VIDEO LECTURE IV EXPOSITION AND PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT
Who is a professional artist
An artist who takes his/her art seriously,is disciplined in making art,researching new ideas,learning new techniques,experimenting with mediums, and is savvy in networking,regular sale,interacting with the media ....is a professional artist.
Why did I think of making a career of art
Early on,I studied Business Management instead of Fine Arts.Considering that it is difficult to sustain oneself financially merely by making art,I was always thinking of procuring a permanent "less risky" job and pursuing art as a hobby to entertain myself.I worked as a financial analyst for 8 years, crunching numbers by day and drawing at night .I was filling up the margins of official documents with my sketches.I was dreaming of art projects during serious business meetings.I was guilty of being an artist disguised as a management professional in a business suit. Gradually I reached the conclusion that an artistic career requires a full time effort and left my job to pursue art fulltime. The only language I can speak is the visual language and hence , art is the obvious career choice.Art for me is like oxygen and I need to make art to live.
What are my needs as an artist
- self expression and fulfillment that arises out of it
- validation from critics whose opinions I value/sale
- the ability to reach out to a large international audience
- financial independence
What are the roles of artists?
- To provide a different perspective to life as we know it
- To provide a mirror to society on the current economic/socio political system
- To provoke thought and be a change agent
- To provide aesthetic beauty
- to share our cultural background,ethnicity,identity with the world
- to provide art education
Where is art shown by professional artists?
A.Museums and Galleries
B.Public spaces like beaches,city streets, building walls where permanent works are installed
C Pre designated but temporary spaces like Venice Biennale, Frieze Art Fair London where biannual/annual art events are held
D.The body as a place to exhibit art-example tattoo art
E.virtual spaces like online galleries
A.Museums and Galleries could be public owned, state owned or private
The purpose of Museums and Galleries could be
1.to mediate art and artifacts from a original context and give those objects of art a narrative.
2.to provide education
3.entertainment
4.edutainment
5.promote culture and national talent
Who is a "successful artist" and what is "achievement" in art?
A successful artist according to me is
1.not one who works in fits and starts but works rhythmically, regularly throughout ones entire life.In my view, there are many individuals who have the best art qualifications,knowledge,technical expertise but are not producing art either due to lack of time or lack of ideas.I would not not call them successful artists.A successful artist MAKES ART.
2.The body of work he/ she creates is genuine and born out of his/her deep interests,personal history, experiences... does not just pursue a subject or adopt a style because it is in fashion /demand and is guaranteed to sell.A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST IS HONEST
3.the artist's work is constantly evolving ,growing and is dynamic.There are artists whose work tend to become formulaic and repetitive because that continue to do what they once did based on the knowledge that it once brought them success.A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST TAKES RISKS
5.shows,shows,shows.Art might be a solitary activity but is meant to be shared with a viewer.A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST MAY OR MAYNOT BE A SELF OBSESSED RECLUSE BUT DEFINITELY ENGAGES WITH AN AUDIENCE
6.The work is recognizable,identifiable.According to me eventhough a successful artist is constantly growing ,his areas of research are changing ,his repertoire of mediums, techniques are becoming wider over the years you can identify the artist based on his work because it falls under the same broad umbrella of interest,genre.A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST IS LIKE A EVERGROWING TREE STEADY , WITH DEEP ROOTS AND IS NOT A FICKLE MONKEY JUMPING FROM BRANCH TO BRANCH.
4.sells work regularly..THE RIGHT MARKET HAS FOUND THE ARTIST
An achiever in the field of visual arts in the art field is one who wins/has won prestigious awards and exhibits in very reputed juried events/galleries.Is given commissions and grants to create work/conduct research.Has been invited to do prestigious residency projects.
