Art...?

A friend of mine told me that he once took an art class but was kicked out because the teacher didn't think he was taking the class seriously. She thought he was trying to make fun of art with the work he was doing... but, he was actually just trying to create art...

This story made me want to laugh and cry simultaneously. The absurdity that someone's real art could provoke this kind of response - is pretty funny...but, a true attempt at expressing yourself and being judged so harshly - is sort of painful at the same time...

Should art be judged?

Art will always be judged, but should it be? What makes art ...art? Is it mass acceptance? Provocation of thought? An authentic attempt at expressing yourself in whatever form that manifests... ?? Whether good or bad, should the process always be respected? But regardless of respect...should it be judged...? Again, it always will be...

I watched Exit Through the Gift Shop - a Banksy film shot as a documentary about a documentary (you'll just have to watch it) about a man who seems to thoughtlessly regurgitate other people's creations with slight manipulation...grasping onto a success that already exists, while not fully understanding how or why it was important to begin with. He's wildly accepted by the public in the context of the film... and harshly judged by the artists in the context of the film... His art doesn't seem authentic, but he is portrayed as being a bit mentally slow... so, it may feel authentic to him. To add another layer to all of this, the film might be entirely fabricated...which makes Banksy's social commentary go way beyond where this blog post will... ;)

A little bit to chew on.

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