A couple of months ago I received a negative comment about one of my collages on Etsy- the website where I, along with hundreds of thousands of others, have an online shop. I was shocked, yet (and yes I do think this makes sense) not surprised, considering the collage the person was offended by. I'll show you the collage (entitled "Bathtub Arab", made some 10 years ago or so), then the comment.
This has got to be by far the most repulsive thing I have ever seen here on Etsy. If art is an expression of our inner selves and our understanding of our world, then your so called "art" stands as a testament of your infinitely shallow reservoir of wit and intellect.
good day
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Nice of them to add the "good day".
I'm curious about this, and I welcome comments about it (whether on the blog or on facebook). I'm not asking for comments on the artistic merit of the collage, but rather on the fact that this particular viewer seemed to assume that there was some "meaning" or ill intent on my part. Or maybe they simply thought that regardless of my intention, it was ill-advised to display this collage.
For the record, here's how I produce my collages: I sift through my reams of torn paper/old magazines/old books/what-have-you, until I find a combination of images that either amuses me or that I think looks cool in some way. In the case of this collage, the figure hails from a Jehovah's Witness tract. The curtains, bath-tub, and rug come from an illustrated children's book, probably from the 60's. The sky and floor are from a glossy magazine, as is the wallpaper (if memory serves). It looks like I must have put sparkles on his robe.
By fiddling about with various combinations of images on my table I would have eventually discovered that this figure more or less fit inside this bath-tub, with his hand resting on the edge. While I would have had many different possible variations half-decided, this "fitting-together" would have won me over and I'd have started finding other elements that fit in order to complete the collage. They only "fit" because in my mind they fit. I must have started finding pink things that fit, so I went with that.
There is no meaning. Or at least, not for me. There is just the by-product of me having fun and putting things together the way only I will, and take from it what you will. Or don't. I definitely don't think I should refrain from making or showing a collage like this, just in case someone takes offence. And I'm not sure that my art is "an expression of my inner self and my understanding of my world", as the disgruntled viewer assumes. I think this is what intrigues me about the whole thing- that you can't know what the artist intended, or what it means for them. You don't have to like it, but your reaction might have more to do with you than it does with the artist.
I think your closing statement sums up how I feel about the situation, and most art, in general:
ReplyDelete"You don't have to like it, but your reaction might have more to do with you than it does with the artist."
I always liked your collages (stare at them almost daily at work, as they're on that spinning rack next to our cash counter!), and what I liked the most about them is that they really are, well, absurd and irreverent. They never struck me as "meaning" something (well, except for maybe the Xmas and Vday themed ones, in particular, the Beowolf Santa flame one always struck me as anti-consumer Xmas, which I like...).
This kind of exchange, a comment from an 'anonymous' user, always brings up the question: "Did they really feel offended by this art? so much so that they had to write to the artist? OR, do they do this so frequently (write to artists who they find offensive) that the act of taking the time to write said comment to you ends up nullifying the impact?"
Side note: We've never received a complaint about your artwork at the Co-op. Only complaint we ever received about artwork was a postcard we had made by GlobalAware (Toronto), which was a photograph a the back of someones truck, which had a bumper sticker saying something along the lines of "Kill for Christians" with an American flag on it. They found it offensive, as a Christian, that we would be selling this postcard. I countered with the fact that it was a PHOTO of an actual persons' car, and that the point of the postcard was probably to point out the irony of "America's War on Terrorism" - and that the person whose car that is is most likely a Christian - and to engage in a dialogue on War in general.
Needless to say, that conversation was futile and we never saw that customer again.
So, I'm thinking that's a delicate soul who found this 'repulsive'??? I think that guy in the bathtub looks like he's about to have a good meal. What's wrong with that? Good day.
ReplyDeleteHilarious! Thanks Holly. A good meal, r i i i i g h t ....
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Larissa. The last line of your comment, "...the conversation was futile and we never saw that customer again" points to the sad truth... that never the twain shall meet. I mulled over what to reply to this person, or if I should reply at all, for quite some time. In the end I corrected their grammar, and that was the end of it.
I have this print in a beautiful frame, and I love it. I feel that the man in the bathtub has a sad, serene expression perhaps from spending a lot of time digging long hair out of the drain with a large metal implement, perhaps because that's just how his face is.
ReplyDeleteYou are likely prone to this sort of criticism because your art is open-ended, not full of blatant metaphors and redundant explanations, which is what some people demand, becoming angry at subtleties and contrasts that aren't spelling themselves out.
End rant.
xo
Megan Boddy
Thanks Megan. For the record, I've never had a complaint like this before- at least, not one that I know about. Plenty of people have called the collages "weird", which somehow I don't take as a compliment. This collage might actually be more like 10 years old- I'm really not sure- but certainly my work has matured since then- HA HA HA HA HA !
ReplyDeleteIt is at least 10 years old. I have the fridge magnet to prove it. Displayed proudly on my...fridge.
ReplyDeleteXO Cake Hole
Thank you, Detective Purvis. How time flies. Goddamn.
ReplyDelete