Where's the "Art"?

[Nufocus]

Well here I am here again..... a continued thought:
If the Beatles started out with masterpieces such as A day in the life or Strawberry fields forever - magnificent but “difficult” compositions (not only musically but from the lyrics side too) and no simple songs based on 2-3 chords - chances are that they’d be categorized today as a “cult band” with a bunch of highly musically sensitive people as their devoted fans. No wonder that they started out with simple songs such as Love me do or I wanna hold your hand. Relatively simple stuff that appealed easily to zillions of listeners: more sensitive and less sensitive alike.
Without wanting to make anyone here jump all over me.... I’m only expressing my humble opinions here..... Here’s a comparison with the art of painting. Just an example: A guest at a certain hotel with a lower level of sensitivity may be extremely impressed by a reproduction depicting a stretch of blue sea with a few palm trees for good measure hanging above the king size bed. The same person may think, while viewing a great de Kooning in a museum, “my daughter of five can do a lot better than this”.
Sure, different strokes for different folks. But IMHO there are strokes of many different kinds. Strokes such as the “Macarena” that we used to dance to in a row and strokes like Beethoven’s one and only violin concerto.

 

[Nufocus]

And.....thank you, Arty!!

 

[stlukesguild]

My own humble experience taught me that when a work of mine seems shitty to myself, chances are close to 100% that it will seem shitty to viewers too, the ones whose level of sensitivity commands any reaction at all. My guess is that the same occurrence applies to other painters, sculptors, composers, poets etc. etc.

I'm not sure how much I agree. I have completed paintings that I had great doubts about. Over time my opinion changed. We live with our paintings... sometimes for long periods of time. Often our work falls short... or is quite different from the image we had in mind. There may be the most minute detail that we struggled with or found wanting for some reason which the audience won't see at all. I can't tell you how many instances I have read of artists doubting or even disliking work that many others see as masterpieces.

I have come to recognize over time that while Art may be for everyone, not all Art is for everyone. There is no universally beloved work of Art. Certainly, some works of Art resonate with larger audiences than others (and the size of the audience does not denote the merit of the work any more than does the price). The burlesque model, Dita von Teese famously stated: "You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches." The same applies to Art.

The incredibly beautiful subtleties, melodious passages etc. of Beethoven’s Moonlight sonata, the slow movement of Mozart’s Elvira Madigan concerto or Rachmaninov’s piano concerto no. 2 undoubtedly “go over the heads” of the less sensitive audience. On the other hand, a very simple tune built on 2 or 3 chords with a powerful drumbeat will become so popular as to have 3 billion views on YouTube. I’m not judging one or the other’s “quality”, I’m merely referring to how the level of inborn sensitivity or lack thereof applies or does not.

Does this speak of the "sensitivity" of some audience members and the idea that some beautiful and subtle works of Art "go over the heads" of "less sensitive" members of the audience... or more to exposure and experience? I have listened extensively to classical music (and other musical forms) for decades... but I fail to appreciate Chinese opera, for example. Chinese opera is a highly respected art form beloved by millions... but it does nothing for me. Or rather, it does nothing but irritate me. Is this because I am lacking in sensitivity to the more subtle aspects of music... or because it is so far outside of my experience that I cannot relate to it. I could put forth the effort, but somehow I suspect that the reward from such effort would be quite small. The reward, to me, of Art, is pleasure, and I suspect I will take far more pleasure from delving deeper into that Art which I already know or that Art within the artistic traditions I am experienced in.

 

[Bongo]

Or I think you can become too sensitive. When I look at my own work or others - my eye immediately goes to the one thing I think is wrong or could have been done better. And I'm stuck there, I can't unsee it. So from then forward the piece gives little pleasure but becomes an irritant like an itch you can't scratch. As bad is the piece that should work but doesn't and you can't figure out why. It's like you lost your keys, you know it's in the house somewhere but you can't find it. There is a Coppola, Gene Hackman movie - The Conversation - where Hackman takes apart his apartment down to the studs searching for a 'bug' planted by a rival.

 

[Nufocus]

“I have listened extensively to classical music (and other musical forms) for decades... but I fail to appreciate Chinese opera, for example. Chinese opera is a highly respected art form beloved by millions...”
I happen to have many friends who strongly believe that the Chinese are slowly but surely conquering the world. They seem to be involved in everything everywhere and the virus is a giant step forward in their conquest.
My God, we will all have to watch and listen to Chinese opera forever!!...

 

[Nufocus]

Or I think you can become too sensitive. When I look at my own work or others - my eye immediately goes to the one thing I think is wrong or could have been done better. And I'm stuck there, I can't unsee it. So from then forward the piece gives little pleasure but becomes an irritant like an itch you can't scratch. As bad is the piece that should work but doesn't and you can't figure out why. It's like you lost your keys, you know it's in the house somewhere but you can't find it. There is a Coppola, Gene Hackman movie - The Conversation - where Hackman takes apart his apartment down to the studs searching for a 'bug' planted by a rival.

Bongo, perhaps you are not only overly sensitive, but overly critical too?!?....

 

[Claude J Greengrass]

My own humble experience taught me that when a work of mine seems shitty to myself, chances are close to 100% that it will seem shitty to viewers too, the ones whose level of sensitivity commands any reaction at all. My guess is that the same occurrence applies to other painters, sculptors, composers, poets etc. etc.

I'm not sure how much I agree....

I too am not not sure how much I agree. My SO likes most of my landscape works and sometimes, I paint small studies of flowers, grass, leaves, branches... which we loves. Several years ago, for my own pleasure, I painted a full sheet (22x30 inch) "patch work quilt" of rectangular colour. I was certain that she would dislike this particular painting. To my surprise she loved it and insisted that I frame it. It has pride of place in the study.

Recently I have been exploring a theme of 'coastal colour' in the context of southern California and wondered wondered what Jackson Pollock would have painted if he had embraced 'coastal colours'. This thought lead me to paint my first 'drip' painting. In this case it was more a splash painting. Again my botanical loving SO, insisted that I frame it and it joined the patch work quilt painting in the study.

It was not my good looks nor my charming personality that won her over to non-objective art. None of my other abstract art is of the least interest to her. What's the opposite of 'hating peaches' ?