Art should imitate life and explain to us all in better clarity just what it all means. That is the simplistic view. The problem with art is that it sits uncomfortably beside the lifestyle many of us lead in the modern day world, if we are seen to be pandering to the arts we are deemed "liberal" and if we scorn such wonders of the above average intelligence we are too "Labour".
The fact is the general population would much prefer to see a new hospital being built rather than a piece of breathtaking modern day architecture placed somewhere in a Town Centre with a few strategically placed benches for "the masses" to sit and stare at it.
When put like that it's no wonder art is fighting for funding, governments will play with the press and manipulate figures, newspapers will highlight costs compared to Hospitals and Schools and eventually art suffers (rather unfairly) as a result.
I must admit, art has done itself an injustice over the past few years, the carte blanche attitude to council officials rubber stamping ridiculous monstrosities on the edges of town's and cities which have gone wildly over budget is a travesty that must surely now be addressed, in Shrewsbury my home town we have a "slinky" which is the best way to describe it and it went way over budget (450k) and became the subject of many heated arguments, the idea was well meaning enough being a lasting monument to the great Charles Darwin who was born in the town, but it was headed up by people with poor budgeting skills and as usual, instead of a wonderful tribute to a man of our times it is a laughing stock to locals because of the sheer amount of money it cost, though outsiders without such knowledge marvel at the sight, it is actually truly impressive.
Therein lies a tale, the more the community is involved in art the better it is accepted, too often authorities are blinded by the kudos that comes with signing a well known artist who has national acclaim when in reality if they worked within their own community to find an artist of worth (of which there are many) the whole project would start on not only a better footing but also in a better financial position without the heavy fees a big name demands.
Art to me is never about money, if it is then you are a dealer and as such it's a commodity and you will never truly know it's REAL value. Art is beauty, it's pure, it is from the very heart and soul of the person that produces it. What you see in a statue or a painting or even a book is a screen shot of a time and place in the artists life, something personal. There is no price on that.
If we are to believe in art once more we must take it back from those who continue to see it as purely commercial, art is dummed down when it is used as a way to attract tourists, it loses it's majesty and it's purpose. The great painters expressed themselves on canvas in no dissimilar way to Dickens or Chaucer did in print, we find solace in such work to this day, truly remarkable and it could never be repeated by such disfunctional pieces of pre-cast concrete or pornographic titilation we accept as art and literature these days.
The reality is very little will change, my ramblings will be seen as just that and poor decisions will continue to be made as to what the general public consider art, I am just so very thankful for what true art gives me as a person yet saddened by the continual slagging off of such a necessary part of our every day being, after all hospitals save lives and art enriches our lives, the two are not so different.
The fact is the general population would much prefer to see a new hospital being built rather than a piece of breathtaking modern day architecture placed somewhere in a Town Centre with a few strategically placed benches for "the masses" to sit and stare at it.
When put like that it's no wonder art is fighting for funding, governments will play with the press and manipulate figures, newspapers will highlight costs compared to Hospitals and Schools and eventually art suffers (rather unfairly) as a result.
I must admit, art has done itself an injustice over the past few years, the carte blanche attitude to council officials rubber stamping ridiculous monstrosities on the edges of town's and cities which have gone wildly over budget is a travesty that must surely now be addressed, in Shrewsbury my home town we have a "slinky" which is the best way to describe it and it went way over budget (450k) and became the subject of many heated arguments, the idea was well meaning enough being a lasting monument to the great Charles Darwin who was born in the town, but it was headed up by people with poor budgeting skills and as usual, instead of a wonderful tribute to a man of our times it is a laughing stock to locals because of the sheer amount of money it cost, though outsiders without such knowledge marvel at the sight, it is actually truly impressive.
Therein lies a tale, the more the community is involved in art the better it is accepted, too often authorities are blinded by the kudos that comes with signing a well known artist who has national acclaim when in reality if they worked within their own community to find an artist of worth (of which there are many) the whole project would start on not only a better footing but also in a better financial position without the heavy fees a big name demands.
Art to me is never about money, if it is then you are a dealer and as such it's a commodity and you will never truly know it's REAL value. Art is beauty, it's pure, it is from the very heart and soul of the person that produces it. What you see in a statue or a painting or even a book is a screen shot of a time and place in the artists life, something personal. There is no price on that.
If we are to believe in art once more we must take it back from those who continue to see it as purely commercial, art is dummed down when it is used as a way to attract tourists, it loses it's majesty and it's purpose. The great painters expressed themselves on canvas in no dissimilar way to Dickens or Chaucer did in print, we find solace in such work to this day, truly remarkable and it could never be repeated by such disfunctional pieces of pre-cast concrete or pornographic titilation we accept as art and literature these days.
The reality is very little will change, my ramblings will be seen as just that and poor decisions will continue to be made as to what the general public consider art, I am just so very thankful for what true art gives me as a person yet saddened by the continual slagging off of such a necessary part of our every day being, after all hospitals save lives and art enriches our lives, the two are not so different.
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