Friday, December 27, 2013
2014 is Almost Here!
I hope everyone had a great time with their families over these past several days. I had a nice relaxing time at home with my family and now I'm making plans for the next year. It's been an interesting and quite challenging 2013. 2014 will be a new chapter- a new story. I'm going to work to make it one of my best.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
What Should Art Criticism Be?
I recently read an op-ed piece by Maureen Dowd published in the New York Times titled "Bigger Than Bambi". She discusses the apparent trend of art critics writing more pleasant reviews of art than have been done in the recent past. She tends to come down on the side of the art critic circle. I believe there is a much better alternative to getting second hand information about art or an artist through an art critic who has his/her own agenda, and who is always wearing their very individual and unique worldview tinted glasses.
As I have stated many times before, I do not find critics useful for the most part. They use their academic knowledge of Art History and personal opinion to appoint themselves as tastemakers for the rest of society. I think this is one of the few negative consequences of the Age of Science. Art, like most of the rest of society has become rather forced into the Scientific Method of approaching the world. Why I am most definitely a proponent of critical thinking and the Scientific Method as a means of discovery and progress, I do not believe it works as well for engaging with art. Art and Science are complimentary and each inspires the other. However, how can a universal metric be put in place to measure every individual's visual communications to the world? Art comes more from a place of dreams, feelings, and an artist's personal experience observing and participating in the world around them. Like Science, Art builds upon itself. Many artist's views and visual conclusions have been copied and extrapolated upon throughout the History of Art. Now, how do you measure something that is constantly elastic. Art is not a linear concept. It's an amalgamation of ideas not bound by the confines of time.
So, how should we interact with the art and artists of 'now'? We should talk about it. Information on art, like everything else imaginable, is instantly available through many reliable avenues. And, as I have written before, the viewer's opinion should always remain paramount. It is up to art lovers to educate themselves as well. Artists should be more engaged with the world(which has been a challenge of mine) and those who love their work. Art lovers/collectors should be seeking information straight from the source rather than an unnecessary middleman. I would read an interview with an artist before I would ever read an art critic's opinion on that same artist. Art should be accessible to anyone who wants to participate and every attempt at making it unobtainable and unnecessarily confusing and absurd should be resisted and changed.
As I have stated many times before, I do not find critics useful for the most part. They use their academic knowledge of Art History and personal opinion to appoint themselves as tastemakers for the rest of society. I think this is one of the few negative consequences of the Age of Science. Art, like most of the rest of society has become rather forced into the Scientific Method of approaching the world. Why I am most definitely a proponent of critical thinking and the Scientific Method as a means of discovery and progress, I do not believe it works as well for engaging with art. Art and Science are complimentary and each inspires the other. However, how can a universal metric be put in place to measure every individual's visual communications to the world? Art comes more from a place of dreams, feelings, and an artist's personal experience observing and participating in the world around them. Like Science, Art builds upon itself. Many artist's views and visual conclusions have been copied and extrapolated upon throughout the History of Art. Now, how do you measure something that is constantly elastic. Art is not a linear concept. It's an amalgamation of ideas not bound by the confines of time.
So, how should we interact with the art and artists of 'now'? We should talk about it. Information on art, like everything else imaginable, is instantly available through many reliable avenues. And, as I have written before, the viewer's opinion should always remain paramount. It is up to art lovers to educate themselves as well. Artists should be more engaged with the world(which has been a challenge of mine) and those who love their work. Art lovers/collectors should be seeking information straight from the source rather than an unnecessary middleman. I would read an interview with an artist before I would ever read an art critic's opinion on that same artist. Art should be accessible to anyone who wants to participate and every attempt at making it unobtainable and unnecessarily confusing and absurd should be resisted and changed.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Do we as a society actually value creativity?
I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed a few days ago and my eyes happened upon this article from Slate: Do we really value creativity?
The article basically states that in our society, conformity is King. Many books have been written about creativity and the myriad of opinions and advice we can use to increase our creative potential. The most basic foundation of creativity is thinking. You can not be 'creative' if you can not generate ideas. In the U.S., our schools do not operate on the principle of creative thinking. Information is input into developing humans and then regurgitated in the form of "Standardized Tests." Creativity and thinking leads to freedom and less control for the powers that be.
As an artist, I can most definitely relate to the author. I will share two actual situations that happened in my life when someone asked for my creative input then dismissed my ideas because they did not gel with the established agendas. The first really clear example occurred while I was a Senior in High School. I was the artist for my school's yearbook from my Sophomore year(unofficially) and throughout my Junior and half of my Senior year. I designed the foil art image that appears on the first page of my Freshman year(1992) yearbook. I was a Freshman, and technically not allowed to be on the yearbook staff. From 1992-1994, I worked with a great group of people who were open to trying new ideas for a really tired and boring public school tradition. In 1993, my High School produced it's most expensive yearbook to date. One feature was the use of velvet on 1/4 of the hardback cover. There were also many advancements in page layout and this was also the time that I first used a computer program(Corel Draw) to produce images. In 1995, I designed the school's first seal.. which I believe is still being used. The folks in my graduating class, however, were not as open and the result speaks for itself. I left half way through the year after being asked for my opinions on visual direction and design only to have my ideas dismissed regularly and consistently. You can not help those who do not want it.
The other very clear example was when I worked in the mortgage servicing division for what was known then as J.P. Morgan Chase. I was hired into an experimental department that 'cleaned up' data from purchased mortgages. In the beginning, our managers were very open to new ideas and asked for all of our 'creativity.' Slowly, due to creative brainstorming and testing, the department developed streamlined processes and methods that maximized efficiency. As the months passed, management came to us underlings less and less frequently asking for input. Instead, they decided they had enough 'creative' input due to the high levels of productivity. Apparently, whatever we were doing at that moment satisfied the mysterious "Corporate" god and as in most businesses, they decided to stick with what was working and not 'rock the boat.' This lead to stagnation of ideas and very low department morale. The group of energized and productive people who were misled to believe they had some sort of ownership of their department now felt betrayed and disheartened- including myself. I do not regret having worked in such an environment as it taught me exactly what I SHOULD NOT be doing. Working in that strict and depressing office environment sent my creative spirit into exile. I did not draw or paint from 2001-2006.
As a society, I think it is a terrible mistake to collectively suffocate our national creative capital. A nation that is not creative is a nation that stagnates and fails to move forward. In 2011, the budget for the 'Defense' Department was 665 BILLION DOLLARS. The 2011 budget for the N.E.A.(National Endowment for the Arts) was 155 MILLION DOLLARS. If we do not want a spectacular national collapse- economically, culturally, or socially, then we should all encourage and nurture creativity whenever and wherever it decides to present itself.
The article basically states that in our society, conformity is King. Many books have been written about creativity and the myriad of opinions and advice we can use to increase our creative potential. The most basic foundation of creativity is thinking. You can not be 'creative' if you can not generate ideas. In the U.S., our schools do not operate on the principle of creative thinking. Information is input into developing humans and then regurgitated in the form of "Standardized Tests." Creativity and thinking leads to freedom and less control for the powers that be.
As an artist, I can most definitely relate to the author. I will share two actual situations that happened in my life when someone asked for my creative input then dismissed my ideas because they did not gel with the established agendas. The first really clear example occurred while I was a Senior in High School. I was the artist for my school's yearbook from my Sophomore year(unofficially) and throughout my Junior and half of my Senior year. I designed the foil art image that appears on the first page of my Freshman year(1992) yearbook. I was a Freshman, and technically not allowed to be on the yearbook staff. From 1992-1994, I worked with a great group of people who were open to trying new ideas for a really tired and boring public school tradition. In 1993, my High School produced it's most expensive yearbook to date. One feature was the use of velvet on 1/4 of the hardback cover. There were also many advancements in page layout and this was also the time that I first used a computer program(Corel Draw) to produce images. In 1995, I designed the school's first seal.. which I believe is still being used. The folks in my graduating class, however, were not as open and the result speaks for itself. I left half way through the year after being asked for my opinions on visual direction and design only to have my ideas dismissed regularly and consistently. You can not help those who do not want it.
The other very clear example was when I worked in the mortgage servicing division for what was known then as J.P. Morgan Chase. I was hired into an experimental department that 'cleaned up' data from purchased mortgages. In the beginning, our managers were very open to new ideas and asked for all of our 'creativity.' Slowly, due to creative brainstorming and testing, the department developed streamlined processes and methods that maximized efficiency. As the months passed, management came to us underlings less and less frequently asking for input. Instead, they decided they had enough 'creative' input due to the high levels of productivity. Apparently, whatever we were doing at that moment satisfied the mysterious "Corporate" god and as in most businesses, they decided to stick with what was working and not 'rock the boat.' This lead to stagnation of ideas and very low department morale. The group of energized and productive people who were misled to believe they had some sort of ownership of their department now felt betrayed and disheartened- including myself. I do not regret having worked in such an environment as it taught me exactly what I SHOULD NOT be doing. Working in that strict and depressing office environment sent my creative spirit into exile. I did not draw or paint from 2001-2006.
As a society, I think it is a terrible mistake to collectively suffocate our national creative capital. A nation that is not creative is a nation that stagnates and fails to move forward. In 2011, the budget for the 'Defense' Department was 665 BILLION DOLLARS. The 2011 budget for the N.E.A.(National Endowment for the Arts) was 155 MILLION DOLLARS. If we do not want a spectacular national collapse- economically, culturally, or socially, then we should all encourage and nurture creativity whenever and wherever it decides to present itself.
Will Brooks Art Second Saturday Holiday Party
In case you missed it, here are some pictures of my studio before we opened the door to a great number of visitors this past Saturday. I'd like to thank my ever-encouraging partners, Chip Ware and Adrian McCall for helping me(as they always do) get everything together and looking fantastic. I had a great time and made several sales.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
The Foolishness of pursuing an MFA
I just discovered this article("Trouble with the MFA") and it prompted me to talk about something that I have not yet touched on- the idiocy of an MFA(Master of Fine Arts) degree. This, like most Masters programs is a scam. (Side note: Nearly every degree program in any field is now a scam). I have a degree myself- BFA from the (non-sexy)Louisiana Tech University. I would say that most, if not all of my teachers were highly competent in their fields, but how does that translate into teaching a student to achieve his/her own vision. This must have happened post-WWII. To me, this is probably the era when art and craft become separated out by pretentious asshats who've been successful at convincing people that they know more about art than everyone else.
So, how do art schools support, educate, and nurture artists vision and hopes and dreams for the future? They don't. I can list the all the classes that benefitted me the most: Color Theory: This was a terrible class to me while I was taking it, but little did I know how much it would help me in the future. Art History: This gave me some background and perspective into a field I was excited to join. Experimental Painting(2 classes): This is self-explanatory. I also enjoyed a glass sculpture class that was only offered during the summer. The rest of the art portion of my education was simply busy work that had to be 'defended' during (sometimes comical)critiques. Students struggle to think of 5 syllable words at a moments notice to describe their work in ways that they think will impress the professor and their peers. After that, it's like a feeding frenzy. The professor and students then take turns telling the student how they'd do this and that differently. How exactly do you tell someone how to express their artistic vision? This is the basis of art school for a BFA.
So, what is required to attain a Masters degree? The only difference between the two is for the MFA, you continue to pursue your vision as an artist, you just pay a boat load more money to keep getting the opinions of professors.
Here is how the scam works. Art School is usually filled with dreamers and idealists, like myself. We pay money to these people in return for the skills and knowledge we need to succeed in life as independent artists, right? Wrong. You are paying to get churned into a system that only exists for itself. Are marketing, business, or accounting classes included in the BFA? Not at my school, and I doubt it is in any other. Why? The expectation is that you will either use your attained knowledge as a hobby, OR get an MFA so you can try to fight and climb your way over others to get the handful of low-level, low-paying teaching jobs that sporadically become available. If this is where you are, then you had better get that carmex out and lube those lips real good because you are in for a marathon of ass-kissing . After all, you are competing with who knows how many other duped artists for that shitty low-paying job. It's what I like to call the University-Industial Complex. To be fair, all degrees in liberal arts are essentially useless. I'd be here a while if I listed all the degreed(and very intelligent) folks I know who are not only NOT working in their field, but doing jobs that were unheard of in the past for degreed individuals.
I've told every person who's asked about whether or not they should get a degree: ABSOLUTELY NOT. UNLESS, you are in a very specific field- pre-med, engineering, etc- degrees that are more about TRAINING than EDUCATING, you are wasting your money and putting yourself under a mountain of disastrous debt. It's simply no longer worth it. I've been out of school now since 2000, and I'm still about $30,000 in the red. Yes, you read that right. Now take into account that my tuition was paid by the state of Louisiana due to all the hard work I put into my public education. That scholarship didn't cover housing or meals, and being poor, I didn't have any other means to pay for that except for loans. I also worked on campus(I did not have a car) 20 hours a week(the maximum hours allowed for a full time student)every quarter of college.
No one can teach you to be creative. You either are or you are not. No amount of criticism from an art teacher will alter the direction of your vision if you are a true artist. So, why bother going to a college? There are numerous instructional videos available all across the internet. There are also free online classes you can take to acquire knowledge you lack. I feel like I was cheated because I was cheated. I guess I'm what could be called a "Populist Artist." This doesn't come as a surprise to me since I'm a direct descendent of the infamous Huey P. Long.. AKA the "FDR of Louisiana." Let's take back art like we all need to take back the country as a whole. Everything is wrong and it's time we all stop being lazy and do something about it. Art was meant for everyone and it should be accessible to everyone.
So, how do art schools support, educate, and nurture artists vision and hopes and dreams for the future? They don't. I can list the all the classes that benefitted me the most: Color Theory: This was a terrible class to me while I was taking it, but little did I know how much it would help me in the future. Art History: This gave me some background and perspective into a field I was excited to join. Experimental Painting(2 classes): This is self-explanatory. I also enjoyed a glass sculpture class that was only offered during the summer. The rest of the art portion of my education was simply busy work that had to be 'defended' during (sometimes comical)critiques. Students struggle to think of 5 syllable words at a moments notice to describe their work in ways that they think will impress the professor and their peers. After that, it's like a feeding frenzy. The professor and students then take turns telling the student how they'd do this and that differently. How exactly do you tell someone how to express their artistic vision? This is the basis of art school for a BFA.
So, what is required to attain a Masters degree? The only difference between the two is for the MFA, you continue to pursue your vision as an artist, you just pay a boat load more money to keep getting the opinions of professors.
Here is how the scam works. Art School is usually filled with dreamers and idealists, like myself. We pay money to these people in return for the skills and knowledge we need to succeed in life as independent artists, right? Wrong. You are paying to get churned into a system that only exists for itself. Are marketing, business, or accounting classes included in the BFA? Not at my school, and I doubt it is in any other. Why? The expectation is that you will either use your attained knowledge as a hobby, OR get an MFA so you can try to fight and climb your way over others to get the handful of low-level, low-paying teaching jobs that sporadically become available. If this is where you are, then you had better get that carmex out and lube those lips real good because you are in for a marathon of ass-kissing . After all, you are competing with who knows how many other duped artists for that shitty low-paying job. It's what I like to call the University-Industial Complex. To be fair, all degrees in liberal arts are essentially useless. I'd be here a while if I listed all the degreed(and very intelligent) folks I know who are not only NOT working in their field, but doing jobs that were unheard of in the past for degreed individuals.
I've told every person who's asked about whether or not they should get a degree: ABSOLUTELY NOT. UNLESS, you are in a very specific field- pre-med, engineering, etc- degrees that are more about TRAINING than EDUCATING, you are wasting your money and putting yourself under a mountain of disastrous debt. It's simply no longer worth it. I've been out of school now since 2000, and I'm still about $30,000 in the red. Yes, you read that right. Now take into account that my tuition was paid by the state of Louisiana due to all the hard work I put into my public education. That scholarship didn't cover housing or meals, and being poor, I didn't have any other means to pay for that except for loans. I also worked on campus(I did not have a car) 20 hours a week(the maximum hours allowed for a full time student)every quarter of college.
No one can teach you to be creative. You either are or you are not. No amount of criticism from an art teacher will alter the direction of your vision if you are a true artist. So, why bother going to a college? There are numerous instructional videos available all across the internet. There are also free online classes you can take to acquire knowledge you lack. I feel like I was cheated because I was cheated. I guess I'm what could be called a "Populist Artist." This doesn't come as a surprise to me since I'm a direct descendent of the infamous Huey P. Long.. AKA the "FDR of Louisiana." Let's take back art like we all need to take back the country as a whole. Everything is wrong and it's time we all stop being lazy and do something about it. Art was meant for everyone and it should be accessible to everyone.
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