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07/15/2005: "Who is an Artist?"

If I wrote this text few years ago, I would have phrased the question differently - something like: “Are You an Artist?”. However, I am much wiser now. So, the milder version is: “Who is an Artist?”. Artist needs to experience and understand life. Right? Even tree hugging being naive and the like is life experience as well (thank you to people sending comments to my blogs). Whatever it is, to hear about it is not enough. To do it yourself is more reliable. Should artists make their life philosophy to mix in all areas and activities of human life? The more removed this activity is from the matters of the art world, the better: the more genuine the experience would become?


In their life time many artists tried that one. Not because they were looking for superior, different source of inspiration – because that was what life dealt to them. Some of them did it prior to entering art world as creators themselves, others – to support their art financially. In reality many artists stay as much as they can within the world of art. Their environment deals with things arty most of the time in material and spiritual sense. There are fellow artist to share ideas with, draw inspiration from, organize shows together, also there is an art market to be dealt with to get some income, and art suppliers – to spend it.

One more thing – artist needs some time and resources, a physical space to create his/her work. It is not easy to squeeze a full time work in the office, for example, in this set-up. One can not ignore the system of forums, grants, awards, etc. However, friend of mine, a very good sculptor expresses his belief, that applying for a grant would limit his artistic independence and integrity.

Does great work always come from a studio of a lonely, misunderstood, excentric artist, as per the image that was formed in the Impressionist days and further developed in the 20th century? Here I remember how surprised I was to find out that the painter that I admired for his dramatic, emotionally charged paintings did his best work during few years when he stayed at home to look after his small daughter while wife worked. His most adventurous event of the day was to feed ducks at the local park. As a contrast to his example, recently I came across a book by a person who spent most of his life in different hot spots of the world. He experienced highs and lows of human life and emotions, re-evaluated things known many times over. And the book? Interesting read, hardly art, though. How does that work? Does the artist have a different way of feeling and communicating, wherever he/she is? I tend to think – yes. An artist has a certain way of looking at a surrounding world and, most importantly, is able to express it in an unique form that can be decoded by others. Is it formed by the extraordinary experiences that happened in the life of the artist? Can this special way of seeing world be learned, developed, invented, inherited, discovered by accident? Can it be written in a formula?

Replies: 3 Comments

on Monday, July 25th, Sears said

Big concept, little bitty word.In western tradition an artist was a skilled and talented craftsmen, elevated by those who choose to patronize.It is only as we have pushed into modern commercial times that the myth of tortured ecentrics has predominated images of the Arts and the Artist.
Your question,"who is an artist?" misses a fundamental concept: "relevance;" are the fine arts relevant to contempory society? To put it another way; If the fine arts community in total went on strike, would anybody notice... who would really be effected/ affected.
Sears

on Monday, July 18th, kym said

i am an artist obsessed and curious its an itch that sometimes gets scratched

on Friday, July 15th, paul said

Ausra,when we look at history of how anyone started in this game,its often quite varied,and not always straightforward.
But its commitment to it that counts,that in fact gives a person the right to call themselves an artist,the trouble is of course that its an overused word,everyones an artist these days,or can claim to be.
Although all of those last things you say are possible to get on the road to become an artist,but mainly its the desire,one has to be obsessed with it at an early age,an obsession that one finds out quite quickly that is neither common or shared by many of ones fellows,you kind of must do it,and you spend all of your time finding out about everything to do with art,and how to do things,an immense curiosity about it,which can often lead to other areas of interest,and lift a person out of their immediate culture,thats not to say that a person is nessasarily a good artist,even with commitment and desire,but thats not important really,its the love of doing it,a love affair actually,and I'd say that most artists deserve at least one good exhibition a year.Special vision? Maybey,its nice to think so.Paul