Vulnerability of Artists

Artists have very little choice but to express themselves. A hardwired compulsion within us forces us to bridge our own inner truths with that of the world outside. It is hardly a profession with assured retirement benefits or even recognition within one’s own lifetime.

Vulnerability is a given! In honoring the impulse to create, artists are also conceding to the likelihood of misinterpretation and cruel judgments.

Personally I have endured much criticism; sometimes the harshest are my very own.

Once during a class critic a painting that I had painstakingly worked on for 14 hours was simply picked off the easel and dropped on the ground, very much like an apple picker would throw away a fruit because his basket was full. Needless to say the experience was painful. I endured it by first pretending to be braver than I was and then by simply continuing to paint.

Over time I have learnt that I cannot stop or refrain from the act of creating itself – once having taken root creativity seems to grow unhindered and carefree.

Usually, when I’m heavily criticized I’m hopeless with a quick comeback.  I belong to that vast majority of people who know what they should have said exactly five minutes after the moment has expired and then beat themselves up for the next several days for not having spoken their mind.

However, recently, I had the cruel satisfaction of knowing the exact thing to say in a highly charged situation.  Upon being criticized for my writing style, which is pretty much like the way I look or how tall I am – things that I have little control over, I indulged in a very sarcastic retort.  It was a classic and something that will be spoken over several Thanksgiving dinner’s, a statement that will be time-honored and go down generations.

In case you are wondering, I’m not very proud of my sudden prowess with incisive words and phrases. Self-righteous anger is like being high on alcohol – it leaves you flat when the high is gone! Especially if like me, you too are born with both a heart and a soul.

Another instance of unnecessary criticism is classically portrayed in the movie ‘Five Flights Up’, starring Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman. The movie circles around a hectic weekend when the pair are trying to sell the apartment in which they have formulated a life for about 40 years.

One of the bedrooms in the apartment is used as a studio by Morgan Freeman and is stacked with paintings painted by him.

During an open house when they courageously open their home to potential buyers, the callousness of those visiting is both humorous and reflective of the shallow and dismissive urban culture that we have all adopted.  With the couple still present in their home that they have cherished for years, potential buyers talk carelessly about gutting down walls, clearing up the ‘clutter’ of his artistic pieces, changing the bath tub and on and on. Some even comment on his artistic capability forgetting that they are there to buy his apartment and not his art- work.

Morgan Freeman chuckles as he says, ‘everyone’s a critic these days’ and his comment came very close to home for me.

Truthfully, I understand completely that not everyone will fall in love with my work. My raw writing style and my niche novels are not for all. My love for the human form and my deep joy in painting the human figure is definitely not for those who prefer other forms or techniques.

I myself have been appalled in finding a urinal as an art piece, though I have to admit it made me curious about the thought process of the audacious artist who chose to do that.

Artists are definitely more susceptible to criticism but like most humans we understand that our life’s work may not be appreciated easily.  My child’s kindergarten teacher used to say, “if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all” and while that attitude is much appreciated, if you do have to say something then try to say it with kindness.

Personally I have to admit that not even my sulking ego has the capability of keeping me from my work for long. So since I might just survive – please beware!

Why Picasso is a great artist?

I’m not particularly fascinated by cubism. But I love the audacious spirit in its invention.  To me Picasso is not necessarily a great painter, perhaps even an average one but he is a truly great ‘artist’.

Recently I visited a special exhibit, show casing Picasso’s work at the Barnes in Philadelphia. Most often when I visit museums I just enjoy the paintings as a whole. This time I felt as If I was transported into his studio.

I watched as he broke off a piece of charcoal, heard him blow the charcoal dust away from the image he had produced, tweak it a bit with his pinky finger and so on.  It might have just been my hyper active imagination but if it made the experience richer then so be it!

When I was first introduced to art history, I was surprised as how dismissive the western art historians have typically been about stylized, two dimensional and decorative arts of other cultures. It seemed to me that art from cultures that ignored accurate replication of nature or did not keep perspective in mind, like in the western art culture, were quiet often classified as something that was inferior in technique and skill.

Therefore the emotive expression of a Neanderthal upon his cave walls, the highly decorative Persian and oriental works, the stylized human figures of the Africans, the two dimensional miniature pieces of my own Indian heritage are amongst the examples of work that had been classified as unrefined and entry level.

This was the predominant notion that prevailed in the western art world at the time of Pablo Picasso. However, like many open-minded artists he too was influenced by the forms and norms of other cultures particularly the simplicity of the stylized stick figures produced by the Africans.

At the time Picasso’s geometric and two-dimensional cubist ideas, was not tested nor was he famous enough to proclaim it as a new trend in the art world.

To deviate from the norm, to have a thought process that is unconventional and to be fearless of ridicule is in my mind an act of courageous innovation.

Even when I’m not a great fan of his work, by destabilizing the set mental concept of ‘right’ way to produce art, I think, he paved the way for many artists to make their own mark upon the world.

 Perhaps this is why he deserves to be called a great ‘artist’.