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People in this thread will spend more time deciding if they agree or disagree with various aspects of this article, fret over some nonsense about the 'economics

by 23B1 2y ago

People in this thread will spend more time deciding if they agree or disagree with various aspects of this article, fret over some nonsense about the 'economics' of art, or paint with broad brushes a world they do not understand... instead of doing what they really ought, which is to close the spreadsheet/terminal/pitch deck and... SEE ART Loving art is extremely sexy, sophisticated, fun, complex, challenging, and indulgent. It also breaks you out of a rut, gives you totally bonkers 'out there' fresh ideas, helps you be less of a self-centered human. Anyone can do it. The more interested and involved you are in up-and-coming artists –people who are struggling to make it in that world – the better. You can go to a gallery show once a week, or buy every art book you can get your hand on, or dedicate your next vacation to visiting a world class museum. You can find this world aligned with your tastes - maybe you like abstract expressionism, maybe you like bronze sculptures of cowboys, maybe you like slutty polaroids. There are niches nested in niches, one you'll be comfortable in and ones you won't be, (which is even better, to be uncomfortable). BTW you can start this journey on the internet but it cannot be fully realized from the comfort of a screen. You will have to go outside, be near other humans, smell the glue and the wine and the turpentine of real art; what better excuse is there? Oh and one more thing, since this is HN: stupid AI art isn't art at all, for the reasons above and more. SEE ART

sharkjacobs 2y ago
Going to a gallery and smelling glue and wine and turpentine is a fine thing to do but it’s not like it is The Worthwhile Thing To Do. Reading magazine articles and thinking about them is a fine thing to do sometimes too.
- 23B1 2y ago
  How pedantic. Obviously it's not the smelling, it's the experiencing and the socializing and the development of taste, immersed in the qualia of meatspace.
bowsamic 2y ago
I don’t think loving art is easy at all. I still haven’t completely learnt how to do it
- 23B1 2y ago
  Even better.
- washadjeffmad 2y ago
  I often work with artists. From musicians, to stage and theater, illustrators and animators, dancers, choreographers, sculptors, craftsmen, and more. I work with galleries and museums and on occasion collaborate to build exhibits, but most of what I do is with people. I describe what characterizes an artist as someone who pursues virtuosity of the fundamentals. You can't show up when you want and slack your way off into it. No one will work with you. Often, artists are driven to work harder to compensate for stereotypes, because no one sees the work or effort it takes to create the possibility to do art. It's why I think average people should be asked to perform at the Olympics alongside the athletes- our perception is relative, otherwise parents wouldn't get into fights over little league games. Loving art can start with finding resonance with people who do art, with the things they do or produce, or with the tools of art. The more you practice it, the more you will be able to appreciate the challenges and rewards of it. Seeing people light up in anticipation to see what comes out of the kiln, the way their hair stands on end when they hear the roar and feel the blast of heat during an iron pour, or discussing a hilariously bad stage reading with the cast makes you feel connected to humanity in a way that looking at oil paintings in a sterile gallery without an art history background and a vested interest in museum studies just can't. People that have a derisively low opinion of artists are often uncomfortable with being vulnerable. Sometimes, they're too empathetic, and the thought of being up on stage, under the pressure to perform, being a perpetual object of criticism or ridicule is too much for them. They'd rather imagine flighty, spoiled slackers than have to feel through the burdens of familiar uncertainty and failure. Because following every "Anyone could do that" is the unspoken "...but I didn't."
- vundercind 2y ago
  I reckon learning how to love art is a lot of what I’m doing when I’m engaging with art. Maybe loving the feeling of learning to love art… is loving art? It does seem to be the case that people who can’t at least tolerate, if not enjoy, that process, very much do not love art. Possibly I’m doing it wrong, though.
aniviacat 2y ago
> what they really ought, which is to close the spreadsheet/terminal/pitch deck and... SEE ART I ought'nt. People really tend to overvalue "art" (whatever that may be).
- 23B1 2y ago
  small minds do, certainly
lynx23 2y ago
> SEE > Anyone can do it. I am blind. Should I feel offended, or was that an unintentionally exclusionary statement?
- 23B1 2y ago
  heh.jpg
  - lynx23 2y ago
    Judging from your dismissive reply, I assume it was an intentionally exclusionary statement from a person taken prisoner by their visual cortex.
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      This sadly only reinforces that old sterotype of the snooty "better than you because you can't see things MY way" artist. I apologize on behalf of the community.
- ocular-rockular 2y ago
  Giving the benefit of the doubt, art can be enjoyed in many forms, not just visual... It's definitely a choice of words though. That said, I do agree with the sentiment that people should "experience" art. But yeah, they did sound dismissive in the reply...
johnnyanmac 2y ago
> fret over some nonsense about the 'economics' of art, I mean, rent doesn't pay itself. Maybe it will one day but I'm not expecting it in my lifetime. Leisure hobby's go by the wayside as the economy does. I have art I want to display, but I also have a family to care for. The best way to optimize that is to do art as a job. And if it sacrifices my cred as an "artist", so be it. My goal is simply to share what I like, and the steps to make what I like are a neat challenge as well. I don't seek prestige in that traditional artists' sense >You can find this world aligned with your tastes Mine's in video games, so I'm still stuck at a screen for now. I do want to one day visit those video game mueseums, but it's out of my budget for now (darn economy!).

by 23B1 2y ago

sharkjacobs 2y ago

Going to a gallery and smelling glue and wine and turpentine is a fine thing to do but it’s not like it is The Worthwhile Thing To Do. Reading magazine articles and thinking about them is a fine thing to do sometimes too.

23B1 2y ago
How pedantic. Obviously it's not the smelling, it's the experiencing and the socializing and the development of taste, immersed in the qualia of meatspace.

bowsamic 2y ago

I don’t think loving art is easy at all. I still haven’t completely learnt how to do it

23B1 2y ago
Even better.
washadjeffmad 2y ago
I often work with artists. From musicians, to stage and theater, illustrators and animators, dancers, choreographers, sculptors, craftsmen, and more. I work with galleries and museums and on occasion collaborate to build exhibits, but most of what I do is with people. I describe what characterizes an artist as someone who pursues virtuosity of the fundamentals. You can't show up when you want and slack your way off into it. No one will work with you. Often, artists are driven to work harder to compensate for stereotypes, because no one sees the work or effort it takes to create the possibility to do art. It's why I think average people should be asked to perform at the Olympics alongside the athletes- our perception is relative, otherwise parents wouldn't get into fights over little league games. Loving art can start with finding resonance with people who do art, with the things they do or produce, or with the tools of art. The more you practice it, the more you will be able to appreciate the challenges and rewards of it. Seeing people light up in anticipation to see what comes out of the kiln, the way their hair stands on end when they hear the roar and feel the blast of heat during an iron pour, or discussing a hilariously bad stage reading with the cast makes you feel connected to humanity in a way that looking at oil paintings in a sterile gallery without an art history background and a vested interest in museum studies just can't. People that have a derisively low opinion of artists are often uncomfortable with being vulnerable. Sometimes, they're too empathetic, and the thought of being up on stage, under the pressure to perform, being a perpetual object of criticism or ridicule is too much for them. They'd rather imagine flighty, spoiled slackers than have to feel through the burdens of familiar uncertainty and failure. Because following every "Anyone could do that" is the unspoken "...but I didn't."
vundercind 2y ago
I reckon learning how to love art is a lot of what I’m doing when I’m engaging with art. Maybe loving the feeling of learning to love art… is loving art? It does seem to be the case that people who can’t at least tolerate, if not enjoy, that process, very much do not love art. Possibly I’m doing it wrong, though.

aniviacat 2y ago

> what they really ought, which is to close the spreadsheet/terminal/pitch deck and... SEE ART I ought'nt. People really tend to overvalue "art" (whatever that may be).

23B1 2y ago
small minds do, certainly

lynx23 2y ago

> SEE > Anyone can do it. I am blind. Should I feel offended, or was that an unintentionally exclusionary statement?

23B1 2y ago
heh.jpg
- lynx23 2y ago
  Judging from your dismissive reply, I assume it was an intentionally exclusionary statement from a person taken prisoner by their visual cortex.
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    This sadly only reinforces that old sterotype of the snooty "better than you because you can't see things MY way" artist. I apologize on behalf of the community.
ocular-rockular 2y ago
Giving the benefit of the doubt, art can be enjoyed in many forms, not just visual... It's definitely a choice of words though. That said, I do agree with the sentiment that people should "experience" art. But yeah, they did sound dismissive in the reply...

johnnyanmac 2y ago

> fret over some nonsense about the 'economics' of art, I mean, rent doesn't pay itself. Maybe it will one day but I'm not expecting it in my lifetime. Leisure hobby's go by the wayside as the economy does. I have art I want to display, but I also have a family to care for. The best way to optimize that is to do art as a job. And if it sacrifices my cred as an "artist", so be it. My goal is simply to share what I like, and the steps to make what I like are a neat challenge as well. I don't seek prestige in that traditional artists' sense >You can find this world aligned with your tastes Mine's in video games, so I'm still stuck at a screen for now. I do want to one day visit those video game mueseums, but it's out of my budget for now (darn economy!).