by Wendell Etherly
Just a few days ago, some friends and I were walking through an art exhibition in support of a fellow artist whose work was being displayed. As I was observing the work I came across a piece of art that caused me to cogitate the effort, or lack there of, that was put into creating it. I thought to myself, “how in God’s name did this painting get on the wall, or in this show for that matter?” I was amazed by what I believed was poor judgment by the gallery to select such a piece to represent, especially when I know struggling artists whose works far supersede the quality of work I’ve seen hanging from the walls of some of Chicago’s most prestigious galleries. But who am I to determine what good art should look like, what good music should sound like, what good literature should read like? Does being an artist give me the authorization to judge the validity of someone’s work? Critics do it all the time with no true sense of the aesthetic. At least an artist can relate to the creative process in one way or another. Many would say that an artist should have the right to express cynicism when feeling as though the creative world in which he/she hold so sacred has been infiltrated by someone with less talent and creative cognizance. Or perhaps, in some twisted kind of way it is the need to defame the work of a less deserved artist in order to keep those unexposed artists encouraged. Legitimate enough? Well, truth is art has evolved as well as the vessels and mediums used to create it. No one, not even ourselves could possibly discern the creative integrity of another artist due to the simplicity of the content or what may appear to us as lack luster devotion to the craft. W.E.B. Du Bois once said, “The tools of the artist in times have gone by. First of all, he has the Truth – not for sake of Truth, not as a scientist seeking Truth, but as one upon whom Truth eternally thrusts itself as the highest hand maid of imagination, as the one great vehicle of universal understanding”. So no matter the form or genre, whether represented by a legitimate source or a fringe market, an artist is a creator. And it is the responsibility of the creator to espouse the truth through their works. So in the words of one great artist to many others, “To thine self be True”.
Just a few days ago, some friends and I were walking through an art exhibition in support of a fellow artist whose work was being displayed. As I was observing the work I came across a piece of art that caused me to cogitate the effort, or lack there of, that was put into creating it. I thought to myself, “how in God’s name did this painting get on the wall, or in this show for that matter?” I was amazed by what I believed was poor judgment by the gallery to select such a piece to represent, especially when I know struggling artists whose works far supersede the quality of work I’ve seen hanging from the walls of some of Chicago’s most prestigious galleries. But who am I to determine what good art should look like, what good music should sound like, what good literature should read like? Does being an artist give me the authorization to judge the validity of someone’s work? Critics do it all the time with no true sense of the aesthetic. At least an artist can relate to the creative process in one way or another. Many would say that an artist should have the right to express cynicism when feeling as though the creative world in which he/she hold so sacred has been infiltrated by someone with less talent and creative cognizance. Or perhaps, in some twisted kind of way it is the need to defame the work of a less deserved artist in order to keep those unexposed artists encouraged. Legitimate enough? Well, truth is art has evolved as well as the vessels and mediums used to create it. No one, not even ourselves could possibly discern the creative integrity of another artist due to the simplicity of the content or what may appear to us as lack luster devotion to the craft. W.E.B. Du Bois once said, “The tools of the artist in times have gone by. First of all, he has the Truth – not for sake of Truth, not as a scientist seeking Truth, but as one upon whom Truth eternally thrusts itself as the highest hand maid of imagination, as the one great vehicle of universal understanding”. So no matter the form or genre, whether represented by a legitimate source or a fringe market, an artist is a creator. And it is the responsibility of the creator to espouse the truth through their works. So in the words of one great artist to many others, “To thine self be True”.
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