I’ve occasionally heard of something called “artspeak,” a kind of jargon, full of terms like “negative space,” used by today’s artists and art critics and incomprehensible to everyone else. Can anyone give me some examples? Is there such thing as a definitive artspeak lexicon or Artspeak-English dictionary online anywhere? How far back does artspeak date?
There’s no such thing as “artspeak.” Like any other possible subject you can name, there are specific words associated with discussing it in detail. People who are educated as engineers share certain parts of their vocabulary, and can discuss the esoterica of their field of specialty without being accused of the snobbery that’s implicit in the word “artspeak.” (At least how it’s usually used; I’m not suggesting the OP is thus dinsingenuous.)
This vocabulary is not a rigidly codified language. It’s English (or whatever language the discussion is taking place in). And so it “dates back” as far as you want to go. There are changes and developments in art, in art education, in art history–as there are in any other field–so the vocabulary continues to evolve.
If you’re discussing art with someone and they use a word or a concept you’re unfamiliar with, ask them what they mean. “Negative space,” for example, has a perfectly logical definition that makes perfect sense when it’s used correctly, in context.
Just ask. THe purpose of language is to communicate, not to exclude.
Not pretentious “artspeak” exactly, but a good site: http://www.artlex.com/
Just because there are individuals who may employ a certain vocabulary pretentiously doesn’t mean that the vocabulary itself is pretentious.
Very true.
The purpose of language is also to exclude, and jargon is often used to identify someone who is unschooled in the subject. It’s still a good idea to ask, though. It’s the best way to find out if the individual is a fraud.
The purpose of language is NOT to exclude, any more than the purpose of a chainsaw is to dismember teenagers.
If the only reason you’d ask for clarification is to test for fraud, then you’re more responsible for any perceived “exclusion” than the person who’s using words you’re not familiar with. If you approach with that kind of whiny paranoia, you’ll always fulfill your own prophecies.
(I always assume that people speaking Spanish on the bus are doing so only to make me feel small and stupid.)