Pet peeve numero one: “anything is art”. This is a myth. Anything is NOT art. Michelangelo would be spewing into the nearest urn if he were alive today and saw some of the things that have been tried to pass as art. This pet peeve goes out to both parties, artists and the audience alike. I’m sorry, but a toilet seat mounted on a slab of cement is NOT art (not that I actually saw this here…but I did see it somewhere else). Now if you had painted the toilet seat to look like a vagina and mounted it on a chiseled, goddess looking pedestal, then, sure, okay. That I can get. I still wouldn’t want it in my house, but I could at least respect it. But adhering two objects together that look disgusting to begin with shows a complete lack of effort and a great deal of sneakiness and con artistry. I’m sorry, but true art is about the work, the effort, the labor, the design, the craftsmanship, the expression without words, the cleverness and ingenuity, the use of line and color outside what is expected no matter how seemingly simple, and impressing an audience that understands that art is entirely about these components combined and nothing short of them. I don’t care if it’s ugly. I don’t care if it’s not your taste. If someone puts labor into something and it comes out in the end with a purpose to impress, then, well, mission accomplished.
Pet peeve number dos: Artists who try too hard to let the world know they’re weird. Or, rather, the concept that all weird people are artists. Of course artists are weird. Duh. Art is our way of defecating our insanity. Or brilliance... It all depends on one’s perspective. Personally I think it’s a combination of both. Regardless, the point is: it doesn’t matter how many layers of mismatched clothes you pile on to your body, and how many different colors your hair is, and it doesn’t matter if you wear butterfly wings and costumes in public: you’re only an artist if you’re actually doing the work. Don’t get me wrong. I dig weird. To me, weird is a form of evolved coolness and confidence that the majority of the world just doesn’t quite get yet. I like to funk up my outfits from time to time, too. But the funk isn’t what makes us artists. It’s the product. And I will tell you, when I was a teenager? I was definitely the artist that tried too hard to let my peers know that I was weird. Thus the weirdoes unite! However, this had a segregated effect. We were expected to hate the jocks and the jocks were expected to hate us. This has always bothered me because there’s more to me than just being an artist. We (artists) are expected to gather together in color flaring flocks. Don’t get me wrong, the camaraderie is necessary. I mean, we are weird and the weird needs to be validated by the other weirdoes. But we aren’t supposed to be bunched in to one secluded, fraternity.
This leads me on to the next pet peeve…
Pet peeve #three: Artist segregation. We’re supposed to date each other, marry each other, be friends with each other, and make communities together. No thanks. If you’re truly an open minded person, there is no club. Take the fairy wings off and shake hands with a corporate executive for crying out loud. Believe it or not, artists are not the only weird, interesting people in the world, and not all weird people are artists. Some of the most unexpected personalities have a creative streak. And some of the weirdest people have no artistic talent at all.
My philosophy on artists:
I’m uncomfortable when I’m pegged or praised for being an artist, especially from people who I deem equally creative. I believe that creativity is a necessity in our evolution and that just about everyone is imaginative and inventive and clever in their own devices and purposes. Pixar’s brilliance said it best: “Not everyone can be an artist, but an artist can come from anywhere and be any one.”
So…
As I entered each exhibit, my pet peeves ran wildly through my temperaments. In one exhibit was a blown up photograph of what seemed to be a church basement. The lighting was god-awful and the composition was so disgusting I couldn’t figure out if this was intentional or if the poor photographer has no idea that they’re not a photographer. I looked at it long and hard, trying desperately not to judge, but all I could think was: who the hell would buy this? It says absolutely nothing to my senses. The effort is infantile. I have photos that six year olds have taken that are more interesting than this… My hairs bristled. I don’t know why it actually makes me angry to see shitty art, but it does. What seems to bother me about it is the lack of endeavor. I think it’s lazy. I don’t think this person is talentless. I think they’re lazy. And they’re trying to sell their shit work on the same level with the non-lazy artists. That is why it pisses me off, Folks. That is why.
Pregnant women and vaginas. Walking through this particular exhibit my first thought was “alternative birth control”. Here’s another thing I try hard not to be too much of a snob about. I’m all for empowering women, and I’m all for expressing the awesomeness of our beautiful bodies and what we represent in the grand scheme of bringing new life in to the world, the power of motherhood and the sacrifices that are made to bring up a new generation of the human race… But good grief. I don’t know what it is about seeing abstract paintings of naked pregnant women, at least the really frightening ones with giant nipples, but they nettle me. Why would you take something so awe strikingly magnificent, and interpret it into something grotesque? That’s not empowering the beauty of pregnant women at all. I have a lot of friends who have new babies and several on the way, and even though there are a lot of truthfully ugly, crude things about pregnancy, the meaning of its entirety represents something so much more grand and beautiful. I suppose, for me personally, if I were to paint a pregnant woman, I would interpret it different… It should be beautiful. It should be awe inspiring and should take your breath away. It should not be alarming.
Now, I reiterate: I can fully respect the work and aim and the talent that went in to this piece. With the right perspective, this is indeed a spectacular painting... But on a personal level, it vexed me. I have opinions. Get over it.
Moving on, I did find impressive exhibits. You can tell the difference profoundly. My absolutely favorite pieces are shown here:
After satisfyingly seeing art that was worth a view, I left this particular area to find more studios. I went walking about the sidewalks, donned in my lovely frump wear let’s not forget, and tried to find more studios in walking distance. I was not successful. However, as I walked through the northeast neighborhoods of Minneapolis I stumbled across something entirely unexpected…
