Donald A. Windsor
A genuine artist has "been driven since childhood", according to Raymond J. Steiner (1). Upon reading his definition, I realized that I am a genuine artist. I have been drawing and painting ever since I was a little kid. My mother enrolled me in children's classes at the Art Institute in Chicago when I was six years old. At the end of every class the teacher decorated the classroom walls with our works. So, I can truthfully say that I once hung in the Art Institute. I remained a frequent visitor to this great museum until I departed from Illinois at the age of 32.
I am not only a genuine artist; I am a compulsive genuine artist. I was thrown out of school in the sixth grade for passing my comic strips around during class, after repeated warnings not to. In the Army, I faced severe military discipline for hanging my disrespectful cartoons on official bulletin boards; fortunately, I was never caught. Back in the 1950s, before graffiti became widespread, my creative works appeared throughout the Chicago area. I am a compulsive doodler and use fanciful scribbling as a form of meditation. My current drawings use ballpoint pen on cardboard, because they are done while listening to lectures or pondering some subject I am researching.
Now I want to extend Steiner's brilliant definition further. Genuine artists may or may not be professionals. Artists who sell their works have to produce what customers will purchase. Those of us who do not sell are free to produce whatever kind of art we want. We enjoy pure freedom of expression. But, we do want to exhibit our works. Several decades ago, I used to sneak my drawings into famous art museums (MOMA, Metropolitan, Philadelphia, etc.). I even developed a kit of pins and tapes, so that I could attach my work to any kind of a surface. I would return at least an hour later and find that my work was removed. I even put a message on the back of every piece stating that "For more of these, contact me" and I left my name, address, and phone number. No one ever did, nor was I ever arrested.
EXHIBITING
The exhibition system works against me. Art shows are usually juried. Entry is based on the opinions of jurors. The jurors are invariably professional artists or art teachers. They are, by definition, in tune with what the market or the academic world wants. How then are they qualified to judge the works of non-professional, non-academic genuine artists?
They are not! They are indeed admirably qualified to assess techniques and appraise prices, but they foster limited notions of creativity that exist in their professional world. They do not seem to recognize what some of us genuine artists realize is creative.
I recommend that the jurors of art shows at least allow some token integration, an affirmative action. Admit a few of us outcast genuine artists. Let the world see what kind of art goes on outside of the jurors' gated communities. I dare them. Surely they are not afraid of us? Or are they?
Anyone disagreeing with me might argue that compulsive behavior in a self-proclaimed artist does not necessarily produce good art. I certainly agree. But what does "good art" look like?
ART AND SCIENCE
I am a biologist, so my concept of art lies in the distinction between science and art. Scientists strive to describe reality. Artists strive to express their reactions to reality. Good art, in this sense, is a faithful expression of personal reactions. Personal reactions to reality are easy to produce but are very difficult to convey. Different viewers may perceive expressions differently. Good art must succeed at conveying expressions of reactions.
ART AND CRAFT
A painting of a bluebird must accurately capture what a bluebird actually looks like, in order to be a scientific illustration. For a bluebird painting to be art, it has to leap into a metaphor. The same painting can be both. Or not. A scientific illustration that does not leap into a metaphor is a craft. Art is a craft that leaps into a metaphor. The concept of metaphor gets bandied around but I adhere to its original meaning. "Meta" means beyond and "-phor" means bearer; a metaphor bears something beyond what the craft itself presents.
Works that are untitled are merely crafts. Titles assist viewers to uncover the metaphors. If the artists themselves cannot think of their own titles, it is evident that they did not think enough about their works to embed them with metaphors. Jurors are admirably suited to assess and appraise crafts. However, I wonder about their capabilities to recognize metaphors.
Juried art shows are mostly exhibits of crafts. Don't believe me? At your next visit to a juried art show, stand in front of every work and ask yourself, "What is the metaphor?" Then calculate the percent of the works that leap into metaphors.
CONCLUSION
As a compulsive genuine artist, I create my own art and ignore professional and academic trends. The result is that I have great difficulty getting a chance to exhibit. Consequently, I encourage some art shows to not be juried, or to at least have an non-juried component.
My art expresses my personal reactions to reality. I reserve my accurate descriptions of reality to my scientific research. For a sample of my drawings on a PDF file, request it from me at windsorda@roadrunner.com
Art is a craft that leaps into a metaphor. All untitled works are crafts.
Sometimes I think that being a compulsive genuine artist is a curse. But only sometimes!
1. Steiner, Raymond J. Peeks & Piques! Art Times 2011 November-December; 28(3): 2.
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