From: zant zant (zantzant@hotmail.com)
Date: 04/11/02-12:20:18 PM Z
This discussion seems to happen every two months in this group.
There are obviously two different camps of thought (with some subsets) here
within this group on this subject.
I look at it this way…
There is art and then there is Art.
This is the fundamental idea you learn when you “waste lots of money” going
to college for Art. Some people here think that going to school for art is
not necessary because “They” didn’t need to go. These are the same people
who seemed to be distressed about what present day work goes in a gallery or
museum and focus mostly on technique or craft.
I am all for taking pretty pictures and doing art that pleases you purely
for the act of doing work or trying to make the perfect print. What I don’t
appreciate is when a person who does this goes around rejecting present day
Art because it doesn’t form to their ideas and the fact that their work can
not compete for space in a gallery with this “work that doesn’t deserve it”
(i.e. a room that only has a light turning on and off). You learn by wasting
all that money and time in Art school the progression of Art and why and
where it is in present day work. Either you accept it or you don’t. Or you
learn how to work within to bring about a new movement. For all those who do
not want to play this game learn in Art school to go off and find a “normal”
job and do work on their own time and just enjoy doing art. That is what you
learn by wasting a bunch of money and years within a BFA or MFA program.
Yes you can learn technique on your own or in a workshop but you don’t get a
sense of history or investigation. That can only be done in a setting where
you concentrate for years on the subject of Art. You are also surrounded by
others trying to figure out the same things. You are also around other
disciplines that help with the learning of what Art is all about. Can you
learn this history of Art on your own? Yes, but, I find that the people who
do this concentrate on only the parts of history or work that they like and
one discipline. There are always exceptions to this.
Am I elitists or think that people who didn’t go through a BFA or MFA
program stupid and too inept to do Art? No. What I am concerned about is the
fact some people (this includes people who have gone to school too) have
this notion that “They" know what is valid art and believe that some or all
present day work in galleries, wining awards and prestige is a waste of
space and time. They find rhetoric articles that are more for supporting
right-wing conservative politicians trying to cut funding for art then for
actually commenting on art and use this as justification for their argument.
Has anyone seen the footage of Jesse Helms at a high school gym with
hundreds of students with a book of Robert Mapplethorpe’s work? He makes
this big deal about the government funding work that has no benefit to
society. He then tells only boy students (too offensive for the girls to
view he says) to form a line and come up to the podium and look at some of
the work. The footage then captures the funny expressions the boys make at
looking at the work.
Now artist can not get individual grants from the NEA.
What does this have to do with what some people are saying here? Everything.
Now it’s not politicians dictating what is art. It is the artist themselves.
To be more specific, photographers. I’m going to be quite honest, I don’t
see this argument arising time and time again within other disciplines of
art. I do see it in photographers not only this group but others as well.
Why is that? (Here is the part that is going to make many of you upset) I
think it happens with many photographers because they are obsessed with
perfecting a technique and their subject matter lacks substance. When all is
said and done, it doesn’t matter how perfect you cyanotype or gum print is
if you are doing the same boring and overdone landscape that doesn’t add
anything to the medium. Other disciplines notice this obsession of technique
and lack of ideas in photography and that is why many don’t believe many
photographers to be artist. They see it more as a craft. What many artist in
other disciplines see is an artist using the photography medium in their Art
and photographers trying to make art from their photographs.
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