Bloggers vs Curators

If I lived a bit closer to Seattle, I would go to Katy Stone’s  SPLENDOR ROT exhibition at Greg Kucera’s gallery.  Her artist’s statement describes her work as:

…”(h)ints of the seemingly disparate impulses of both minimalism and “maximalism” (the Baroque, Symbolist, Romantic and Rococo)”

Katy Stone: Edge of the World (wind) 2007

etched and laquered steel

On a separate, but related note I had the chance to read an art review in the New York Times this morning.   Mogs was occupied for a good twenty minutes by a blessed bagel with raspberry jam at our neighborhood bakery.  The article, “Scaling a Minimalist Wall With Bright, Shiny Colors”by Holland Cotter, detailed the current exhibition at the Hudson River Museum of artists from the Pattern & Decoration (or P & D) Movement.  Artists worked with similar themes and technique in their pattern making, while incorporating international flavors such as Mexican tile work and Islamic architecture.  The reviewer paints the portrait of the P & D movement, running  the length of 1975-85, as the last truly cohesive art movement.  The reasoning behind Cotter claim is that ”…the market is too large, its mechanism too corporate, its dependence on instant stars and products too strong to support the kind of collective thinking and sustained application of thought that have defined movements as such.”

 

The reason I am bringing this up is that the article brought some issues to light for me.  Since I am neither an art historian or a member of the art establishment, my opinions don’t carry a lot of weight or scholarly insight.  That said, I think Cotter may be missing the proverbial boat.  While the P & D movement may have been the last movement recognized by the art world, I think there is plenty of movement afoot.

  

Since beginning my current foray into the craft blog and Etsy world a few months ago, I have been continually impressed by the quantity and quality of the art work I am seeing out there.  If one of the defining characterists for an art movement is of artists “with distinctive styles but similar interests and experiences,” then I think the current handmade arts and craft revolution may fit the bill.   The cohesiveness seems to come from a desire for personal empowerment and collaborative vision.   I am thrilled to see so many artists creating, displaying and selling their art and crafts within a whole new paradigm.  Today artists can create a name for themselves outside of the traditional gallery world by establishing on-line shops through Etsy, websites, blogs and even within social networking communities.  How many of us visit Soulemama’s blog on a regular basis?  The second she puts something up for sale, she is sold out.  Artists on Etsy are creating inexpensive prints of their work to sell to buyers from all over the world.  Making a name for yourself within this broad community is not only doable, it seems many people are thriving (and really cashing in).  Central to this DIY movement is the spirit of collaboration and cooperation.  Bloggers are sharing ideas, opportunities and projects with one another.  Fiber artists are freely trading fiber art postcards through the mail.  Small SAHM businesses are springing up to enable one another to get what we need outside of the corporations.  

 

However a movement is defined, the notion that an artist must get a seal of  approval from a few NYC gallery owners or an elite group of art school professors is quickly becoming irrelevant.  I didn’t feel this kind of freedom when I finished my BA in visual art over a decade ago–if I had, I may have never of given up on my creative self.