Ask The Budda - October 09
As a long time gallery cat, Budda has generously agreed to answers your art and/or cat related questions around the first of every month.
Dear Mr Budda,
My cat, Miss Priss is always washing herself. If she’s really that dirty shouldn’t I help out by bathing her?
Signed All Washed Up
Dear All Washed Up
No. I suggest you let your cat bathe herself, or else her hair will stick to your tongue, something wicked.
Dear The Budda,
I am an art student and my instructor says that I have kissing issues. Since I’m not sure what that means, how do I avoid kissing?
Signed The Puckered Painter
Dear Puckered,
Well when my human looks like she is about to plant one on the top of my head I usually put my feet on her chin, lock my legs, close my eyes and twist my face away while mentally screaming “No. . . for the love of God, nooooooo!.” and then . . .
Oh wait. I bet your instructor was referring to kissing in the artistic sense.
Kissing as it applies to art is where one object touches (or almost touches) another object or the edge of artwork. In general kissing is seen as a novice mistake but many professional “kiss” intentionally. . . and sometimes not. To avoid kissing simply make any connections between objects (or the edge of the artwork) solid and into said object deeper than it’s edge. As with all rules, first you must learn them before you start breaking them.
As always, those of you who are googling for enlightenment . . . this ain’t it.
Dear Mr Budda,
I’ve noticed that once a genre’ becomes popular, for instance around here Tuscan scenes and wine bottles are all the rage, it seems that many artists quite doing what they do and start to paint the current trend.
Why do so many artists do this instead of creating work that is true to who they are?
Signed Wide-Eyed Wonderer
Dear Wonderer,
I don’t know why $ome arti$t$ paint the late$t fad. But I re$pect their right to do $o. And $o $hould you.
Note: these “questions” were based on search terms that brought people to my blog. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Budda is currently working hard (well, as hard as any cat works) on a special Ask The Budda: Halloween Edition. If anyone has any questions they’d like to submit for Budda’s review, you are all welcome to do so. Just leave a comment here or contact me directly
Tags: Ask The Budda, budda, cats, kittens
I think sometimes what happens with artistic fads is that if the artist likes the subject that gets faddish the increased acceptance starts to get intoxicating. I got involved in something like that once — the fad turned out to be for something I’d always wanted to paint, ravens, and it was fun doing it and being able to do all sorts of variations on them secure in the knowledge that there were more raven fanciers out there than I could possibly bore.
I think some of it is that artists are human and are part of the same art scene that generated the fad… and that sometimes there’s a particular group-feeling pleasure to doing something that’s just gotten popular. It gets deep if it also strikes something inside the artist too, then it becomes irresistible.
I think there comes a point of personal self-distortion if someone gets so caught up in what’s popular that they start doing works they do not personally like or wouldn’t want on their own walls. The line is different for every person but I suspect for many there is a line and going too far beyond it can lead on a road to burnout. But that’s the artist’s personal problem, it’s not something that you could tell from seeing the results in a gallery or online unless their quality starts to drop through not caring about the subject or process any more.
These are extremely well thought out comments Robert. Thank you.
Interesting that you said ravens were a fad. That never got this way I don’t think. I seen a few artists creating raven series but never enough to consider it a popular trend. Not like wolves or hidden images. But then I live in the Midwest and even though I ran the framing gallery for a museum, we still geared toward locally popular and influential art. At any rate a raven painting is on my short list for upcoming paintings.
Was it the art fair, or something else, that got you thinking about fads in art? I think the photographers are generally very faddy.
Angela,
No, art fairs aren’t really the hot spot for trends. At least not out here.I did get a few queries about trends in my blog searches (as well as allot of bizarre stuff that you wouldn’t believe.) But what got me thinking about it was Bev Doolittle who started the phenomen of hidden Images work. Also there was a time you couldn’t crack open an art mag without wolves being on just about every page.
Mostly I posted that fad thing because I thought I was being clever. I do amuse myself too easily I think.
I knew it was tongue in cheek to a degree, but thought it was something on your mind. Sorry to heavy up on Budda’s parade.
You certainly didn’t heavy it up. I think I struck a nerve with a few folks talking about trends and fads that was unexpected. And I do seem to be taking things a whole lot less serious these days. I spend a great deal of time being amused at life.