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18 January, 2012

Dan Ault
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51 Comments

Bad Art

Quotes about bad art:

"It does not matter how badly you paint, so long as you don't paint badly like other people." George Moore (1852-1933), British writer. Confessions of a Young Man, 1888.

"Bad art is a great deal worse than no art at all." Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), English author, playwright. "House Decoration," lecture, 1882 (published in Aristotle at Afternoon Tea: The Rare Oscar Wilde, 1991).

"Under ordinary circumstances, bad art naturally gets sorted out and disappears. That is how history works when it is left alone to do its job. The paradox of the culture wars is that they have made celebrities out of some artists who would otherwise vanish. Censorship has become a growth industry. This may be the best argument, in the end, for unfettered freedom of expression." Michael Kimmelman, American art critic, writing about a controversial exhibition of works by young British artists owned by adman Charles Saatchi, New York Times, October 1, 1999, B29.

"Bad artists always admire each others work." Unknown.

51 Comments

Ted Hammer 18 Jan 2012

Good luck defining "bad art" where everyone agrees. For me, bad art is boring art. As for the judgement of history, I could not care less. People who live today, usually think our judgment is superior than those who lived in the past, I'm not convinced it is. We may have increased our knowledge, and our acceptance of what qualifies as art has changed, but our judgment is no better.

marlene burns 19 Jan 2012

so it's not better to have painted and painted badly, than never to have painted at all?

Ted Hammer 19 Jan 2012

Ahh, of course it's better to have painted and painted badly, than never to have painted at all!!. If we don't allow bad painting, who of us would be any good, as painters?

Diego Sandoval 20 Jan 2012

Who are we to decide what is "bad" art?

We can have opinions, taste, likes and dislikes... fortunately we are not all the same and we have different appreciation for what we call "art."

Art work is like people... someone that you may find "ugly" is someone else's crush...

Jim Rownd 22 Jan 2012

"Bad artists always admire each others work." Unknown.......LOL!

Diego Sandoval 02 Feb 2012

Want to see "bad" art? Check out my gallery!

Elizabeth Lindberg 08 Feb 2012

Bad art is practice

LOL

Marty Yokawonis 22 Feb 2012

of course somebody like Saatchi would be the promoter of "bad art" right?

good or bad art is very subjective. The reality is that tastes change over time and something that looked amazing 40 years ago now stinks to high heaven. We revere artists like Van Gogh for example, because art historians decided to take a second and third look at him and others in his timeline and they had a Eureka moment and made sure they all wrote endless books on the subject. Van Gogh was a total nutjob, alcoholic loser to the artist establishment during his life and a commercial disaster. He sold one painting to the sister of a friend.

I make art that speaks to me. Hopefully along the way it will speak to others. Hopefully some of my images will go on to live even after I am gone. Hopefully. What more can you expect? I just went to a memorial service for an artist who passed away after a long battle with cancer. One of the finest things I heard anybody say in tribute to his life was that they had a painting of his that they had been trying to sell for a long time. Now that he is gone they are struck by how precious and rare he was and by extension his art is now precious and rare. That painting is now not for sale. Everything good and worthy in his life is now attached to his art - his legacy. As an artist he has left his mark on his time, his family and friends and the world has been touched by him. Was he famous? no - and yes - he was true to what he believed was valid in art and he kept going in the ways he saw as being the right ways right to the end.

jerry carlin 24 Feb 2012

Dan, how can we have a discusion on "bad art" after the discusion, "what IS art"? I thought by definition it had to be "gallery approved", accepted and shown! Bad Art would be a contradiction of terms, like "free" love!

Minnie Shuler 24 Feb 2012

Surely you don't mean you have now relegated the definition of art, good or bad, to gallery owners? Can't anyone start a gallery who has enough money? I would so much rather hear the answer to 'Is art good?' or 'Has art ever influenced the change of events in the world?' or 'How has art been a bad influence?' or 'What art has been a bellowing voice that was worth a 1000 words? or 'When have art and politics been successful bed fellows? or 'When has art really expressed the passions of the times? do you know why some art survives? Historical art...has nothing to do with quality. Look at military art or painting of cities 200 years ago when there was no photographic record..art of it is all we have..that's why it's so valuable. My goodness, now we have a chance to see what people think about or dream about or react to...is that as valuable?

Nathalie Chavieve 24 Feb 2012

There is no bad art - there is a bad artists

C.nick Tuigsinn 25 Feb 2012

Shouldn’t we judge art just like we judge everything else? By asking, “How well is it doing the job it’s meant to do?” There are obviously as many functions to art as there is art, but if we think of art as a creative provoking visual representation then creating a bridge between the artist and the viewer plays a big part of art’s function, and this we can judge. By looking at how many people understand, contemplate, and connect with a work of art we get an idea of how effective the work is in conveying its message. Isn’t conveying a thought the very genesis of art? Therefore I believe there is such a thing as bad art, it is exclusionary art.

Katherine Curis 27 Feb 2012

Plenty of art is bad and boring, I get bored by my own work sometimes. It's so subjective too, one person's boring art is another's inspiration.

Melissa Davies 27 Feb 2012

My art has been called bad and good. Art is art one piece I considered bad art a giant canvas top part yellow ochre middle phathalo blue and bottom yellow ochre again was displayed at an art museum so I guess someone thought it was good art. Bad and good is subjective to the viewer.

amile duan 27 Feb 2012

"It does not matter how badly you paint, so long as you don't paint badly like other people."

This is a well-know saying which we should remember!

Vivian Haworth 29 Feb 2012

BAD ART? Hmmmm, now please don't get offended, however.....my comment? Well, I agree with the statement, "Opinions are like A _ _ - H _ _ _ S, everyone's got one" Right?

I say..."there's no such thing as "BAD" art... Art is what it is, and it either appeals to the viewer or not! ....end of story :o)

Artists = People with enough courage to express themselves in ways others may not understand or accept!

Love to ALL artists,

VMarie

Ted Hammer 03 Mar 2012

If we include songs and singers as art and artists, we all know the difference between good and bad art. If a person wants to sing, then I say sing. Just understand that others may or may not appreciate your song.