There has been a continuing thread on many of the blogs that I read, regarding the value of individual artistic thought, so today's post comes from an excerpt from my book Ancient Wisdom Emerging Artist. I believe this is an important conversation for artists to have, particularly those who are in the early stages of growing into their personal voices and are looking for direction. But also, a member of my immediate family is facing a significant health crisis that will monopolize much of my time and I still want to post to this blog. So there may be times when I rely on excerpts, but most of the time I will continue to post new content because I value the sense of community that has grown up around Ancient Artist readers.
Originality
Today I learned that originality only became important around the eighteenth century, manifesting in western culture as an outgrowth of the Romantic Period. That's according to a Wikipedia article. Prior to that time people tended to like things that looked the same, which could explain some of the practices during the Renaissance, when master artists ran studios filled with laboring apprentices, leading to art history references like "in the manner of" and "from the workshop of," and my personal favorite, "from a student of." I'm not sure if my terminology is correct - "from a student of" - but there are plenty of folks still attaching themselves to their teachers. Personally I think this is too much influence from academia, where you list your professional provenance on everything you do. But for the artist, well, I've always wondered why you would tell someone, "I was a student of such-and-such famous artist," when the obvious outcome is that this person will immediately compare said famous artist's work to your own.
I much prefer artists who say "my teacher was so-and-so and he would always say..." because this is more participatory. Perhaps I'm splitting hairs here and at the end of the day it doesn't really matter to most people whether you think of yourself as a student or of having a teacher. But in my mind, continually thinking of yourself as a student is like refusing to graduate and step out into the world on the risk and strength of your own ideas. It's a little too cautious where real growth is concerned.
All this seems to point out how difficult it can be to come up with an original thought, to make art that is fresh, innovative, and creative. The usual argument -- that cave painting, line drawing, drip painting have all been done before -- might be true on one level and an excuse for laziness on another, a shrug of the shoulders and metaphorical "Oh well."
When I first started painting I bent over backward trying to be original, and then I quit. I realized that as soon as I became conscious of how original I was, my brain started pointing out images from other artists that looked exactly like my own. It's similar to the children's game where you start looking for a particular car and suddenly you see them everywhere. I can't think the word "originality" because what flashes into my mind are all the images of what was original when some other artist thought of it: Frankenthaler's huge acrylic paintings created with squeegees, Pat Steir's dazzling light waterfall paintings - you see what I mean? And while I understand what Edgar Payne meant when he said "individuality in thought is, without a doubt, the greatest single factor in creative work", it was so much easier when people all liked the same thing.
The discussion I was having through this excerpt is centered around the way we construct our ideas about how to "be original." Some of this vagueness comes from the way we are exposed to Art - with single artists lionized because they came up with an idea that may or may not have been exclusive to their work at the time. Certainly ideas along this line, that artists must search out new methods of expression, drive various interests within the arts. But does this become an impossible task, or an approach that relates to fewer and fewer arts enthusiasts, because it drives the work into the obscure?
Other pressures come from the popular arts culture, which has narrowed down drastically through this recession to reflect only the tastes of the art markets that are thriving. The pressure to compete in this shrinking market drives the work into a certain homogeneity - making it far more difficult to engage with collectors caught up in image overload.
So what do you, as an artist, decide to do? Where is your comfort level? What would you tell younger (experience-wise) artists to do if you were asked for advice?
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"I could sure hear you in the book, very upbeat and encouraging...I also loaned your book to my Tucson art teacher and she let another friend of hers read it, too. She’s already doing most of what you suggested...she hates self-promotion like most of us do..." TB, Tuscon, AZ
Book - Ancient Wisdom Emerging Artist: the business plan (not just) for the mature artist
Kindle US Store - Ancient Wisdom Emerging Artist: the business plan (not just) for the mature artist
Kindle UK Store - Ancient Wisdom Emerging Artist: the business plan (not just) for the mature artist

