Too many possible areas for further conversation have been suggested. Too many of these issues require further examination, sans ego. I would like to focus on the responsibility art writers have to promote and uphold professionalism in the art community.
It seems to me that the question of what constitutes quality in art becomes needlessly blurred with what constitutes professionalism in art. Evaluation of quality should reasonably be a reflection of the professionalism, amateurism or student nature of the work being produced. It would not be fair (or useful) to evaluate the progress or accomplishments of the beginning/student pianist using the same criteria for a professional concert pianist of thirty years. By the same token, comparing a twenty year, beer-league hockey player with a promising first round NHL draft pick is inappropriate at best and at insulting at worst (likely to both parties).
In many other vocations, professionalism is clearly identifiable – the professional athlete is readily separated from the amateur or enthusiast as is the professional biologist from the avid naturalist, the historian from the history buff and the professional musician from the recreational guitarist. In most cases, education/training is a primary attribute separating amateur from professional – however, intent and ambition play as much or perhaps more of a role in distinguishing the achievements and contributions of the professional. True, there are (very) rare exceptions in which the achievements of the student or amateur transcend the gulf separating the enthusiast from the professional. The popularity of “American Idol” type entertainment seems to point to our collective need to embrace this mythology. However, focusing on these rarities is distracting and helps to perpetuate the fairytale of the ‘overnight sensation’ or the ‘undiscovered talent’ and unfortunately helps to overlook the years of study, dedicated work and perseverance that more typically accompanies genuine success and professionalism.
In our little community, saturated as we are with amateurs and enthusiasts, those who are tasked with writing about art need to be clear about their purpose. If their purpose is to support discussion, promote interest and spark debate about accomplished art and our professional artists (and yes, there are some) then we all benefit from an elevated discourse, sincere examination and improved appreciation of the visual arts in our community. However, if those who write about art continue to promote amateur artists (arguably the very act of writing about amateur artists is in itself a form of promotion) as if they warranted professional consideration, the deeper our collective awareness and appreciation of legitimate, professional work sinks into the murk and mire of mediocrity. It is up to our writers therefore, not only to be able to distinguish between the accomplishments of the professional verses the amateur, but to rigorously promote criticism and debate about the quality, nature and direction of the visual arts in Victoria.
It seems to me that amateur enthusiasm could be a fantastic vehicle for growth and support of an arts community. Critical mass is needed for sustained vitality in any aspect of the arts and even though our population certainly comes no where near that of a major art metropolis like London or New York, the generally high level of local interest in visual expression could potentially be refocused in support of our best and brightest – I like to believe this in my most optimistic moments. Unfortunately, it also seems to me that ego is likely an unconquerable deterrent to this possibility. How many amateur artist statements begin with “so and so has been a practicing artist/painter/sculptor for however many years” not as an indication of time pursuing their given hobby but as a means of falsely legitimizing their work as professional? Imagine how many amateurs, after years of amateur ambitions and accomplishments, would happily concede the title of ‘artist’ to the professionals and furthermore value (in all the implied meanings of this word) truly accomplished work over their own? I am willing to bet not many.
To continue the conversation then, sincere writers about art in Victoria are then left with a difficult task – how to convince a readership largely predicated on amateurism that not only is professionalism a thing to be valued in the visual arts but also entirely distinguishable from enthusiast, amateur or student work. I would be very happy to see more examples of writing which provide supportive details and thoughtful examples of how professional quality work and art practice distinguishes itself and should therefore be valued. I would also be very pleased to see more rigorous criticism of work which claims to be of a professional quality yet perhaps falls short of that ambition. As a secondary art instructor, I am very clear about my expectation that students approach their work in exactly that light – they are ‘art students’ not yet (likely never will be) artists and should be allowed to make mistakes, celebrate small achievements, critically evaluate their development and look for potential future areas of progress in otherwise imperfect work. I feel fortunate that the majority of young people I work with have not yet established an ego which prevents them from having the ambition to improve or perhaps prevents them from recognizing the limitations of their own interests in pursuing visual arts. For the few that do already carry the spirit of amateurism with them, those who respond to guidance or criticism with “…but I like it like that” I frequently offer the following response:
“You may also like McDonalds, but that doesn’t make it good food.”
Writers in Victoria need to focus on the fine cuisine offered by the professionals in our community and to justify for us why it is not only worth appreciating and indulging in but essential and necessary to our collective culture. We’ve already got enough people that eat at McDonalds.
Andre Gogol
Dec. 31, 2010
Hi Andre,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the distinction you are suggesting is possible to make for visual artists the way it might be for a concert performer or athlete. The specific history of painting for instance, has admitted too many examples that dismay notions of amateur and professional categories to be meaningfully redefined. Definition (or its concealment) might be my point here...I think critics often do choose to write about work they think embodies a kind of seriousness as practice, but this is no guarantee that the work fits an a priori definition of professionalism (think of Baudelaire championing caracurists.) I would go so far as to suggest that many critics discover their definition of serious practice through writing about artists that interest them for less defensible reasons.