A fellow artist once addressed at least a portion of that question to me a few years ago, in an offhand, ruminative moment. "Why do all these people without formal training in art think they're artists? Why do they keep creating?"
I probably don't need to tell you how incensed I was at this question, which to me appears to have been borne of an arrogant presumption that only the credentialed people of the world can possibly have anything meaningful to say about this, our shared earthly experience.
One needs only to review the biographies of a handful of notable artists, both living and dead, to be reminded that some of our finest artists had no formal schooling at all, while some of the worst artists, replete with awards and degrees from All the Right Places, have cheerfully turned out market-motivated, copycat garbage with nary a twinge of conscience, or perhaps even self-awareness, before they surrendered to the sod and were soon forgotten. We all know in our hearts that the world is not an inherently just place to hang one's hat.
There are a great many reasons why, if one pays attention to the Big Time art world as chronicled in the New York Times or Art in America, one might want to avoid creativity altogether. The snobbery -- the noxious fumes of middle to upper class pretention -- rises furtively but ominously from the pages of virtually every issue. The cookie cutter predictability of many of the works depicted in these publications ultimately makes a laughing stock of those in the conventional art world who claim to be indisputably "original" or -- please pass me a barf bag -- "cutting edge."
Darwinism is alive and indeed thriving in the Arts! There is absolutely no certainty that genuine originality, or even technical competence, will be found in the works of people At The Top of the art world. Sure, there are many people who genuinely deserve the adulation of both critics and the public. But there are just as many who by nearly any imaginable measure have gotten into the upper eschelons of the art world not because of any astonishing gift, but because they paid a small fortune for a terminal degree from some renowned school, and were then helped along, every step of the way, by the very publicity-hungry, status-seeking art world enablers they're destined to become.
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| "Midnight Mischief" by Sharleene Page Hurst |
Two of the most original, unmistakably gifted artists I've ever had the privilege to know live right here in Seacoast New Hampshire: Eduard Langlois of Newmarket -- legendary in northern New England for his gifts as a theatre director, costumier, set designer and visual artist -- and Sharleene Page Hurst of Hampton, whose work is indescribably, soaringly inventive. Neither has studied art formally. Neither has a degree from a "respected' school of art. And yet each of these artists has astonishing gifts, and they've consistently created artworks of enormous energy and imagination.
Sharleene, who many years ago was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, is currently the featured artist for the month of April at the Franklin Gallery, Ben Franklin Crafts in Rochester. Her works are stunningly original, even mesmerizing.
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| "Flower Arrangement" by Garrett Young |
That neither Langlois nor Hurst can easily find a home in some of the region's "exclusive" galleries is for them a badge of honor rather than a cause for worry. As for Mr. Young, he is, well, young. His time will come! At any rate, all three of these gifted artists make me proud to be an artist.
There is nothing in the world wrong with wanting to be recognized for one's artistic accomplishments. Nor is there anything wrong with seeking just compensation for the hard, emotionally demanding work of creating really good art. It's OK to want to make serious money in the Arts! What's wrong -- what's demeaning and ultimately self-destructive -- is to paint in ways that you're not proud of -- ways that will get you into a gallery you may not even respect -- in order to to feel "successful."
The only real, lasting success that you as an artist can absolutely count on will come from painting exactly what your heart tells you that you MUST paint, then gleefully thumbing your nose at those who, because of either ignorance or their own particular tastes or myopic vision, choose not to like it.
Genuine art is created by non-conforming, stubbornly independent thinkers, with or without degrees. They often challenge authority and question dogma if they think it needs questioning. They're not sheep! Their work, no matter how lacking in "sophistication" or "technical virtuosity," is beautiful if they and their followers think it is beautiful. It will land where the marketplace wants it to land, and the critics be damned!
When artists trust in the authenticity of their own inimitable vision, good things begin to happen. Those good things may not come quickly, in the form of a fat paycheck, but they're your things, and they're priceless. So hold your most inspired work close to you, sleep well tonight with your integrity fully intact, then get up in the morning and go PAINT something!
-- Ross Bachelder
Berwick, Maine
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APRIL 1ST
MARKS THE BEGINNING OF...
NATIONAL AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH
ARE YOU AWARE?
CELEBRATE THE PROGRESS!
BECOME INFORMED!
SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY’S EFFORTS
TO IMPROVE THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF AUTISM!
H H H H H
AND HERE -- THIS MONTH -- AT THE FRANKLIN GALLERY
FEATURED ARTIST
SHARLEENE PAGE HURST
(ASPERGER’S)
AND SPECIAL GUEST ARTIST
GARRETT YOUNG
(AUTISM)
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