Minimalism, perfectionism, audience reaction and the artist

How does an individual involved in creating and selling art ensure that what he creates and puts on the market will be thought of as “great”, be bought, and thus finance his daily bread? Are there certain ways of working which will assure success for such an individual? Sure as heck beats me. The attitudes and advice regarding this topic; from the “greatest” in the varying fields of music, paint, architecture and so on, are as changing as the seasons.

I have a friend, whom I greatly admire, that subscribes to a peculiar, perfectionist, code of conduct. When it comes to the tools of his work, he will never misplace a stapler, and will lend it to you only with the greatest reluctance. He will persecute you if you don’t bring it back. And after a shoot (he is a photographer, you see) the editing session will not be terminated until every image is perfect, just as no image will be transmitted which has not been edited to achieve such. If you are having ice cream out with this friend, it is likely that he will curtly finish his ice cream quickly and then cut the small talk – after all, there are images to be edited. His work is often stunning to behold.

Another friend I know, who has achieved incredible results in the remarkably different field of high-level real estate, never wakes up on time, has a penchant for stuffing superfluous papers into random drawers at the office, is always at best a couple minutes late, and generally shuns details as a matter of course. He achieves his successes by convincing others to do and buy exactly what it is he says. And makes a boatload of money. His clients love him, they love the apartments he’s sold them and their aesthetic qualities.

I believe that the most efficient way to work is efficiently and spontaneously; when a particular issue rears its ugly head it should be be tackled immediately, and when a job is begun, it should not be ended until it is fully taken care of, with as little potential of coming back and needing to be redone as possible. This makes me project-minded and somewhat hard to get a hold of sometimes (I am busy, go away…), as well as strategically challenged (I hate putting things off, even if its very advantageous to do something at a particular time in the future, rather than tackling it now). Not always the best, I admit.

Generally speaking however, it is safe to assume that work ethic isn’t all of it – after all, the world’s renown artists are people from all walks of life and with widely varying degrees of administrative skill.

Also, with such a broad look at “art” without regard to discipline, I must perforce ignore the issues related to technique. Technique has its place in the repertoire of all those involved in entertaining our culture, but the hard fact that many technically superior technicians starve while Kanye West makes millions is proof technique isn’t all there is. And, as the Internet has proved time and again, marketing also has a lot to do with success.

But what is the relationship between these? All artists and entrepreneurs deal with a particular human element known as aesthetics. What strange things, aesthetics and art. What makes “art” remarkable and sets it apart, or conversely, makes it mundane and unappealing? What is the central element, independent of discipline or technique, which sets a work of art apart?

In the case of something “beautiful”, there is a little something extra, something beyond the sum of parts, which draws a reaction out of people. It may not be “I love this” - aesthetics is also the human area containing the widest possible variation in points of view – but it will somehow impinge on the consciousness of the viewer. In other words, a good first gauge of success is the amount of reaction which can be obtained through a work of art. The quality of the reaction in the individual will determine his opinion of whether this is “good” or “bad” (all subjective of course – even the critics’ opinions), but to be remarked on in the first place, a piece of art must cause a reaction. It is my strong opinion that an angry rejection on the part of an audience is far preferable to bland indifference. Some of Mozart’s works were hated in their time.

Physics plays a part in this. Aside from its role in presentation (the paint should not flake off a canvas painting, nor a cathedral be structurally unsound so as to fall apart, and neither should a piece of music be produced in frequencies inaudible to the human ear), there is a certain technical study which goes into “how does human perception factor into my work of art?” This comes into play when discovering, for example, that human vision does not perceive all colors equally, and that the frequency response of the human ear changes markedly with duration and loudness. An artist is better off having a familiarity with the physical factors which affect the final leg his art must travel in order to impact the audience – their senses.

My take on all this is that an artist should only go so far in beating himself up over the “brilliance” and “originality” of his work, and should not constantly harp on the idea that “fate” is responsible for him being the next big thing or not. I believe that important avenues for investigation in any artistic field are:

1.Am I sufficiently “in love” with my field of art that I it will provide joy and inspiration of its own, to keep me producing regularly at my creative best as time goes by and to justify the investment of the many hours it will take me to master technique, or am I in this just for the fame and the money? In other words, is the work itself an enjoyable pursuit?

2.How does technique for my field, and related physics, factor into creating some kind of impact at the other end, so that the communication in my art actually receives attention on the part of the audience?

I may be wrong. Only time will tell if my philosophy is justified, and if it will bring me the success I hope for in my chosen field. And I would love to hear any comments on the subject from you, the audience. Hope this piece at least captured your attention!

Sirio