Reviews
Do you dare to respond to the critics?
Put your work up for exhibition and count before the audience does not offer you the flattery we all need. Have a major show and wait until an experienced art word hack does not engage with your practice.
Now in this 'democratic' age of blog, we read that in some parts of the US, the critic is dead, long live the blogger. But I put it to you, do you respond to your critics? For every experienced critic there will now be 10 critical bloggers, nevermind the passersby.
I do not regret a thing when it comes to my response to the professional crticism of my fiance's work. I cringe when I recall the extreme excess length and overly complex arguements with the inadequately integrated incorporation of psychological theory (see the link for the embarrassing evidence). I dream that I may one day have the sense to check the grammar and cut the schpeel down to a snappy 1 paragraph.
Even so, so what, I was right, it took too long to say it, but if you have spent more time thinking about something than the next person and you value what it is about, then why not stand up and respond? Nevermind the ropey use of language and half baked arguments. Why not stand up and say to the passer by with the loud mouth, no?
http://www.frieze.com/shows/review/jason_dodge_tereza_buskova/
Now in this 'democratic' age of blog, we read that in some parts of the US, the critic is dead, long live the blogger. But I put it to you, do you respond to your critics? For every experienced critic there will now be 10 critical bloggers, nevermind the passersby.
I do not regret a thing when it comes to my response to the professional crticism of my fiance's work. I cringe when I recall the extreme excess length and overly complex arguements with the inadequately integrated incorporation of psychological theory (see the link for the embarrassing evidence). I dream that I may one day have the sense to check the grammar and cut the schpeel down to a snappy 1 paragraph.
Even so, so what, I was right, it took too long to say it, but if you have spent more time thinking about something than the next person and you value what it is about, then why not stand up and respond? Nevermind the ropey use of language and half baked arguments. Why not stand up and say to the passer by with the loud mouth, no?
http://www.frieze.com/shows/review/jason_dodge_tereza_buskova/
Replies to This Reviews
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Permalink Reply by 48073 on -
I find that the longer I personally know an artist, the more difficult it becomes to judge their work. I have then become just too involved in the person, second the object.
I value critical comment. It offers a fresh view from an outsider. An unrepeatable first look of which oneself is not capable of. especially with recent work. It takes at least six months, sometimes years before i am able to "objectively" judge a work. These things also change through the years.
Every criticism has its value. It does not matter if it comes from a "pro" or a "man in the street". The are both equally valid. They only respond to different aspects of a work.
Anyone can have an opinion about one of my works. I also throw in my own. I mix them all, I can't tell which one is the right or the wrong. I "destroy", reuse a lot of "old" work, convert them into new things. No matter what anyones (including mine) opinion was about the work.
Little children are the best critics of art. They hold the shortest line to the source. They have the clearest view on lie or truth.
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Permalink Reply by Jo Hurlow on -
Interesting point - the alternative view is worthwhile because our subjectivity limits what we can bring to a critical discussion
Although how can bias be limited to those in close proximity to an artist, can it not also be found in a distant person in the street or the pro. Can they hold even hold greater bias for a particular art movement or against works that act like finger nails being scraped down their personal blackboard?
Your practice seems like a beautiful form of communication with your children, but outside the family this vast art world is a bizarre often cruel empire with powerful collectors & critics steering the fates of hapless artists. We can choose to ignore them, but if you work as an artist without a day job they are also the benefactors that make this possible.
The man in the street is not going to suffocate the amount of time you can give to your art, but being dropped by a gallery could. So the subjective divide between the for opinion compared to the against can appear like a no man's land in a war for survival. Now controversy may fuel popularity, but in the end we need critics to promote activity whilst offering guidance or else such criticism can only be an assault. This is not uncommon, some people want some art to disappear and some exploration to remain taboo.
The question is do you accept that you can not argue against them because you are too 'biased' to talk straight or even worse do you let the art be suffocated ?
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Permalink Reply by Jo Hurlow on
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Thanks Dawn - I like your anger towards the art market and the associated surrounding theatre, it is easy to see how authenticity can be lost in it
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Permalink Reply by Diane Hill on -
I'm joining this discussion, possibly too late, to add a couple of thoughts. First, I was surprised and pleased to read so many of my own thoughts reflected in Dawn's text. And secondly, how disheartening the art establishment has always been to me with respect to their professed "love" of artists and their ability to produce emotive pieces of personal experiences and emotions when much to the contrary I've witnessed "disposable" like it-hate it reactions with no regard for the origins of the art until of course the artist dies a controversial and untimely death. Then suddenly they dissect the pieces in an effort to "understand" what the artist was feeling or thinking at the time and then pat themselves on the back for their own intuitiveness. What a wonderful world it could be if we took the time and sincere interest to "know" and embrace the artists now...in the present tense. The establishment leaves a great deal of poignant and indelible art in its wake towards their own self importance and judgement. It's a shame. I am blissfully ignored and perhaps the better for it.
