Dai Wynn - Art Blog
What is Art?
by dwynn4 , November 11, 2009—12:00 AM
I have a mouse-mat from Artnet.com which reminds me that "Art is Everywhere". That simple phrase -- actually it's a clause containing a verb -- suggests that art isn't confined to the walls of galleries, on lawns of sculpture parks, in artists' studios or on the walls of rich peoples' houses. It's everywhere. It's in the eye of the beholder. It's what an artist wants you to see. It's often overlooked by those who are not appropriately attuned, and it may be so humble that it blends into the everyday tedium.
Does the fact that "Art is Everywhere" imply that "Artists are Everywhere" or that everyone is an artist?
I am a keen follower of the British "artist" Damien Hirst who is well-known for his sharks-in-vitrine and diamond encrusted human skull, among other bizarre creations. Clearly, Damien Hirst has progressed to the stage in his career where he conceives, and a team of artisans realises his concepts. That makes Damien no less of an artist than had he left his fingerprints all over the artworks.
This is no different from Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni or Leonardo da Vinci who directed teams of apprentices to complete their magna opi, while never diminishing their own capabilities to create new artworks. It is only a handful of art historians completing a PhD who boldly assert that a famous work of Leonardo, or Michelangelo was essentially that of his student who may or may not be named. The rest of us are content to associate the master with the work, and leave it at that.
Norman Foster's name is associated with a huge number of iconic buildings around the world. He certainly did not conceive, design, engineer and project manage his fabulous creations single-handedly. Ditto I.M. Pei. I am sure that no rational person would claim that he/she could have done just as well as Norman Foster (and his team of hundreds).
But many pundits have said of the creations of Damien Hirst, "I could have done that". Damien's reply was and always is, "But you didn't, did you?" The point being that, in a majority of instances, Damien's "artworks" are constructed of commonly available materials, and endowed with fanciful names. An example is Damien's "Beautiful Aurora" spin painting, currently at auction and expecting to fetch $350,000, a 48 inch X 48 inch work using "household paint".
At 44 years of age, Damien is a member of the Young British Artists and reputed to be the richest living artist to date. I have seen a number like 250 million pounds attributed to him.
Here we have a dramatic instance of an "artist" making his mark on the artworld, not through an innate ability to draw, but through a studied, no-holds-barred, campaign of shock tactics to draw attention to himself. In short, the name "Damien Hirst" -- and therefore the signature -- commands a gigantic premium as a result of publicity of inestimable value.
So, in order to make the big time in "art", do I need to be a competent draftsman or an entrepreneur-sans-frontieres?
COMMENTS
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11/15/2009 * 19:28:18
I support Damian Hirst and believe that he is a great artist and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he isn't half bad at drawing.
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11/14/2009 * 11:02:48
You raise two important questions
... "Does the fact that 'Art is Everywhere' imply that 'Artists are Everywhere' or that everyone is an artist?
..."Do I need to be a competent draftsman or an entrepreneur-sans-frontieres?"
In response to your first question: yes, and yes --- it's not an either/or for me for I believe that each human being is gifted with the ability to create and with that gift comes 'artistry' be it in the garden, on the easel, at the potting wheel, in the kitchen, with a pen/crayon/paper/ink/watercolour/oils/vocation etc, regardless of age, gender, nationality, religion, ethnicity, political belief, etc.
In response to your second question - surely the answer is another question ... what is 'competency'? Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so too is art.
Perhaps under your questions is the everpresent $ issue ... is my art worthy of another dispensing with their money and if so, how much?
For me, I don't "need" to be anything - be that competent draftsperson/entrepreneure sans frontieres ... I just need to be myself, creatively express myself and grow with each creation.
Sure, I'd love to sell everything I make and have all my classes/workshops/retreats sell out quickly as I'm sure you and everyone here at ArtID would, but for me your question isn't my question ... so let me pose a question to you: which would you rather be/have: $ or personal growth and satisfaction and spiritual ah-hah's?
You are an artist in every sense of that word ... you ask the questions - spiritual maturity - and you create wondrous artistic expressions. Thanks for your post. ;-) June
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11/12/2009 * 15:28:06
Well Said! Thankfully, Hurst can only make one shark tank. I guess I'm grateful that many more living artists making that kind of money/piece of artwork (like Wolf Kahn) actually have talent that we can all recognize, aspire to and appreciate.
Mary Lawler ( homepage )
11/20/2009 * 21:55:48
This is an except from a really great blog, Self vs. Self https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=33256688&postID=6271733695014671475&pli=1
Thisis one of her predictions for the future of art. I thought it was hilarious.
Damien Hirst will pre-sell by auction a range of artworks to be manufactured after his death. One of the works will be his dead, dissected body preserved in formaldehyde. He will organise a world-wide, touring retrospective exhibition featuring his decaying corpse as its centre-piece – to be launched immediately after he passes away. E-Bay rather than Sotheby's will handle the Hirst auction and in conjunction with Matthew Freud and Jay Jopling, will hype the event to drive up prices: indeed, the works will be auctioned several times over, for massively increasing amounts, even before Hirst dies. He will retain ownership of a small percentage of each work so his estate might participate in the rising value forever.,