion cycles back once more in its favor.

Examples of this abound. Garage sales are a pretty low-rent illustration. But one only has to walk through Royal St. in New Orleans or watch the Antiques Roadshow to see spectacularly high-end examples. Antique stores or appraisal businesses are built around the idea that once forgotten items now command sometimes exorbitant prices by collectors with dedicated pocketbooks.

Also consider the recent trends in “repurposing” and “upcycling”. Search Google images for recycled art or view Etsy.com. Often the stated motive for this type of art is environmental, but that motive serves as more of a symbolic form of marketing since nothing is created or destroyed. The observable economic effect is having turned a resource from an undesirable use to a desirable one by the creative inclinations of the consumer. No one can deny the tremendous benefit to the art industry.