Depth vs. Breadth
I mentioned a while back that I would write a post about why I stepped down from helping with the artquiltreviews website. As this topic is very much related to my posts the last few weeks it seems like time to finish this note and get it posted.
I helped to start up the artquiltsreview website last year after I posted some comments about the lack of serious reviews in the art quilt world on an art-quilter email list. I posted my comments on my blog in this post about Critical Reviews of Art Quilts. To summarize, I pondered the lack of serious reviews in the quilt world and what might happen if someone were to start posting such reviews on their blog.
My comments stirred up an interest by a group of dedicated artists to change the situation and artquiltreviews was created. I was involved with the website for about 4 months.
I have to admit I had misgivings about the endeavor from the start because I tend to find group efforts such as this draining, but I gave it a go anyway. This was a factor in my decision to leave, coming to consensus is important for such efforts to succeed and I simply don’t have the time right now to work through such discussions. Between the day job as a software engineer and the real job as an artist, plus kids, house, etc, etc I’m pretty well booked out on my time. Clearly I should have thought this through better. In other words I need to learn to say NO! better.
But the main reason I left the website is that I didn’t feel it was going in a direction that I was happy with. Most of the reviews that have been posted on this website are group shows. And many of them less than impressive group shows.
Shows that in my opinion are part of the reason quilters have a hard time getting respect in the art world. My thoughts on that are in my previous Respect post.
I felt I was supporting and giving credibility to exactly the thing that I wanted to change. It seemed backwards – the more these shows were reviewed the more group shows that popped up looking to be reviewed. And any critical comments were generally met with resistance from the quilt world. I think they failed to see the value of the reviews in the same light as I had intended. I wanted critical reviews so the quilt world could question what they were doing and maybe rethink our general direction and make improvements.
Many of these group shows bill themselves as displaying all the millions of things that can be done with quilting and fiber. Survey shows that educate the world about the breadth of art quilting. But what I’d like to see is some depth, some shows that focus on the work of 1 or at most a handful of artists. Show that demonstrate that we can develop our art form beyond the latest new trick and technique and create mature bodies of work that are equivalent to the painters and sculptors out there.
I do believe and hope the website will continue to move forward as I feel critical reviews of quilt shows are extremely important and someday the website will begin to serve the purpose I had envisioned. I just don’t have the time to devote to helping make that change. There are some very dedicated folks at the helm and I do believe they will succeed if they keep going and I wish them the best of luck.
I’ve found that if I really want to succeed on my goals I need to stay focused on them. Pulling the entire quilt world up along with me is a noble effort and one I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut about, but I do know the more I resist getting into those conversations and efforts the more progress I make on my own art and career. Selfish? Maybe. But I only have so many hours in the day and at some point I’d like to quit my job and just be a full time artist and that isn’t going to happen if I focus on bettering the world vs. bettering my own art.
Posted by Lisa in: Art Marketing, Musings, The Art World
Saying No is very difficult, especially when one feels strongly about something. On the other hand one should be firm and stick with one’s own priorities. I have found that being ’selfish’ has been vital in my building up a body of work of increasing quality, and it allows me the vital pondering time for development of ideas.
The odd thoughts I throw up in my own blog sometimes cover the question of art and art quilts (such as my post Influences: whence and whither? of 9 March), but I gave up long ago on any hope of debate. Perhaps not enough people read or are interested in my blog – or perhaps the people who get on with making art with their quilts just don’t wish to or have the time to involve themselves with blogs.
I have found in the past few months that the ’selfishness’ needed to progress my art work has made me cut down on the amount of time spent on the internet. There are so often debates which I’d like to get into, or topics which seem fascinating, but reading them just has to be enough because otherwise my mind could spend each whole day wandering down infinite paths of interest. So I confine myself now mostly to reading a tiny selection of blogs daily, and commenting only from time to time – and mostly when not only do I feel I have something to say, but I’ll admit: when I’m in between other activities.
But I find that I so often want to say yea to what you write.
I don’t think it’s selfish. How can one create if one is pulled in so many directions and it takes away from your art? While I enjoy reading differing viewpoints and art discussions/debates I find I cannot afford to get sucked into them. They take up too much time emotionally, intellectually and physically, time that could be spent honing my craft, my art, my love, my life.
I think you can achieve your goal and set an example by concentrating on your art and continuing to create work that cannot be dismissed as just a quilt.
I totally agree with Jafabrit’s comment above — words are easy to spout, but being a role model is a very strong position and will affect more change than lecturing. Best to you! Love seeing the progression of your work.
Excellent comments everyone – thanks for the support. I agree with all of you. There are a zillion conversations out there that can pull us in too many directions and I do much better when I ignore them. All the big email lists and group blogs and personal blogs – it’s just too much information and distraction.
Which is why I love blogs – I can read them when I feel like it and ignore them when I want to and comment when I find the time.