Blog six: Faking it in the art world

So far, I have enjoyed what we’ve watched of the “Faking It” movie (despite the British accents :) ). But, while it’s fun to watch someone’s possibly successful transformation, the concept of grooming someone into an artist and seeing if they’ll “pass” doesn’t sit right with me. First of all, it really makes me question the art world as being completely fair or valid. It was clear to me that what is accepted into it really boils down to the opinions of the editors, critics, and museum owners. While this can be a good thing because these people are educated and knowledgeable about art, I don’t think it is fair that one person’s work should be rejected because of one person’s decision while another is accepted. We saw some kind of museum curator looking over Paul’s work and choosing which pieces would be acceptable to display in an exhibit, and a critic saying which pieces he really believed were “art.” What were the small nuances that made some art and others not? The big blue half-faces Paul made looked exactly like something I would see in a museum, but the critic said he hated them. If I were an up-and-coming artist, this would be really frustrating to me.

And what does it say about the art world if Paul does end up “passing” as an artist? So far we’ve seen him creating pieces with certain techniques, testing if they will be accepted. He was trying to put some meaning behind them with his past paralysis, but it feels to me more like he is doing that because it’s his perception that art has to have some kind of big personal meaning behind it. I agree that art should have meaning and a purpose behind it, but I’m not ready to consider his pieces art, knowing the background behind them. And if they do pass, then can any average Joe make art? As Paul points out, if trapping butterflies in paint is art, then he does it every day with the little bugs that meet their demise on the walls he paints. But although I would like to think that it’s up to a critic to deem something worthy to be called “good art,” I am also not willing to let any average person with un-artistic intentions to try to play the art scene.

Overall, though, I think that he will be able to pass as an artist. I think that 2 out of the three critics will believe in his work. Being a reality show, the producers know that viewers want to see a success, so I’m guessing they wouldn’t show a failure!