When you create the art that you create, who is it supposed to be for?
When I started my photography journey, I’d share my work on Instagram, which at the time was a place that only people I knew personal would be viewing, and those people always showed interest in and enjoyed my work. As years passed, my work started to evolve into something that I would say is not meant for everyone; not everyone was going to like the work that I was started to create for whatever reason they had. And I was okay with and could understand that. As I discovered more places on the Internet to share my work, my work started to reach more and more people outside of real life friends and relatives. And with that came more and more opinions from people on my work.
I’m one hundred percent accepting of a critique on my work, be it the subject or the presentation (composition, color, lighting, etc.). But one thing that seems to come with opinions from people who may not agree with you is those people trying to convince you that you, or what you’ve created, is wrong because it doesn’t fit into what they think it should be.
“Art is subjective.” Isn’t that a thing? Or should I ask: Wasn’t that a thing?
Now there are technical aspects of art that could be considered objective. Blown out highlight or muddy shadows in a piece of visual art. Clipping audio in a recording. Those things exist and can understandably be acknowledged. But the content of someone’s art, I don’t think, should ever be made the focus of what you don’t like about it. You can have a discussion amongst your peers about it. Sure. But to tell someone that what they’ve created is art or doesn’t fit this genre of art because you don’t like it isn’t positive criticism. And why should you ever give negative criticism to someone about their art.
I’m only an artist in two area, music and photography, but I know several people who are artists of other types (illustrators, graphic designers, culinary, jewelers, and more) and I peek into those world every now and then. Photography is the only artform that I’ve seen people put down other so agressively because something doesn’t fit what they believe to be the right thing.
Who do we create our art for?
Outside of commisioned work, is art being created for people who aren’t the artists? I’ve heard multiple times, in the music world, that you’re not creating music for yourself, you’re creating it for the world/listener. Really? Sure, some people do, and that’s okay. But I don’t find that to be a universal rule. Some people create their art and allow the world to see it. It may not fit your idea of what something should be. You have the opportunity to witness it and if you enjoy it, you enjoy it, if you don’t, you don’t. Not everything is for everyone, and not everything that’s not for someone needs to be addressed out loud.
I’ve said all of this to say two things:
- For the artists, create what you love, for yourself. Share that with the world if you feel it should. But don’t create for others; unless you’re being hired/commissioned to do so.
- For the observers of different forms of art, not everything is going to be for you, your taste, or display/represent what you agree with. Positive criticism is great, if that’s what you have to offer. But discrediting someone’s art because it doesn’t align with your and your views isn’t great. You can keep the latter to yourself one hundred percent of the time and everyone would be happier.
I had a bit of a brain fart while writing this and feel like I wasn’t completely focused in my writing, but I think I got the point across on how I feel about art and the criticisms of it.