John Seed: I Don't Deconstruct

[Shawn Dougherty]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-seed/i-dont-deconstruct_b_711120.html

I found this highly entertaining. I thought some of you might as well.

 

[cliveh]

This would be funny if it weren't so true. Bring back art without analysis.

 

[Tom1956]

It only took the name Huffington Post for me to move on.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

It only took the name Huffington Post for me to move on.

Who peed in your porridge?

 

[pbromaghin]

Oh. But Tom1956, this one was actually worth reading.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Interesting article, Shawn, about the cycles of what's popular in the art world.

 

[Vaughn]

The best phrase I took from the (good) article: "I take the approach that the Dalai Lama suggests, looking for what I have in common with people -- and artists -- before I consider how we might differ in our views. "

 

[Tom1956]

Who peed in your porridge?

oops, sorry. I immediately thought of a couple family members who are academia retirees. He sits around watching MSNBC, CNN, and Huffington all day, and she is a REAL piece of work. They wear that stuff on their sleeve and are quick as rattlesnakes to snap at you. You gotta be careful about reading any of that kind of thing. On the subject of art, I figure the less said is the better, and to let it speak for itself.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

That's brilliant. I'll have to remember to re-blog that. But it's a sad comment on the state of the arts academy today.

 

[Tom1956]

That's brilliant. I'll have to remember to re-blog that. But it's a sad comment on the state of the arts academy today.

I know you weren't referring to post my post above.

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

The best phrase I took from the (good) article: "I take the approach that the Dalai Lama suggests, looking for what I have in common with people -- and artists -- before I consider how we might differ in our views. "

I especially liked that line as well.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I know you weren't referring to post my post above.

Yes, I was referring to the thread starter, not your post. No skin off my ass if you do or don't like Huffington Post.

 

[Darkroom317]

Yep. This sounds familiar. My final paper in Philosophy of Art was about interpretation ruining art. Susan Sontag's Against Interpretation is a great essay on the subject. Also, I covered this to some extent in a thread a while ago.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Klainmeister]

I once deconstructed some photos people brought in for critique. What a mess!

 

[cliveh]

I think deconstructed images should be defined as turning them into jigsaw puzzles.

 

[blansky]

Firstly, everyone has an opinion.

Secondly, everyone needs to make a living.

That brings us the uncomfortable bedfellows known as art and commerce.

Part of the art side consists of artists, schools, teachers and of course serious bullshitters and failed artists.

Part of the commerce side consists of agents, galleries, salespeople, media writers and of course serious bullshitters and failed artists.

Put them all together and you've got the clusterfuck that is ART.

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

Firstly, everyone has an opinion.

Secondly, everyone needs to make a living.

That brings us the the uncomfortable bedfellows known as art and commerce.

Part of the art side consists of artists, schools, teachers and of course serious bullshitters and failed artists.

Part of the commerce side consists of agents, galleries, salespeople, media writers and of course serious bullshitters and failed artists.

Put them all together and you got the clusterfuck that is ART.

I have neither heard nor read a more succinct description.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Firstly...

Remember when I said in the PM that you were one of my favorite posters?

This is why I said that...

Ken

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Firstly, everyone has an opinion.

Secondly, everyone needs to make a living.

That brings us the uncomfortable bedfellows known as art and commerce.

Part of the art side consists of artists, schools, teachers and of course serious bullshitters and failed artists.

Part of the commerce side consists of agents, galleries, salespeople, media writers and of course serious bullshitters and failed artists.

Put them all together and you've got the clusterfuck that is ART.

I think you're a brilliant person, but if you tell me that art is a mix of artistic expression and commerce, then I'm going to have to have another drink...
Maybe I'm the exception; I don't know. While I like it when others appreciate my work to the point that they shell out hard earned cash for one of my works, selling my work never really enters my mind as I pursue what I love so much to do.
Am I the only one here who makes their living elsewhere, so that we can sustain our passion of being photographers/artists?

I generally agree with your statement, but would like some clarification on the commerce thing.

 

[blansky]

I think you're a brilliant person, but if you tell me that art is a mix of artistic expression and commerce, then I'm going to have to have another drink...
Maybe I'm the exception; I don't know. While I like it when others appreciate my work to the point that they shell out hard earned cash for one of my works, selling my work never really enters my mind as I pursue what I love so much to do.
Am I the only one here who makes their living elsewhere, so that we can sustain our passion of being photographers/artists?

I generally agree with your statement, but would like some clarification on the commerce thing.

Thanks for the "brilliant" comment but believe me, it is extreme hyperbole.

My comment was not about art but about ART.

What you do is art. ART is the phenomena that happens when the middlemen/women appear on the scene to help in the creation, marketing and distribution of art.

Unfortunately artists are rarely good at commerce, therein lies the vacuum.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Am I the only one here who makes their living elsewhere, so that we can sustain our passion of being photographers/artists?

No, as you've probably read, I do something else entirely. I'm not an artist. I'm a weekend photographic hacker. But it's that something else that I do that allows me to sustain my hacking, and is a good part of the reason I can continue to pursue it. Half of my hacking is enabled by that something else. And the other half is therapy enabling survival of that something else.

It's a strange symbiosis.

Ken

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Thanks for the "brilliant" comment but believe me, it is extreme hyperbole.

My comment was not about art but about ART.

What you do is art. ART is the phenomena that happens when the middlemen/women appear on the scene to help in the creation, marketing and distribution of art.

Unfortunately artists are rarely good at commerce, therein lies the vacuum.

About the hyperbole... You seem to have a clarity in your thinking, which I'm sure more than I appreciate. But enough of that.

Thanks for clarifying. I see what you mean now.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

No, as you've probably read, I do something else entirely. I'm not an artist. I'm a weekend photographic hacker. But it's that something else that I do that allows me to sustain my hacking, and is a good part of the reason I can continue to pursue it. Half of my hacking is enabled by that something else. And the other half is therapy enabling survival of that something else.

It's a strange symbiosis.

Ken

Hacker... That's pretty much how I feel too, and I much prefer being called 'photographer', or 'darkroom printer', than 'artist'.

Glad you're able to enjoy your hobby, and to have a passion.
I sometimes call photography my 'insanity asylum', because of how it helps relieve stress from the rest of my life. Am I deconstructing the reasons for being a photographer now?

 

[blockend]

I'm suspicious of those who avoid analysis. I smell puppies and flowers that way. The problem isn't deconstruction, it's the chumps who've cornered the market in it.

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

My comment was not about art but about ART.

That's how I read it, an excellent distinction.