Piece for today; this is how I feel about the relationship I have with my youngest son. It is not an easy one. I love him very much.If there is one thing that irritates the Hell out of me, it is stereotypes.
Not just stereotypes for race, religion or social group, but for any stereotype. What set off today's rant?
Well, that is the constant assumption, the stereotype, that the definition of emerging artist is age based. That one can only be an emerging artist if one is under 30. Bull puckey and horse feathers! In this era, Baby Boomers have redefined many things, and the art world is not immune, just stubbornly clinging to outmoded ways of thinking.
The true definition of an "emerging artist" is just that; an artist emerging into the art world, into their own style and mode of creation. This is not age dependent.
To view emerging as solely a product of youth, is snobbery based on centuries of ignorance regarding the human brain.The human brain, as cutting edge research shows, is at it's peak in the middle aged years, particularly the ages of 40-60.
We no longer live hard scrabble lives that kill us before we are 60. Now, with medical advances and with new understanding of exercise and nutrition, people live longer and more productive lives, with it not being uncommon to live to 90+, now.
This means that we, as a species, have the time to explore, to create, to express our feelings about our experiences and how these have impacted us. It means that we have the time and the ability to experiment with mediums, and with modes of expression.
It's not like it was even 30 years ago. Now it is time for a tradition bound, dogma bound, art world to break loose of these notions that are holding back many a deserving artist.
A person is not required by any written rule to be a certain age, for the most part, but those people and organizations that continue to follow this outmoded path are doing no one any good, and they are definitely not doing the art world any good.
It is never good to limit what one sees based on criteria such as age. There are a lot of fine and Picture of the day, a little graphite piece that I think may end up on a panel. This piece is about the relationship I have with my youngest son. talented artists out there, from the very young to the very old. I believe that all should be honored for "emerging"; not just the ones between the ages of 20-30. To limit "emerging" to only those artists between the ages of 20 and 30 does a disservice to all artists.It also defies reality.
There used to be the notion of an ideal age, when we, as humans, used to believe that there is a window for creativity that closes after 30. There most certainly is not.
The only limits there are are the ones that we set for ourselves. Thanks to the internet, the art world has lost quite a bit of it's elitist attitude.
About time. Now, if the art world could just loosen up a little and get with the times....
Sometimes, tradition ain't a good thing.
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