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Listen When Others Tell You About Your Art

Q: I read where you recommended that artists never destroy or liquidate their art for next to nothing, but rather that they save it, no matter what it is or how much of it they have. All great artists review their work and destroy what they do not perceive as being up to their standards, like Hopper, Hoffman, Park and Rouault, for example. It is up to artists to create their own images, not obscure reviewers or dreary academics.

A: You somewhat misunderstand me on this issue. I agree with you that artists should go through their work periodically and weed out pieces that do not meet their standards. What I advise against is that an artist destroy pieces en masse simply because he's run out of storage space, he's moving into smaller quarters, or the person he lives with decides that a major housecleaning is in order. I doubt that Hopper, Hoffman, Park or Rouault used those sorts of criteria when evaluating their work and deciding which pieces to keep and which to throw out.

As for your statement about obscure reviewers and dreary academics and, while we're at it, let's toss in dealers, collectors, and anyone else who views and responds to art rather than creates it, no artist creates art in a vacuum and no artist totally creates his or her own image. The art that you or any other artist produces is the result of a lifetime of experiences and interactions including those with dealers, teachers, collectors, academics, reviewers, family members, fellow artists, and everyone and everything else on the planet that you come into contact with. You receive continuous written, verbal, and visual feedback on all aspects of your art on an ongoing basis, and ignoring what you don't want to hear only works to your detriment. Labeling or stereotyping reviewers, academics, or anybody else is just as bad because in doing so, you insulate yourself from their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and feedback, some of which may be highly constructive.

Consider an extreme example for a moment. Suppose that Picasso had lived and created all of his art in total seclusion in a cave in the wilderness until the year 1970, and then introduced himself to the public for the very first time. To believe for one instant that either his image or his art would even remotely resemble the image, the art, and the place in art history that he holds today would be absurd.

Never dismiss an art-related experience out-of-hand, no matter how dreary the academic, obscure the reviewer, or how little anyone else offering feedback knows about art. You don't have to act every single time anyone makes a remark about either you or your work, but you should at least give their thoughts a few moments of your time. Those instances when people respond to your art are wonderful opportunities for dialogue, argument, involvement, creativity, and evolution.