I went to the Museum. Yes, Bill finally agreed to accompany
me to the Columbus Museum of Art. It has only been fifteen years at least since
we went to the Museum. Bill, my husband, is not big on ART but he has gone to a
gallery and the Museum in the last six months. This is a big change. He has
steadfastly refused to attend most ART related venues for an extended period of
time. Since I do not want to go alone, I normally drive around and look at gallery
windows or public outdoor displays to get a weekly ART fix. Sunday mornings are
normally reserved for ART.
The funny thing is,
an outsider looking in would think he was the ART lover in the family. He has
actually purchased ART. We have several original pieces of ART hanging on our
walls and squirreled away in folders. Most of my married life has been about accommodating
these framed masterpieces as I continually reconfigure my home décor. I have
purchased one item at an art fair around 25 years ago. It was a ceramic kitchen
utensil holder and it cost thirty dollars. I was a student at the time so
thirty dollars was a significant purchase. I used to point it out to people and
say, “look I bought ART.” I gave it away years ago.
You may be suspecting I have an ambivalent relationship with
ART. You are so correct. ART is pretensions and snobby and its sole purpose in life
is to make other people feel bad. I have
problems with the Business of ART. It sells itself as an investment when most
times the only part of the purchase worth anything is the frame. I have tried
to sell my husband’s great art investments; I know art like jewelry is often
not worth the insurance you pay on it. In fact I get so enraged at the Business
of ART I go into a full body, energizing, blood pumping snit. The Business of
ART is about status and condescension. My
anger at the Business of ART keeps me at a distance from the local “arty farty”
community.
I cannot tolerate the smug attitude of the art community
that awards pretension and destroys talent. Art has always been a rigged game.
A wealthy patron elevates an artist of average talent to a place of influence
while true talent fades away. Art has always been an activity for the privileged,
and the privileged want their status to be recognized and bowed to. When I was younger I always felt bad at ART events. I felt uneducated,
on the outside of the art community. I could never afford the art displayed in the galleries and the arty crowd
made sure I knew it, all the while conveying the thought that my opinion did not matter since I was merely an uneducated clod. I could educate
myself so I did. A little education taught me what the ART business is all about and it is not always about supporting talent. I now know talent, is not always the reason for an artist's financial success. Luck, contacts, influence, a patron have more to do with a career as an artist than talent. The Business of ART is about providing the wealthy with something to spend their money on while providing a veneer of culture. I do not like the Business of ART and ART
knows of my contempt. It is obvious I need to have some better ART experiences, but so often the arts community believes it's own PR. I am not holding my breath for the business of ART to change.
This does not change the fact I am the one who enjoys art in
our family. Art is about creativity, talent and vision. It is about the mixing and matching of colors
and textures to create an impression that creates an impact. Sometimes art is about
making a statement, other times it is about creating emotion or merely
recreating what the artist is seeing or feeling. Art often makes a person
think, see a new connection and view the world in new ways. I need Art in my life
but I think I will leave ART where it belongs, somewhere I am not. I will leave it to "them" to hob and nob and attend events to support the arts. I will get my fix in storefront windows, on the street and online. Maybe another
visit to a museum, where there are no price tags or condescending gallery employees. A visit where I can laugh at the absurdity of what some call art while marveling at the beauty created by true talent. I think I should avoid the docents at the museum-I think they hang out with the arty
farty crowd and you do not even want to get me started on interpretative art history.
