22 October 2017

Comments Taken to Heart (and Scissors)

Much like my last posting, this one is about shining a light on my own thoughts, as instigated by others.  Like the last, I should have trust and belief I've done right... but found I was doubting myself.  This event took place before the last, so I guess I'm feeling hyper aware to such.

This was my piece for The Material Girls exhibition "Goodnight Children Everywhere" recently shown at Rainham Hall.



Whilst I was there doing my stewarding a member of the public asked after it.  So there I am, wearing my identity badge, standing next to my work which is also labelled with my name (in two places I might add) - and they happily tell me to my face what's wrong with it, and not in an art critique kind of way!

So this is where the light shines on my emotions.
Fair enough, no one likes everything, so you are perfectly entitled to think such.
But next I am filled with conflict.... is it really appropriate to say such to the artist?  Not to my taste, not my thing, all 'acceptable'.
However the comment, albeit throwaway almost trivial, and yet in one breath hurtful and also bemusing. Not really sure how I was supposed to feel about such.

I brushed the face to face comment aside, but days later it started to gnaw at me.  Why?  Could it be hurtful because it had an element of truth about it?  If I were totally happy with the piece, then the remark would have firmly planted in the bemused side.

I had never made a book like this before, it took a lot of working out the practicalities of the how, and I would make it differently another time.



Anyway post exhibition, I decided to take scissors to it - well a scalpel, as actually its too well made to succumb to scissors.
It needs some tweaking to sort out, few snips are not the end, and I've got to make best of it in situ, its neither practical nor something I want to do, to dismantle and reassemble.

So.... the irony is  "I Spy" (title of the piece) can no longer be spied as it was at this exhibition.  If its ever on show again, perhaps you'd like to play:  I Spy with My Little Eye - changes made!



3 comments:

Bea said...

I once attended an art show with a man who doesn't like art and knows nothing. He commented n every piece based on some basic standard . Totally off base. Throw your experience in the trash. I love what you are doing...

karen said...

ignore them....it's ignorance. Ignorance in terms of art appreciation and ignorance as in no manners. Do not let one irrelevant individual place doubts in your mind. This is fabulous.
It does hurt, I get that but not everyone likes everything...we just don't have to be brutal about it. We find the good thing, the time it must have taken for example, the devotion displayed by the maker to the piece and we focus on that, the positive.....
I want to slap them.....do you know where they live?

emma-alittlebitofeverything said...

I've just been catching up with your work & for some reason read your 'everything comes along at once' post first. I got as far back as your inspiration for this intriguing book & loved the finger holes idea. Reading this post I feel nobody can know the thoughts that go into a piece, the emotions, all the choices. I've often looked at my work & thought, they just can't possibly know all I was thinking! WE know, us sensitive, open & interested people. I'm gutted that you took scissors to your piece because of an idiot's comments but I'm also excited to see what you've done, what positives you have made from nasty negatives (forgive me for getting here so late, I've just allowed myself the freedom to look at blogs again!)