Ewwwww. Just the thought of having to write this gives me the willies. Explain why I do what I do? I don't think so. Besides, I'm not THAT kind of artist. I alter things. I don't make statements or tell stories with my art. Do I even make ART? I'm not sure. I haven't found a label for what I do yet. I don't like the sound of "crafter" and, to me, an "artist" is someone who draws or paints. Artisan? Hmmmmm...sounds pretentious.
Anyway, my tea light holders are being published in GreenCraft magazine (yes!!) and I was asked to answer questions about why I made them and what inspires me. It was so hard for me that I almost cried. Seriously. I'm not happy with the way it turned out, but I had a deadline. I guess I will try to come up with something.... or go this route:
"Mark Eitzel from the venerable American Music Club (whose CD jackets by the way contain brilliant art and who many believe is one of the best songwriters of all time) once said he writes “pretentious little songs of quiet self-loathing.” If only all artists could be as honest about their work.
You may have noticed that the underground art project does not have an artist statement. It is not because we could not think of some lofty, pretentious things to say about nothing, or babble about some metaphysical junk, but rather because we feel the whole idea of an artist statement is, well, to be honest, is just down right SILLY. Do you really care what some artist has to say about what his work is about or what it SHOULD be about? Can you not tell these things from simply viewing his work? Why is art so pretentious? Why are artists so pretentious?
Art is completely subjective (unless of course you are an art dealer, then in that case ’subjective’ is a bad word) and is one of the purest forms of expression that eliminates the need for explanations or commentaries. If you like a painting then that’s great, if you don’t then that’s great to. If you can’t decide, then that’s not great, and you should be forced to read endless artists statements until you have an opinion.
If for any other reason you really want to read some poor misguided artist’s pretentious words, the art galleries and the web are full of them (knock yourself out), we however would much rather you listen to Mark Eitzel’s pretentious little songs of quiet self-loathing. After which, you might even be inspired to pick up the brush and start painting.
Stay original… not pretentious."
