Art for Art’s Sake
Caroline Hiley, Book Editing Associates
The debate never ends about why millions of people love “bad” novels and pay good money for them, while others do the reverse. I keep wondering why anyone bothers to debate this, because all art is subjective, for creator and viewer alike.
I shall never forget the big “aha” I experienced during a week at an artists’ retreat, hoping to write undisturbed. Our state offers a subsidy that allows residents to attend for a super-cut rate during the slowest part of the year. The hitch is you have to volunteer six hours to help run the place.
I spent my hours sorting through thousands of slides of artwork and matching them to their cover letters and applications (the materials were separated for the jury process). You wouldn’t believe how much art I looked at, and the range of subjects, styles, and technical quality it covered. It stunned me. It saturated me. And it taught me a very important thing.
Art is art is art. No art is better than any other; there’s only what reaches you as a person. The expression “I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like” is the bottom line. As in all branches of art, some is masterfully executed and wins kudos. Yet if it doesn’t float your boat, then what good is it? Tons, because it will float somebody else’s boat.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions about art, and free to buy, create, or promote whatever art they please. But no one has the right to condemn anyone’s art, or put down a person for having different taste.
Which is why I encourage all artists to produce without inhibition to the highest skill level they can achieve. Somebody out there—maybe a zillion somebodies—wants and needs to share your vision.
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