If anybody didn’t watch the video, it says…contemporary art is important because as a HISTORICAL recording of our time, it can create awareness of POLITICS-IDEOLOGY, strives SOCIALLY-CULTURALLY for a better world, and holds EDUCATIONAL, ESTHETIC and SPIRITUAL value for both artist and audience. I don’t know…but I would assume the great art of the past held some different values?
In a sense, we’re all “contemporary artists” since we’re making art now - today - although we all chart our own particular stylistic course. But I think if you’re the kind of contemporary artist that wants to be known beyond your family and friends as an IMPORTANT (ie. impactful, significant) artist, it’s probably good that you believe FIRST that there is in fact, some inherent value in contemporary art. Not everybody likes or understands it, including us artists.
I once heard (and it might actually have been Kerry James Marshall but not sure) that as an artist, you have the choice to work WITH art history, or to push against it. I don’t know. But that’s always lodged in my head as simple and succinct advice. I interpreted it as…you can either take the lessons from the art history past and try to incorporate what you’ve learned into your own work. OR…you don’t, and find ways to “rebel against” or challenge those learned lessons in the hopes of achieving, as the video said, “radical originality.”
Personally I say…hahaha…good luck with that originality thing. I won’t bother to expand on that, but I’ll say I’ve ALWAYS had an interest in making comments - in my own cornball dumb way - about social, political, and cultural stuff, despite how hoity toity that sounds. I like talking about those things and reading about those topics since forever and so it all sort of naturally flows into what I do. So I understand the point made about art being a kind of commentary on US (we the people). Recording, satire, awareness…check. Education, inspiration, esthetics…uhhhhh, no. Too pompous. And probably yes to spirituality but only in the way the process works for ME. I can’t imagine a viewer feeling anything like “spirituality” as they look at gorilla faces, broken dolls, cartoon figures, meat, criminals, and all the other silly things I paint.
In other words…I’m not following the path to CONTEMPORARY IMPORTANCE. And I’m fine with that. And I’m also not ambitious enough to figure out how to make myself important. And I am fine with that, too. I suppose I’m just happy enough playing in the mud all day like a big old fat baby pig. (Not sure why I just went THERE…but…oh well.)
oink