Category: Art

Since this is economics week I thought I would introduce part of  the mission statement from my upcoming web page that discusses the inherent worth of (good) art. Unlike apologetics, art is something I know a little about, so I feel like I can discuss it with some small degree of confidence. Economics is a subject area of which I have no knowledge at all, so I am able to discuss it with even greater confidence.

In my mission statement, I make these assertions about the economics of art:

"So, art of any kind is objectively useless, and fine art in particular (as opposed to, say, cinema) is an anachronism. And yet, people still seem to need it. I think many people with the least interest in it probably need it most. Art is a mystery, like music or story telling (whatever form it takes). It is part of what makes us human. When I hear people talk about increasing art instruction in schools because it will boost test scores, I cringe. When parents want to play Mozart for their infants solely because it will make them better at math, I shudder.

(… )

Art (good art) benefits people in a way that we can’t fully understand. We need art, but we don’t know why. Part of the dehumanizing aspect of the industrial revolution (IMHO) was that ordinary household objects were no longer made by hand, but were increasingly mass-produced in ways that favored ease of manufacture over aesthetics, ease of use over beauty, and cheapness over everything.  I believe we have suffered because of this in a number of ways. A blank, artless existence simply is not good for the human psyche. We need beauty. When God created us, he put us not in a wilderness, but in a “garden”, a place where beauty is planned, ordered and tended."

The fact that fine art is objectively useless means that making a living by doing fine art can be a bit of a trick. Especially in times of economic downturn, fine art is rightly perceived as a luxury and takes a back seat to necessities. I do believe, though, that people need art, which is why historically wherever you find people, you find art.

And beer!

But that is for another post…

More and more, these days, the question of whether art-imitates-life or life-imitates-art is becoming another chicken-and-egg question. Take, for example, this case of, uh, performance art:

"A Berlin couple plan to have their first baby at an art gallery, the gallery owner said on Saturday, confirming a newspaper report.

"’It’s a gift to humanity, a once in a lifetime thing,’ Bild newspaper quoted Winfried Witt, partner of mother-to-be Ramune Gele, as saying.

[…]

"About 30 people are expected to attend the birth, scheduled for April 24. They would be told to come to the gallery as soon as the 27-year-old Gele’s contractions became regular, Witt was quoted as saying."

Although the "performance" will be taking place in an art gallery, apparently this will not be an open exhibit:

"[Gallery manager Johann] Novak said the gallery, which usually shows installations and video art, would be closed during the birth. ‘The private aspect will be maintained,’ he said."

Uh huh. That’s why all the details are being released to the media. So we can maintain privacy. At least the article reports that not everyone is finding the proposed masterpiece fitting for a gallery exhibition:

"Another gallery owner in the street said: ‘I find it mad.’"

GET THE STORY.

As an aspiring artist I have recently come to realize that what I lack is a gimmick. I have truly neglected this aspect of my professional development and now find myself, as usual, casting around at the last minute. I saw this fella in India on the Reuters Oddly Enough news that beat me to the punch and paints entirely with one fingernail on his left hand. Now I’ll have to scratch that one off my list of potential gimmicks.

I confess that I was a little misled by the title of the story "Disabled Artist Still Painting". I was expecting perhaps a story of a gallant quadriplegic who struggles with a brush held in the teeth, or an artist with Cerebral Palsy who has to wrestle over every detail. You can understand that I was a bit let down when it turned out to be a guy with a bad right arm who, therefore, paints with his left and who’s main aspiration is to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. He’s not even that good.

But being good or not is irrelevant when you don’t even have a gimmick (in song writing they call it the "hook") to distinguish yourself from the crowd. And so many obvious gimmicks have been taken. I’ll really have to work on this, and I already have so much to do this week!

Sorry, this story is in video format only, as far as I know.

GET THE STORY.

OK, so what do you do if your an artist and nobody is interested in your work? Well, you could cut off your ear, but that is so last century. It’s been done, and modern art is all about breaking boundaries, and stuff. So that’s what this guy actually did! Slipping past the rigid barriers of the bourgeois establishment (and some security guys), he managed to sneak several pieces of art into a number of famous modern art galleries and museums ( Like MOMA), where they hung for days without being noticed. Hey, why wait ’til your dead, right?

Of course, the trade-off is that he will now be remembered for being clever, rather than talented. But, hey, that’s what modern art is all about!

GET THE STORY.

OK, so what do you do if your an artist and nobody is interested in your work? Well, you could cut off your ear, but that is so last century. It’s been done, and modern art is all about breaking boundaries, and stuff. So that’s what this guy actually did! Slipping past the rigid barriers of the bourgeois establishment (and some security guys), he managed to sneak several pieces of art into a number of famous modern art galleries and museums ( Like MOMA), where they hung for days without being noticed. Hey, why wait ’til your dead, right?

Of course, the trade-off is that he will now be remembered for being clever, rather than talented. But, hey, that’s what modern art is all about!

GET THE STORY.

Many thanks to those who have been responding so well to my first few posts. I really appreciate being made to feel welcome. I thought I would use this post to tell you a little more about myself and what I have been up to lately. Jimmy also thought that posting a picture or two of me might be good, and it would help to dispel any lingering suspicion that I might resemble either a Star-Nosed Mole or the Visage of Elder Madness. The first picture is of me at Tulsa’s Philbrook Museum.

I am gesturing toward The Shepherdess, a masterpiece by William Bougereau, the first one of his I have ever seen in person. I could look at it all day.

The next pic is of one of my recent still life pieces that I currently have entered in a small regional competition. Is it O.K. to pray to win?? I have been really blessed this past year with good response to my art, even though I have only been painting full-time since last August. I have sold almost all of my first series of paintings, was accepted to my first regional show (a ten state area), and was also accepted into the Art Renewal Center’s (ARC) International Salon, which frankly surprised me. There were over 1500 entries from 30 countries, so I am really grateful to have been chosen. I operate a small art gallery in Rogers, Arkansas that I named Green Leaf Fine Art Gallery, influenced partly by Tolkien’s short story Leaf By Niggle, a great story for artists of all kinds to read. I also teach art lessons at my gallery and hope to be a small influence in reviving an aesthetic of beauty in cultural life. As Father Corapi has pointed out, Truth, Beauty, Unity and Life are all bound up together.