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Dear Editor,
It was a treat to read the review of the TRASA show "Emerging artists:
all media". As the reviewer, Linda Peer, noted, TRASA has done a
good thing for the art community for allowing new artists and new ideas
to be showcased. Nothing could be better for Utah's burgeoning and changing
art community than exposure to adulation or critique.
As one of the artists in the show, I was especially gratified to be
highlighted by the reviewer regarding my piece "Archaic Torso of Apollo".
I have long believed that art should be thought provoking and motivating.
It was clear from her comments that my work did evoke an emotional response
in the reviewer. As an "emerging artist" nothing could be better than to
join the ranks of the artists whose new forms of expressions were initially
panned by reviewers, only to be later embraced by that same establishment.
Interestingly, this reviewer praised another part of the exhibit by comparing
it to one of my personal heroes, Jackson Pollock. Should we pull out some
of his early reviews?
I am truly honored to have been included in the show. Many of
the women in the exhibit are personal friends and colleagues, with whom
I've been in more than a few shows. All are tremendously gifted and experienced,
with many years of honing their skills behind them. It's almost a travesty
to infer otherwise, much less state that these women need to "clarify their
vision". Most artists abhor the thought of needing to be on a reviewers
"hope" list. Our hopes come from a desire to portray individuality, and
true creativity based on intense and deeply personal experiences. Furthermore,
it is offensive for anyone to try to determine the "meaning of art". I
believe this has been an age-old question since the dawn of time, not likely
to be summed up tidily by a reviewer whose credentials were never even
mentioned. [AOU: this was our editorial mistake]
An artist (if Ms. Peer will allow that reference) needs to be prepared
to be misunderstood, and I am flattered beyond expression to be taken seriously
enough to be critiqued, especially three whole paragraphs worth! However,
an "emerging reviewer" can make some obvious mistakes that ought to be
corrected where possible.
First, while the reviewer goes to great lengths to point out that a
"literal representation" of a part of the poem's imagery classifies the
torso part of the piece as something other than art ("not art", I believe
she said), she also bemoans the lack of a phallic representation as somehow
not being representative enough, which I find highy contradictory. While
art can indeed strive for emotional poignancy, journalism ought really
to strive for consistency.
Further, had the reviewer researched the technique required to create
the piece (molding the wet fabric directly onto a live model, then drying
and removing it) she would have immediately agreed that to represent the
part of the poem that mentions Apollo's loins would have been not onlyunnecessary,
but downright unhygienic and plenty painful.
Second, her rather obtuse reference to a cereal box was neither instructive
nor terribly descriptive, but rather came across as mean-spirited and none-too-clever.
That is not to say that a critique cannot be harsh, but it ought to at
least be thoughtful. I can't tell you how many times I've been immensely
"filled with wonder" due to staring bleary-eyed at a cereal box while chowing
down on my Wheaties.
Her entire paragraph devoted to the signatures on one of the pieces
was puzzling at best. Did that help the reader have a better understanding
of this exhibit, or was it thrown in only to showcase the reviewers remarkable
attention to details?
Having said all of that, it is best for all artists to remember the
maxim -- "Say something good about me or say something bad, just say something".
I was thrilled when I got a phone call saying --" Your first bad review
-- You're somebody now!" I applaud you for including a review of this important
show. Congratulations to all of the remarkable women whose work was exhibited,
and a big thank you to TRASA for making it possible. In a world and culture
where homogeny is embraced, TRASA is one of many galleries striving to
make a difference in our society, and in the lives of artists. Thank you
also to Artists of Utah for creating an educated forum for artists. I would
hope that as artists, we would have a place in your magazine for letters
to the editor, and that you will print this.
Art can evoke many feelings in the viewer: serenity, angst, hatred,
envy, power, arousal, to name a few. But the one thing art must never create
is apathy. Thank you, Ms. Peer, quite simply, for feeling something.
Linda Woodruff Bergstrom |
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