Whats it
Aboutall ? The world credit crisis has done nothing to dampen contemporary art sales, the mad crazy place that we live in still thinks nothing of paying up to €50 million and more for a piece of contemporary art. As I spent the last week cataloging my new work – images, titles, prices (from €50 + price range)I started thinking…about art, what it
means, what’s it for and who does it and why?
Why do it - personally if I am not painting, drawing or
printmaking, I am not being me and all the professional
artists that I know also seem to driven by the need to be
creative – it is an intrinsic part of them. There are also non
professionals that fi nd their art help them to relax, put things
in perspective and to explore ideas that they may not have
done before.
What it means is completely different and essentially
personal. Why does it have to mean anything? Each person
viewing the piece will have their own thoughts and feelings
which may or may not respond to the artists views – does
that matter – I think not.
So what’s it all for – to satisfy a basic need. To make money.
For the love of it. Just for something to do. All of these, again
its so personal, and why do some people become rich and
famous and others not…good agents, good marketing, good
galleries, loads of hard work or just being in the right place at
the right time… again its all of these…
This train of thoughts then led to thinking about amateurs
and professional artists. If you go to Art College, you get a
degree and you then start working in your chosen fi eld you
will call yourself an artist. However if you have been a bank
manager, an electrician, a nurse and you start painting,
drawing etc…when do you become professional – when do
you stop saying I was a nurse and start saying I am an artist…
and then why do professional artists not want to exhibit with
amateurs, why are there not more galleries, exhibitions and
competitions that are open to anyone, where judgment is by
a panel of people and the only consideration is the work…
like the Royal Academy Summer exhibition or the Torrevieja
quick painting competition.. We should all be entering these,
enjoying and learning from the experience. There are many
amateurs whose work is of an exceedingly high quality and
many professionals who are so driven by ideas and artistic
rhetoric that you wonder what on earth possessed them to
produce the work that they do. Surely if we want to up the
standard of art in general, give as many people the chance
to exhibit as possible. We need to encourage more joint
International Lifestyle Magazine
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