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rant - now artspeak defined

updated thu 12 may 05

 

Gayle Bair on wed 11 may 05


All I know is that back in 1966 when I was a
painting major at PCA (Philadelphia College of Art)
Every 3rd word out of my pompous painting instructor's
mouth was "Juxtiposition". So in my junior year I visited various
departments seeking a instructor who would teach me the basics,
allow me to develop my style and not expect me to artspeak or
get good grades by producing lightly veiled copies of his/her work.
I just couldn't take it any longer so after painting all my life I went into
printmaking.
Artspeak to me is : an authoritative & wanton overuse of certain
words/terms/phrases which devalue the original definitions.
Acckkk my definition sounded like Artspeak...... where's the Lifeboy soap...
I gotta go wash my mouth out!
BTW I did have a fabulous instructor in College so I knew
an impostor when I had one.
Gayle Bair
www.claybair.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Vince Pitelka
snip<>

Perhaps "artspeak" is what happens when self-proclaimed artists try to talk
about their work in psuedo-intellectual terms, deliberately attempting to
obscure a shallowness of content and significance with a great depth (as in
piling it deep) of elaborate specialized language of art. If so, once
again, the same could be true in any field, and in our case, most of that
specialized language of art has valid use in discussions about art and
craft. Some people use specialized language elegantly, while others use it
awkwardly and artificially, but the mere fact that they use the language is
not enough to accuse them of "artspeak."

I'm just trying to figure this one out. We've talked about it before on
Clayart, and inevitably it will come up repeatedly in the future. Perhaps
it is impossible to define what artspeak really is, just as it is impossible
to define what art is, because it is something different to each person.
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/

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