August 12, 2006

A summertime question for Greg Allen.

Greg Allen's greg.org is one of the original "Bloggish" links in that right-hand column over there, and I still look forward to each and every entry. True, Greg's got a lot more on his mind than movies these days, but I've always shared his interests and enjoyed his finds (such as this one).

Who Gets to Call It Art? I couldn't resist asking...

The artist. But the catch is actually calling yourself an artist. I find that if they're any good, artists usually call themselves painters or say they "make videos" or whatever. The prerogative is theirs, but they know when to exercise it. For films especially, though, declaring your own work art is too often an attempt to inoculate it against criticism or to rationalize some kind of known shortcoming.



Bookmark and Share

Posted by dwhudson at August 12, 2006 2:27 AM

Comments

Succinct but intriguing response. I've long adopted the practice of avoiding nouns to identify myself. I would never call myself an artist though I might deign to call myself artistic.

Posted by: Michael Guillen at August 12, 2006 8:26 AM

I agree completely.
Around these parts, only pretentious idiots and old people looking for an upbeat title for their life's final, career-free chapter refer to themselves as "artists".
And their work almost always identifies them as dabblers.

Posted by: Ju-osh at August 12, 2006 10:13 AM

"For films especially, though, declaring your own work art is too often an attempt to inoculate it against criticism..." Thoughtful observation. On the other hand, declaring your own work art invites criticism too.

Posted by: Thom at August 12, 2006 11:09 AM