Weren’t most of us raised to believe everything is Art, some of it good and some of it bad? Is Art whatever we say it is? Here on MOTTM I want to move away from assumption toward consideration, a kind of thoughtfulness. I want to challenge us all to think about why it matters that we are intentional believers. It is important not to fall into our beliefs without considering why we think the way we do. How do works get into museums to be called Art?
Let’s see what happens when we challenge A traditional belief about art.
Each month we will try to consider something EXCITING & GOOD
A hIGH
We will also consider something I consider to be A CHALLENGE
A LOW
Finally we will think about an idea that may be REMARKABLE
BUFFALO
This month’s HIGH is the idea that Art is about us All: The Objects of Us.
All the stakeholders of Art hold an important place in the declaration of Art for a community!
Art in the 21st Century has become about Us, rather than the me, me, me. When Art became a “thing” to be collected in the 1700’s it was about the wealthy and powerful. Collecting it identified the family, religious leader or king as a person of intellect, social class and money. When it was shared on the “Grand Tour” with other European visitors these paintings and sculptures set the standard for what was valued as Art. It began as a form of classicizing and cultural education.
As paintings and sculptures grew in their significance as an identifier of worth, those who had a stake in what Art became also were esteemed. Art was and is about the artist, however, Art has become just as much about those who CHOOSE it. The challenge or LOW for us this month is to consider who these gatekeepers are today.
Our LOW or challenging thought is:
Preference is like an opinion, (everyone has one) and respect is rare. Therefore, taste does not determine the acceptance of objects as Art, the standards do.
We are mere mortals! Though we may hang all of our geegaws and doodads in our homes, these beauties do not determine what is Art for our culture. These objects are NOT the Objects of Us. Those gatekeepers of big “A” Art define it for us all. What if we become grateful for them?!? What if we accept the Art they say represents us as a culture and just respect that that is IT?The very appreciation for their expertise for our aesthetic standards will forge an exultant connection between viewers, one to another, and with the Art.
our Buffalo: respecting those who collect, exhibit and share as the folks that define art actually elevates all the stakeholders!
even those who do not know they care about art
Like this piece by Roxy Paine at Crystal Bridges. It is amazing!!! Shown here in all of its plastic wonder is a work that contradicts its environment. The exhibition of paintings from artists of the Hudson River School during a time of U.S. expansion called Manifest Destiny is a perfect foil for this table laden with weeds. Surrounded by these illustrations of idealistic beauty and grandeur, is Payne’s realistic appearing fabrication of a plot of land gone to ruin, the truth of manifest destiny. It is one of my most favorite juxtapositions of thought in an Art gallery!
While you are milling about in the museums this spring consider the importance of the people who collect, show and share the Art. They are just as important as the makers of the Art!!!
Next newsletter will cover the importance that YOU, the viewer hold as art becomes Art.
Mind over things that matter 