Artists talking (return) - having written yesterday about them I find myself searching for more today, this time by simply using the term 'Art talks' in the YouTube search box. I was asking for trouble because as you know very general search terms produce the worst possible results, such as entering 'digital art' into Google images.
Fifth or sixth in the queue, which means it's popular, presumably, was this talk by Andrew Price, entitled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Artists. Is it popular simply because of the title, or the 'wisdom' he imparts? Some of his points are valid. I can relate to the first, which states you should work daily. I find that works for me, mostly because my Job allows me to do so. As he says, though, working on art after a day at the office is a real challenge for most people. When I worked as a hospital porter in the late-80s I still made art in the evenings (when I wasn't writing fiction and poetry). I did so because it (almost) kept me sane since my mind was in danger of being destroyed by The Job. Here I am in those days...
There's an irony in the Work/artwork conundrum, of course. What might 'save' would-be artists from a Work-induced vegetative state is the thing that the post-Work condition renders so difficult. Still, I support the daily (art) work idea. It really is the best way to travel through the creative process (don't delude yourself that there's an arrival point!). Only by working (I prefer the term 'playing', actually, since despite it signalling a lack of 'seriousness' to dullard/professional/curator Fine Art people I associate 'work' with the series of awful Jobs I've done, which doesn't stop me frequently using the term, I confess) is it possible to progress. Note I avoid the word 'improve', although in theory, that's what you should be doing. That aside, it's a percentage game. Put simply, the more you do the better chance you have of good results. This approach has only failed me at one stage in my life, when I played darts regularly. The more I drank, the worse I got.
I almost included 'artists talking' in the title of this post but relegated it to the start. Is Andrew Price an artist? You might note the amount of comments beneath the video; the inevitable battle of words about whether he's worthy of the title. At one point he discusses the idea of doing what you love and quotes someone saying to him: "So you're only going to draw cute girls?" Having pondered his obsession he tries 'drawing some dudes' and fails. Hearing this I wondered if he needed counselling. He even has a wife. Presumably she's OK with her husband continually creating images of 'cute girls' (not even women in most cases). I know LJ would be seriously worried.
I won't go into what constitutes an 'artist'. We know about that can of worms. Art is, obviously, in the eye of the beholder. Some people love pictures of 'cute girls'. I presume his fans are mostly young girls...or men with a problem. Some people buy The Sun newspaper. Some buy Ed Sheeran albums. And so it goes...
You can guess my opinion of his 'art' but I'll stop here and possibly write about visual pollution and it's effects on the world population another time. TTFN
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