Space to be critical
So I’ve been having this long and laborious discussion inside my head and with a small group of people outside it around ideas of what this blog should be in terms of format, content and feel.
On the one hand, I want to promote and encourage art in the city that I am curious about on numerous levels. I feel like the current climate of conservatism felt in the rooms of many organizations and centres (and bedrooms - oh my!!) means that there’s even less space for the promotion and diffusion of visual art.
That in mind, it seems important to use this blog as a vehicle for the positive dissemination of basic information to the general population around art creation. Woah. I am officially turning into Muffy from Today’s Special.
At the same time, film school (animation, specifically) has left deep and lasting pangs of disappointment over the lack of critique I was asked to engage with. In my final thesis class, I sensed that my critical comments were ridiculed and feared, alternatively, by almost everyone around me. This conjures up memories of people muttering “can’t wait until I see YOUR film” under their breaths as I asked them why a pig as a central character instead of a goat? Why watercolour on glass instead of just good old stop motion using your hands?
I don’t think I was ever taught how to be critical, so not only is it hard for me to justify it when I am/want to be, I also don’t think I have it down to a graceful science. Instead of dancing slowly around the room until I have mesmerized myself and everyone else in it, my critical output is metaphorically more akin to a monkey who’s been given high heel tap shoes and then asked to shake it to “the Blue Danube” or something similar. Not a pretty sight.
Another major factor involved is the fact that as the artistic community in Montreal is so small, there are few arenas and places in which to be critical without feeling like perhaps you’re also putting a giant “kick me, I’m an asshole” sign on your back. Which, to be fair, I’ve done so many times in my life, but still…..
So these three elements then - a) the fact that we aren’t really trained to be positively critical of each other b) the fact that therefore I am very clumsy about it and c) the micro-ness of the art community all contribute to Malo-not-wanting-to-go-there for the most part.
Yet I ache to do so. I am someone very, very, very dedicated to process. That’s the part of visual art I find so fascinating. Not only visual art and the artists that make it, but also for the role of curator, administrator, organization, public. What is the process that is infusing the work like?
As someone so process oriented, it only seems natural that critiquing or exploring that process would be a big part of my interest vis-a-vis writing on art. Yet I feel like I am completely shy around that component of myself. It’s as if the critical side of myself was some hot person at a party leaving me tongue-tied and bashful. It happens to the most verbal of us, trust me.
So here’s a question for folks who’ve read to this point - what’s your perspective on this topic? I think being critical is actually crucial, but how to do it in ways that are invigorating to the subject at hand and that further the discussion or start out a healthy dialogue?
I’d love to get some ideas generating on this one. And if not, well then, I am just going to go ahead and rip into all the work that everyones’ done up until now. All of it. Each and every piece. You know, I’ve got a pretty flexible week this week and vacation time saved up. Shouldn’t take too long.
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This is an extremely challenging question.
1) Speaking as a (music) critic in a (larger but still) small community, the social element makes criticism very difficult. It’s one reason I tend not to do many negative reviews any more, and the main reason I don’t do so with local artists.
2) I would much rather you wrote full, good-and-bad reviews, instead of shying away. On the internet, in criticism, there is too much creampuff and press-release. I love rigourous analysis, deep thought, conversations with work instead of just gestures-towards. It is riskier, but so so so so much more rewarding for everyone.
3) “Critical” criticism, aka negative reviews, can be done in a way that is not red-hot, dangerous. It requires more work. (But the kind of work you are good at.) The key is not to show “balance” - this is bullshit. The key is to approach works, and discussions of works, with a kind heart, a curiosity, good faith. Also, a willingness to be wrong or change.
Awesome comment, Sean, thanks for the insightful ideas. Much appreciated. I agree wholeheartedly that rigorous analysis and deep thought contribute to a more rewarding dialogue for everyone….
And the idea of balance being bullshit. True genuine sharing doesn’t always equal emotions rooted in “balance”. There’s an acceptance of other, and of letting go of needing to be RIGHT.
Hard and exciting work, indeed…
The small size of the art community should provide more incentive to be critical, not less - if there’s only so much work floating around, shouldn’t it be good? There’s no reason you should be branded as Asshole #1 if you think something could be better. Insular scenes can be a breeding ground for mediocrity if the insularity just means there’s too little space for new ideas and opinions. Shake it up!
And I agree with Sean about “balanced” critique. There’s a difference between well-rounded, self-aware critique and critique that just waffles. This might be a bit of a digression, but journalism and reporting in general actually becomes LESS accurate when writers try too hard to make two (or three, or five) ideas seem equally valid when, uh, they’re not.
P.S. Not to say that there aren’t instances when diverging opinions can’t be equally “correct,” of course, but sometimes even an open mind can’t help you see the good in things. And that’s okay.
Thanks for your comments, Madeline. I agree that shaking things up is good and important. It’s interesting to grapple with how to shake things up when I feel like this is not necessarily something done regularily, at least in more formal settings…
Perhaps we discuss our ideas about work amongst friends in more social environments, but to begin these dialogues on a regular basis in more structured formats requires a different set of criteria, I think, to be done successfully….