To a certain extent, it’s the artist themself who determines what is good or not. Unless they’re “painting for the masses”, what they’re trying to do is put an image, shape, idea, etc. down on canvas or into a sculpture, or whatever, that best exemplifies their vision. Only the artist can tell you if it turned out well. That being said, as a viewer you can decide if you like it or not, and hey…that’s totally your opinion.
Here in NY there’s the Met, MOMA, and tons of smaller museums and galleries. You can go through and watch the people…some will stare intently at a particular painting, others will give the same painting barely a glance. Doesn’t mean it’s good or bad…just reflective of the individual’s taste.
Getting back to my original point, my wife’s an artist. Most of her work I think is great…some of it I find less appealing. I’m sure she’d disagree with me. Some things I love, she’s not happy with. Some of the things I found less appealing, she’s quite pleased with.
So like many of the previous posters, it doesn’t need to be positive, negative, good or otherwise. It’s whatever you like.
If it can be good AND positive, that’s wonderful. But overall, good is more important ("good and “important” being subjective). Good art inspires me. Positive art makes me feel good, but it can sometimes be like cotton candy: a fleeting sensation, no real substance.
Well said.
I agree. And I’d like to add that there ARE a lot of concrete things to judge a work of art by. It’s not completely subjective. There are certain criteria to judge a piece’s merit.
Just like there are good and bad ways to play the violin, the same goes for drawing something.
Not to say that the occasional folk artist can’t break all the rules and still create something beautiful. It’s just uncommon.
I’d much rather see something that was well thought out and crafted, be it positive or not, than something slapdash.
Then again, I could create an argument completely dicrediting the one I just made… But it’s way too early and I’m way too pooped…
As far as I’m concerned, all good art is positive art. An artist takes the time to really pay attention and respond to the world…I think that inherently life affirming.
Conversely, a lot of stuff that gets called “life affirming”
(God I hate that phrase. Even though I just used it.)is so awful and trite- that’s the stuff that makes me want to kill myself.
Isn’t that kind of depressing? The idea that to feel ok about life you have to leave large parts of it out?
I say again, it was the nasty ugly goth and industrial music I listened to in high school that KEPT me from coming to school with a gun.
seriousart, I’d like to sit down and discuss art with you, I like your views so far, and you seem to know quite a bit about it. As an artist myself, I find that you can not make a statement as to whether art is better if it’s positive or good, or both, or whatever. Art is Art IMO, and generally, I like to have feelings evoked through art. Both ways actually, and what I mean is, that when I look at a painting, a sculpture, a film, I enjoy it immensely when something emotional inside me is revealed through it, when I have an emotional reaction of any sort to the art. Likewise, I prefer to put my emotions into the art that I create, hoping like Picasso in seriousarts explanation, to have the viewer see things other than the obvious, and perhaps invoke within them some type of emotional reaction.
This isn’t to say that I agree with all “shock” art. I don’t agree that to simply make something “shocking” is good. It’s just shocking. But if it can be shocking and invoke something more emotional, such as fear, hate, love, tension, anxiety, courage, sadness…etc. then that I feel is the point of Art being art. Other than to represent something that is real or obvious, it may have within it something more.
Hey soulsling,
More than happy to chat anytime. Mind you, my knowledge of art varies from fuzzy to really, really fuzzy, but I know my fundamentals. At last count I think I took something like 12 art history classes while in college. Sadly, most of them became naptime to make up for all the other classes I was up around the clock for. Still, a couple factoids snuck into my brain, if only subliminally while I slept.
Sounds like you’ve logged in some art school time under your belt as well. I’m sure you can probably relate. I still can’t hear a slide projector’s fan without it triggering a Pavlovian urge to nap.
I actually hate these type of discussions, so I really don’t know why I started this thread, just an impulsive reaction to a frustrating event I think, but since I did start it I feel I have the obligation to respond at least once to the discussion.
You see, the thing about art is it’s…well it’s ability to…well like you have truth right?..er… aw fuck it!