virtual patron continued
Karl Zipser
of the arts" by submitting directives for a developing picture (the
results so far are at http://www.zipser.nl/vpatron.html).
This might seem simple enough, but the basic idea has generated a
lively debate. One point of view is well expressed by
"rememberallthis":
"creating art for an audience would inevitably limit [the artist] in
the process, since the concentration would be on the audience rather
than the subject. I don't think great art can be created this way."
This is what I would describe as the "art for the sake of art" view,
and it is something which I believed for a long time. However, a lot
of the comments by other contributors touched on Renaissance artists
like Michelangelo; his, and virtually all important works of that time
were commissioned by patrons. Thus, the view that great art cannot be
made on commission, with an audience (e.g., the patron) in mind is
problematic.
But what about art patron's today? Erik A. Mattila writes about his
experience in design, saying "I have 'patrons' coming out of my ears."
The type of design he works with (e.g. web design) is different from
painting that I do, but the essential relation between artist and
patron is perhaps the same. As Erik writes, "in the end the aesthetic
challenge I have is to translate some [minimal specification] into
something that looks good."
The key here is that working for a patron presents a special sort of
creative challenge. Another interesting example of this was sent in by
"aesthe". This example relates to architecture, but the issue is the
same as with painting or other art forms: "A lot of architects complain
about the Spanish Revival criteria. They complain it stifles
creativity,'' Shelton [a successful architect] says. "I think the rules
make it easier. They force you to be creative.''
Thus, despite the satisfying logic of the "art for the sake of art"
viewpoint, we see here a line of evidence that creating art for a
patron has interesting challenges, and may in fact be strong stimulus
for creativity.
Virtual Patron is more than a discussion, it is an experiment. I say
this because I am attempting to put these ideas into practice. In the
spirit of science, let us consider the discussion generated so far as
data that we can analyze. In doing so, there is one surprising result
that stands out. Although there have been hundred of words written by
various contributors in this discussion on Google, no one has written a
single sentence that I could interpret as a "patron wish", as something
to use to move the experiment forward. To put it simply, no one has
said, "Karl, draw or paint this..."
The question I have is, "why?" One answer might be that people simply
don't care, but I don't think this is true. There has been a lot of
thoughtful discussion, the contributors are obviously intelligent and
creative people who care about art and the conditions under which it is
made.
My alternative hypothesis is that there is some negative connotation
attached to the concept of "patron", as though anyone who would tell an
artist what to paint is somehow doing something wrong. Thus, there is
a disincentive to provide "patron wishes" that I can use to advance the
experiment. This in itself is an interesting result, if it is valid.
If there is anything to what I am saying here, then it is something to
be consciously overcome. Historically, patrons have played a huge role
in the creation of art. I do not see why that should not be so today,
even in an experimental setting like Virtual Patron, where the patrons
play a role, but are not real paying patrons.
Karl Zipser
one, is finding some resonance. I'm posting this on behalf of Bob, who
points out that people are not used to thinking about commissioning
artworks nowadays, at least not compared to in the past. Bob presents
a simple list to help get started:
"When thinking about a painting to purchase or commission, a client
could start by considering:
· abstract vs. realistic, or mixed
· if realistic, then still life, portrait, or landscape
· black & white vs. color
· if color, what general scheme
· large or small canvas
and on and on."