Digital BW, The Print

But what the below fails to account for is absolutely arbitrariness (read fashion) of art and art criticism.
I go back to the example of the 'French Academy' members and critics, who totally rejected the
Impressionists...And went so far as to literally rip the Impressionists' paintings off the walls of the
exhibit spaces....Were they right?   They allegedly had the most knowledge, credentials and technique of their
time.

It is all so subjective. I go back to that old Yiddish saying:  "There is no accounting for taste in fish and
women"  And the even cruder:  " Opinions are like assholes.....Everybody's got one, and they all stink but
mine"  ;- )

Harvey Ferdschneider
partner, SKID Photography, NYC



mh@... wrote:

> <huge snip>

> Art is a very complex thing, most people think that the upper echelon
> is pretty strange because they have no basis to understand nor the
> patience or determination to follow up. I can describe this with
> another one of my interests: volleyball. Most people can take or leave
> volleyball. Some play it, but they prefer a soft $10 ball and play with
> a standard rotation. But once you get into it, you learn that the play
> at the higher end is a completely different game. You play with a $60
> ball that is made with different materials in a different way; there
> are positions, each with a different responsibility, and you learn
> lineups, hits, and rules that you never knew existed before. Some of it
> is based on history and tradition, some of it is based on new rules
> that everyone likes to complain and argue about. Most people play maybe
> once or twice a year in someone's backyard or at the beach, I play
> twice a week, year-round, now.  Is good art something that should
> require such a commitment? maybe not, but as the world gets older, and
> people have more time on their hands, and doing something original
> becomes more difficult, things naturally become intricate and
> complicated.
>
>
> When you say this; "None of this has anything to do with the work,
> > but with the concept behind the work"
> you must remember that in a lot of those cases, the concept is the work
> and the concept is what the buyer is buying. You can go to some
> galleries and buy a piece in an edition and what you get are directions
> on how the create the piece yourself and a certificate that says you
> own number such and such out of such and such. Thankfully that is a
> moment in art history and I don't believe artists today are able to get
> away with such things. But if you come up with another twist,
> complexity, or concept that adds something new, you could probably sell
> an idea too.
>
> This is how art varies from other fields. An artist with very little
> experience/knowledge of the art world, can create great art.  Studying
> art will help you recognize and understand other people's work. It will
> help you see greatness, and your own work will improve, but studying
> alone will not make your work great. (that is why so many artists are
> frustrated)
>
> -mikeH
> toomanyartists.com
>
> ps
> The thing that is sad is not the high end art world, it is the low end/
> popular art world and the populations lack of interest in anything more
> than a nature scene. Trendy-ness is something the art snobs love to
> hate, but in actuality is one of the only things that help bring better
> art to the masses. Offensive or outrageous pieces can do the same thing
> because of the press and attention they receive (see Piss Christ).
>
>





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