What I Really Think About Pointy Hats and Wings . . .

This is a piece I made many months ago when I was working much more simply and before I figured out ways to make things sharper or cut things apart or reinvent whole bodies and characters. My buddy, Tace, if I remember right, bought her. (update: I KNEW I should've checked - it was purchased by Lisa, one of my special blog friends that I love dearly - you can read the first comment below - thank you, Leslie! Tace bought a very similar piece with Eva in a crown.) It uses Eva, my most favorite face to use that I snagged from the public domain (I just love that little look of "yeah, what? I'm not in the best of moods"). What makes this piece art? Is it art? To me, yes, simple but yes. Is it a masterpiece? No. It wasn't meant to be. Not all art is meant to be a reviewed, critiqued, gallery displayed, high priced, intensely powerful, masterpiece. Some art is just a little ditty. A little slice of something. This piece truly rests on the hat and wings. They are the elements that made it more than just a reprinted picture, the proof of some creative exertion, intention and purpose.

Anyway, I didn't mean to post about this piece, but instead the controversial subject of hats and crowns and wings. It seems so funny that there could be a controversy over such silly little things. Maybe controversy is too powerful of a word to describe the tryst, the difference of opinion, the division of tastes. Taste is a key word that I'll get back to in a minute. In a couple of the very first Somerset magazines I actually read (didn't just look at the pictures - I sound like a teenage boy with his Playboy stash), I discovered the first inkling that trouble was brewing over the "over use" of hats and crowns and wings that was being discussed in the letters to the editor. It seems we artists as a whole are really concerned about the use of these things. There should be some kind of quota or hat and wing diet some people proposed. I admit, I spend quite a bit of time debating the issue and did before the Pez comment we've been discussing here. I always end up with, ehhh, I still like 'em and want 'em.

I mentioned in a previous post that a good friend of mine sort of politely suggested losing the hats and wings too. But it was a caring and thoughtfully made suggestion from a very talented artist that I respect and admire more than I can tell you. And it was given with compliments and admiration and for the purpose of opening up other markets or audiences for my art. By using things like crowns and hats and wings, I do limit my audience.

That's where taste comes in. We all have it, taste of some kind. We prefer some things over other things. It's the way it is and the way it should be. If it were any other way, what a boring world it would be. Victor, the very nice USPS man I seem to be getting to know a little through my frequent-of-late post office visits, I'll just bet isn't into pointy hats and wings and probably would never in a million years purchase or even pay much attention to my art. That's okay. THAT'S OKAY! Victor is a cool guy, I think, from what little I know. He intrigues me. He's rather handsome and mysterious and you just know he has a life that's interesting and maybe very hip. He's into art in general and even suggested an art walk I may visit tonight. He's a musician too and he seems pretty cool and nice and intelligent with important things to say that I wouldn't mind hearing. But I bet Victor likes edgier art, more raw, more powerful passionate mature statements than my little ditties make. That's okay! That's his taste. And, I like it too, I do. It's just that I'M not edgy or raw or passionate (in a rock and roll worldy hip way) so I don't have the experience to make that art with.

I complain about the lack of gestural whimsy in my work, the lack of expression. When I write about that, I'm really thinking of Teesha Moore's work. I look at her work every single day, several times a day. I mean EVERY DAY. I study it. She can make pointy hats and wings raw and edgy and passionate and deep. She can make pieces with hats and wings that Victor might appreciate. She obviously has had a great impact on the art world. A big impact, a revolution of sorts. I lllloooonnnnggg for her abilities, her voice in my work. But, I also long for longer legs and bigger boobs. It's not me, it's just not me right now. It wouldn't be my voice. It wouldn't be me. I'm not there yet. Her work is still an inspiration, a launching off point for me even if you could never tell it by comparing my work to what I see in hers.

Now, let's talk about my husband. He's a big manly man. He's worked in the movie industry for over 25 years and has had as much "rock and roll" as he's wanted. He likes horses and cattle drives and hiking and boating and ball games and he can build houses and fix engines and . . . . He was an exceptional athlete and is highly intelligent. He's very handsome and very confident. He's cool and gregarious and popular. He was quite a catch, still is (yeah, baby). HE would buy my art, and not just cuz he loves me. He likes fairy tales and stories and magic and humor and sweetness (he cries at movies all the time, he's that sweet) and he likes my style. So, it is all a matter of taste and appetite for what you connect to. Whether it's a masterpiece or raw and edgy or a slice of sweet, trite, whimsy.

Wanna know a secret? I don't really care for nudity or eroticism or sexuality in art. I can appreciate the talent of someone who made artwork with those qualities, but I don't long for it, don't connect to it, move right on by. Part of the reason is my awkwardness with my own body, not liking it. Part of it is my shyness, my modesty. Part of it is some horrible past experiences that make sexuality a complicated subject for me. Part of that thought process makes me think some art is made to shock and make things uncomfortable and I am still shocked and uncomfortable enough from the past that I don't need to be reminded of it. I don't think it's productive for me. Art should be productive, improve your life, be a joy and a pleasure to look at, get your mind working in good ways. But, this kind of art DOES speak to me, it DOES elicit a reaction and is still very successful in my mind no matter if it's my personal cup of tea or not. So, just like everybody else, I have my particular tastes and reasons for them. We can't all like the same things, but we can appreciate everything.

So, here it is, the big finish brought into focus for me by the Pez person. When Somerset publishes art that uses hats and crowns and wings and when I put my work up on flickr, no one is saying "here, like this because we are showing you masterpieces that you must adore and feel connected to". The pieces are just there, simply there, intentionally placed with hundreds and even thousands of other pieces of art. These pieces are there to be ignored and moved past and skimmed over by some, and there to be appreciated and create a connection with others. And, THAT'S OKAY! The nitty gritty of why Pez upset me is that I had no idea anyone proclaiming to understand and appreciate art would ever try to squash another artist's voice. It is so against the code, the unwritten understanding that artists appreciate other artists no matter of their taste or style. It is just uncool, ignorant, obnoxious, and moronic. Poor Pez is going to go on making a fool of him or herself and because of cowardly anonymity cannot be worked with to help have a better, more meaningful life. What a waste.

and a little p.s. - I think Pez misused the word integrity (which reflects badly on their intelligence or at least vocabulary). How can one lack in integrity using hats and wings? That bugs me. Even my 15 year old daughter's first reaction to reading it was "what the ---- does integrity have to do with it?" (yes, she's in AP English and talks like a sailor) If you're gonna slam me, at least use the proper words to do it.

I AM DONE WITH THIS AND MOVING ON! So should you! There are more important things to be conquered and thought about. Thank you for all of your brilliant and wonderful comments and support!