Short Thoughts

In a previous post I introduced the topic of ‘The Mature Artist’. Since then I’ve been asked specifically what that means to me, which prompted me to attempt a definition. Here it is. I dare say I’ll update this as time passes!

“I think a mature artist is one who has critically evaluated themselves and their art over a long period of time. Someone who has maintained their art practice under various conditions and pressures, both internal and external. Someone who can speak with clarity and sensitivity through the art they make, where they have developed a strong personal language that warmly invites investigation and mutual sharing. Someone inspirational, not because of what they have achieved, but because they are the ‘real deal’.”

I was once told that ‘even though you are a mature person, this does not mean that you’ll be a mature artist’. At the time, I wanted to reject the statement as it was a challenge to my ego! Since then, I have of course found it to be true. Being a mature artist would prove difficult for me to talk about, as I would not class myself as such. I am certainly more of a mature artist that I was, but this is also down to me consistently applying myself to the task, in the same way I would to refining my maturity as a person. The qualities each of us value most, those that we feel represent a mature person and mature artist, will of course vary. I have, in part gone some way to discussing what I think I need to balance in order to be an authentic artist (motivation, purpose and meaning) in a previous post. I’d like to attempt to do the same for ‘mature person’ and ‘mature artist’. Based on this, it seems there is the need to introduce the ‘authentic person’ as well. Are authentic and mature synonymous? When a person/artist matures do they become authentic? Or could the process be described as ‘authentically maturing’? Just to clarify, these are of course not separate identities within an individual, but are indicators of the amount of time spent on an activity, subject, practice or pursuit.

In my last post of this Short Thoughts series titled Corruption Sometimes Appears as Compromise, I alluded to what I called the Authentic Artist, which I summarised as follows:

“The authentic artist is what we aspire to and what our potential audience desires”

Since then I have been reflecting on what authenticity in relation to being an artist means to me. What I found ended up being both liberating and daunting, in that I realised I’ve been holding back a side of myself that I’ve not currently been expressing directly through my work. I understand that it’s not always the right thing to do to put all of yourself ‘out there’, but within the context of being as authentic as possible, it feels like there’s room for improvement and growth. What I came up with, were three things that I feel are needed to sustain and give the seal of authentic approval to my work. I see these as similar to the fire triangle, where in order to have fire there must be fuel, air and heat present. Take one or more element away and fire cannot be sustained.

So my three things are Motivation, Purpose and Meaning. I feel that when these are present, my work burns with authenticity in the same way as in the fire triangle. If one or more element weakens then my authenticity wanes in direct relation and I begin to notice something is ‘not quite right’. My three elements could be interpreted in different ways, so I will endeavor to clarify what they mean to me in another post. What are your three elements? Do you have any? Do you feel you are truly authentic?

The path of an artist is always going to be and is also well-known as being a difficult one. The term ‘artist’ I will use here in the context of someone who has decided to dedicate their life, or rather their immediate life for an unknown duration to the pursuit and lifestyle of thinking, making and reflecting on their art on a full-time basis. Each artist will have a certain initial vision or notion of their art that is obviously subject to change as the process develops. I feel an artist has to have an awareness of how corruption can sometimes fool us into thinking we are compromising. Everyone likes to feel they are able to compromise, as it shows a flexible and considerate attitude. I have noticed in others as well as myself that we consider opportunities we class as a compromise without initially realising it’s corruption sneaking through a back door. By corruption, I mean of our original purpose as artists. There are many pressures on an artist to give in, to stop making work, or even to change their style to make it more salable. Not to mention the competitive nature of self marketing. Each artist will have different pressures, but all will have them. Taking on a project, task, commission, collaboration, marketing drive, academic research or whatever it may be, if it’s done with complete awareness and choice based on reason and forethought then compromise can function as it should. If not, we are in the danger zone of corruption that can eat away at our self-esteem and becomes a poison to our authentic practice. The authentic artist is what we aspire to and what our potential audience desires. In England there was an advert promoting caution to children when trying to cross the street. It said, “STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. THINK”.

The internet gives the impression that if an artist has a website and makes their work available to buy online, then their audience is potentially global (there are many artists producing work in isolation that are able to support their practice through online sales). If what you make lends itself to the ‘in the flesh’ experience of scale, texture, detail and the all important ‘thing in itself’ experience, then where are the exhibition opportunities in your area? If there are any, do you have an appreciative audience? I consider myself to be an artist that creates work to be experienced in its original state and so it would appear, inevitably I will have to reconsider my location. As the saying goes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but if there’s no grass to begin with… you get my point.