Artopia and Artopia Speaks - Quick Comments

I found this article to be incredibly helpful for giving me a arts checklist for places to visit or revisit in the city. I'm happy that most of the interview answers were positive and based on things that the interviewees were grateful for instead of how hard life is in the arts or how their work goes unappreciated by the population because of lack of arts education, etc. It's not like those negative aspects, mostly highlighted through the actual article, aren't true; everyone knows about the artist's plight...and that's the problem. When articles like this come out, I think it actually negatively impacts the art world. Maybe a few of the points will stick (the quote about the mixed pros and cons about charity auctions was especially memorable to me), but generally, even though I'm an artist who must deal with the same problems, I tend to roll my eyes, turn down the volume and try to chill out. In fact, articles that just complain about how the world isn't doing enough for artists would be like a group of Fred Hutchinson doctors creating a commercial blaming America's citizens for getting cancer in the first place; point being--you know what you're getting into when you decide to do what you love, and for better or for worse, for financial gain or no, one has to proactively fix one's problems. When I watch tv, I see ads or news stories on the incredible advancements in medicine (which is, unfortunately, also largely underfunded), I feel excited and want to stand up and donate or join a marathon or support them in some manner because they are targeting and advertising the public. Conversely, I see relatively little in the way of encouraging the public to attend galleries, museums or private showings...and while it may be beneath artists to band together to make advertisements appealing to the general public, it would certainly attract a larger crowd than giant theses of complaint ever will. Truth be told, no matter what they say, I believe that art really does demand a certain level of education--not the kind you learn in school or from one's monetary value, but rather a baseline level of manners and etiquette of how one should behave. I think that proactively targeting the public would draw a crowd that artists simply could never tolerate. People who yell at, touch, or thow things at their creations. Artists would prefer to complain and whine than have to EVER deal with that.

Anyway, the thing I felt was lacking with the interviews was a classically trained interviewee. That being said, I am going to be a person of my word and not just sit here complaining. I’ll answer all of these questions as the missing link.

Which local artist do you feel is the most underappreciated? Why?
I would have to say Juliette Aristides. She’s an incredible artist who has even published her own amazing book. She’s worshipped among all the classical artists yet completely and totally ignored in the Seattle Arts scene? How can someone who has hoards of artists signed up on a mile long waiting list to be among her elite group of students really only deserve a ‘huh?’ anywhere else in the Seattle arts community?

What is your favorite local art space? Why?
I love the Frye Art Museum. They are always bringing interesting and exciting exhibits to Seattle while maintaining an incredible collection that you can really feel close to. When I go there to look at the Bougereau paintings, I truly feel like I could do anything. It’s personal enough and quiet enough that you actually can feel a rush of inspiration…instead of a sterile hush that I feel in other galleries and museums.

What is the most interesting new trend in the Seattle art scene?
I would have to say the revitalization of classical art, thanks to Gary Faigin and Pamela Belyea. Thanks to all of their hard work starting and running the Seattle Realist Academy (later the Seattle Academy of Fine Art, now the Gage Academy of Fine Art), artists like me can finally have a chance to learn like the old masters.

Also, the rise in free teen programs is incredible. I think that the art community is finally realizing that if they don’t provide a decent art education for the next generation, there may not be a next generation! Gage, SAM, and other institutions now offer free classes with free supplies which allows anyone, no matter financial background to learn art techniques and history, as well as become part of a thriving new art community.

What’s the most worrisome new trend in local art?
The idea that if its representational, it’s bad. So what if it’s representational, it doesn’t mean that a piece isn’t conceptually strong, just as it doesn’t mean that a piece is technically strong either.

What’s your most and least favorite piece of public art in Seattle? Why?
My favorite piece is the whale fins at the Seattle Center. Because they’re around many large scale pieces of public pieces of art, they often get ignored, but when I see those giant fins poking their way out of the grass or over the heads of dancing hippies, I can’t help but smile. They also tell a Native American Story, but I’ll leave you to research that J Things are never as fun if they’re just given to you.

My least favorite piece of art is the Calder Eagle. I think it’s ugly and I have no idea why it attracts so much attention. In fact, none of the curves complete themselves, and I can’t find anything aesthetically redeeming in it. I feel like it’s the emperor’s new piece of art of sorts. If you’re not saying it’s incredible, you get the label of a fool, but nobody can really quite tell you why. So what. Label me fool. I hate it.