Art happening, Art Inspires the Curious Minds 100 Acrylic Art Gua…—See-ming Lee ??? SML (Flickr.com)

What exactly is an Art Happening? If you ever get invited to what looks like a typical art exhibit opening, but find yourself and other people in a gallery that is practically empty…don’t fret. Chances are you did not get the date and the location wrong. Wait a couple of minutes, and if the artist comes out and starts interacting with you and the rest of the invited guests in what seems to be a scripted dialogue, you can be sure that the event is an Art Happening.

Art Happening is also known as performance art. The location for this type of art is not strictly confined to fine art galleries, but could be anywhere: from the subway to someone’s basement to an open field. The difference between performance art and traditional theater arts is, of course, the location. Theaters have more formal set-ups with lights and acoustics being necessary parts of the whole performance. Performance art is more free-wheeling, sometimes improvisational , and almost always unexpected.

Too often, the audience becomes part of the art-making process and not just witnesses, as with regular theatrical performances who are comfortably seated in a theater. One of the main purposes of an Art Happening/performance art is to blur the boundaries between performance and audience. This has resulted in a variety of reactions from those who find themselves suddenly part of an Art Happening, and those witnessing it from a distance. It is not uncommon for people to find the entire thing offensive, especially if the theme of the Art Happening deals with religion, politics, gender, race, etc. Remember that Art Happenings are usually not advertised and don’t come with disclaimers, as they thrive on the element of surprise. Chances are, if the topic is a sensitive one, you won’t be able to know about it until it unravels in front of you.

In cases like these, you can always walk away and keep your cool. But if you’re willing to keep an open mind, stay around and see what kind of message transpires. Many, if not all, performance artists allow an open forum after the performance so the audience can ask questions about it. If the artist simply wants to shock his audience, chances are there won’t be any interviews or open forum allowed. But if he wants to drive his point home deeper, then you’re allowed to clarify things abut his performance, and he should be able to answer your questions.

Art Happenings can be inspiring, disappointing, enlightening, confusing, infuriating, funny, dramatic, depressing, or it can be ineffective and draw no response from its audience. But should you find yourself in the middle of one, try to go with the flow and see where it leads you…you have nothing to lose.

Art gallery, Exhibition View Impressions The Printed Image El C…—Marshall Astor Food Fetishist… (Flickr.com)

I love the gallery, the arena of representation. It’s a commercial world, and morality is based generally around economics, and that’s taking place in the art gallery.

-Artist Jeff Koons

Even with the cutting-edge lay out and almost sterile whitewashed walls for the more modern versions, a fine arts gallery is, indeed, an arena of sorts. Many visual artists compete for the chance to get noticed, to draw first blood, in a manner of speaking, as far as launching the next most notable art work is concerned. This, in turn, can make or break the artist. Collectors can either line up in eager anticipation of his next output, or critics can have a field day tearing his technique, compositional skills (or lack thereof), and other aspects of his artistic processes to pieces.

The quote above, coming from Jeff Koons, seems like a strange one at best. Koons’ works are typically of monumental dimensions and are oftentimes treated thusly: he exhibits in public places and often does commissioned works using outsized sculptural elements, representing many important commercial clients. But, once upon a time, he also depended on art galleries to represent him and his work.

What does it mean for both the artist and the audience when an art gallery chooses to represent the former to present work to the latter? Plenty. For one thing, a relatively unknown artist would have no time to worry about PR for his work: he’d choose to concentrate on providing the kind of output on a regular basis which would establish him as somebody to take seriously. Too often, many artists showing a semblance of “genius” with one or two works fall into the trap of complacency or the need to promote their own work. Thus, the quality and quantity of their works get compromised, hurting their reputation in the process.

Having a gallery represent an artist means not worrying about the legwork and press and media mileage because someone else is doing that for you. Other artists also are lucky enough to get a stipend from wealthy galleries. Gambling on an artist by providing living allowances for them not only shows confidence and faith in the artist: it is also a way of making them work for the money and earning for the gallery, in turn.

As for the audience, one could argue that there are many other “arenas” where art can be presented to them, such as at an auction or online. However, providing a venue for new art as they arrive is sort of like getting “the store experience” when buying a new product. Or maybe a hospital nursery, where babies are “displayed” soon after they are born.

Art Gallery—dgroup (Flickr.com)

You may be asking yourself, “What’s all the fuss? It’s just an art show.” However, whether you’re the artist, the curator, the gallery owner, a spectator, or an art appreciator, there are certain unspoken protocol about how to behave in an art gallery, especially when an exhibit is opening at the time.

First off, exhibit openings are hotbeds of egos and eccentric personalities. If somebody acts up, it is more than likely that it can create an unsavory scenario and involve other people. It can happen without your being involved, but do everything to steer clear of such scenes.

The most important thing to remember is, DO NOT IGNORE THE ART. Be there for the art. The food may be yummy, the people may be interesting, the wine may be free-flowing, but pay due respect to the artist by looking at the works first before doing whatever. In this regard, avoid making faces or loud pronouncements about the art, even if it doesn’t appeal to you. Act with class and finesse. You can discuss your thoughts with close friends or colleagues at another venue and time, but not during an art show with the artist within hearing distance.

Another important thing: try not to upstage the artist or steal their thunder. You may be an artist yourself or some important celebrity, but this is not your night. So avoid swanning in wearing an outfit that will make people wonder if you are a performance artist, or merely craving for attention. If you do this, you will definitely get attention, but not the positive kind. Unless you are identified with certain type of clothing, your best bet would be to wear something comfortable.

Eccentric personality notwithstanding, draw the line at boorish behavior. Not only will you earn a lot of enemies on exhibit night, but security personnel can kick you out if you insist on rubbing people the wrong way. If you tend to get loudmouthed or brash after a few drinks, then avoid drinking alcohol like a fish. Have a friend intervene if you must, but again, show respect to the artist by being on your best behavior during their night.

Speaking of beverages, go slow on consuming them. Avoid hogging all the wine and drinks, as people are still bound to attend the exhibit and be in need of refreshments themselves. Some “professional exhibit-goers” have been known to hoard bottles of wine and beer in their bags, treating the event as a kind of alcoholic soup kitchen. Again, frown at this and do not imitate.

Newsweek’s The 13 Most Useless College Majors As Determined By Science piece has been circulating the blogosphere and social media sites for almost a week now. Of course, it got its share of disses. Nobody wants to be told that their degree is useless. Included in the list are

1. Fine Arts

2. Drama and Theatre Arts

3. Film, Video, and Photographic Arts

4. Commercial Art and Graphic Design

5. Architecture

6. Philosophy and Religious Studies

7. English Literature and Language

8. Journalism

9. Anthropology and Archeology

10. Hospitality Management

11. Music

12. History

13. Political Science and Government

Apparently, the “usefulness” factor that resulted in this list can be gauged by a college student asking himself “Will I get my money’s worth on this college major?”

If the answer is no and he is aiming for one of the degrees in this list, then it is to all intents and purposes, justified.

However, the definition of usefulness by the writer of this Newsweek piece is definitely shortsighted. The reason most of these degrees exist in the first place is that they go beyond mere money-making intentions. While they may fall short on the expanded definition of “usefulness”, which goes thusly:

“This year we started with new research (PDF) from Georgetown University—which drew from two years of census data to determine the prospects for myriad majors—to narrow down our list to more than three dozen popular college majors. We also used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, equally weighing the following categories to determine current and future employment and earnings potential for our final ranking: Recent graduate employment, Experienced graduate employment, Recent graduate earnings, Experienced graduate earnings, & Projected growth in total number of jobs, 2010–2020.”

 

But people still aim for degrees that will contribute cultural, artistic, and political value to society, believe it or not. Fine arts in particular (hooray, it’s first on the list!) has been making breakthroughs in recent times even on the economic front. Though not all artists have been privileged to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for every exhibition or piece they come up with, the appreciation for fine arts pieces has never been more apparent. The art scene has never been more alive, more daring (think Banksy and Shepard Fairey), and more thought-provoking.

So is Fine Arts a useless degree? Employment had never been art’s strongest suit. At best, craftsmen and artisans can claim to be employed and earning only sporadically, unless they own their own business. Fine arts, which typically offer painting and sculpture as main output, cannot even claim something like that, unless the artist is a muralist or has steady commissioned work.

However, something beautiful that resonates and describes moods, thoughts, and ideas without words, only with color and texture, and composition, can never be useless in the grand scheme of things.

The debate on craft versus (fine) art has been a long and tiring one. This blog entry from Caressing the Muse called Craft vs Art vs Business takes on the argument by illustrating the fine art of writing with a succinct and descriptive tone. To quote the author on writing as an art and a craft:

As an art, writers are expected to nurture those immeasurable talents that cannot be learned; these talents range from our narrative voice to our intuition when combining story elements, selecting the right word for the right sentence, and managing the flow of words and ideas.

 

 

As a craft, writers are expected to adhere to certain established principles that determine assessed quality of a written piece:  these principles apply to everything from grammar to structure, from genre boundaries to logical development, from character arc to the tools used to evoke an effective scene.

 

 

The same can be said of visual arts and crafts. Crafts can be learned by anyone with enough discipline to follow a certain set of rules and with enough skills to come up with an expected product. Fine art is more personal, with the end result that resonates with a viewer in a unique way which no department or chain-store product will do.

So just imagine seeing this up close in a gallery:

Primavera Botticelli Sborgi—Lynn Gracie

as opposed to coming across something like this in a souvenir store:

Fairy figurine, Baby Fairy with Irridescent Wings—FantasyClay (Flickr.com)

Both examples may claim aesthetics, but you can tell which one has history and talent versus mere craftsmanship, skill, and a desire to sell.

What would you consider to be fine art? This term is commonly thrown around by people unfamiliar with the art world in general. We believe that fine art is that which is pure and adheres to classical forms of inspiration.

Sketch of the author Arnold Bennett 1920—Futurilla (Flickr.com)

One form of fine art is illustration and that can take many forms like a sketch/drawing or even a flow or hand movement.

This sketch of Arnold Bennett from 1920 is pretty typical of that era and shows the grace of the movement and tone of the lines.

Other forms of work that is considered fine art are paintings. They come in many forms like oil, water, chalk etc. These materials are often used to create a different mood and texture that is common to that brush.  Often these paintings are framed in elborate ornate structures that are fine art to themselves.

Fine art painting, Rouen Museum of Fine Arts Mar 2009 Family Portrait…—gareth1953 Friends I

Some people consider comic book as fine art as well and many older historical forms of comic book art can be found in museums and galleries around the world. 

Other materials like wood, metals and sand can be used to create fine art. 

another example is