“These three conditions – the professionalism of artists, criticism, and schools of art – are what have led to the present situation when the majority of people have absolutely no understanding of what art even is, and mistake for art the most crude counterfeits of it.”
I disagree with Tolstoy that schools of art destroy the originality of it – artists “join” a school of art based on what moves them in the first place, and people who are of like minds will always tend to congregate with one another. Artists who represent themselves well are performing a job to make ends meet, which Tolstoy believes degrades the art and makes it cheap and less valid, because it doesn’t meet his criteria of being sincere. I believe that this is also mostly true, but this does not discount the possibility of more sincere pieces being able to be wrought in the process of making a living. Art critics are also just trying to make money and will try and convince anyone of whatever they choose to say at the moment, and I think that art should be judged by the individual, not someone trying to sell it to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment