Art Fair Season

Time to wander around in the heat and look at arts and crafts

It’s that time of year in the Midwest that weekends bring about art fairs. Places where the general public wander through looking at art created by folks from around the area. Sue and I decided to brave the heat and go to one in the area and see what is trendy and if anything looked good enough to fill the rather large blank space above our mantle.

Unlike many things in our world, art in any form is subjective. There is no rubric to define what makes a work of art “good” or even “great.” So what I like and what you like can be completely different. While this might change, for the current time, in the United States this is OK. We can agree to disagree. Many people might throw capitalism into this mix saying that if you can sell it for a lot on money that makes it great. I think about the large number of “great masters” who died penniless because what they had done was “revolutionary.” So if it makes money, doesn’t necessarily make it great or even good.

Art Fairs in the Midwest tend to have a variety of mediums covered along with subject matter. Painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, woodworking, metalworking, ceramics, glass, jewelry, and textiles. Some might even deal with 3D printing, though I think most “juried” shows avoid this like the plague. This one had nothing 3D printed that I saw (thank you God). I am biased, as someone who does dabble in art. For the most part I divide things two categories- stuff I can do, and stuff I can’t do. The stuff I can’t do might have to do with lack of skills, but it also could be because of a lack of resources.

When strolling through the show I look at everything, but take a closer look at the stuff that interests me and the stuff that I (for whatever reason) can’t do even if I wanted to. Having taken a number of art classes over the decades I’ve played around in a bunch of mediums, which doesn’t make me an expert on anything - but I do know what I like, and what impresses me. Let’s go with two areas that the artist has to really work to get my attention- drawing and photography.

Drawing/Illustration

I like to draw. It brings me happiness. So when I look at other artists drawings I look at technique, I look at how much of the artist is actually in the work. Is it just a tracing of a photograph, or is it really drawn by hand? Has the artist done similar work in their portfolio? I think of drawing Cecil… is it an original idea? For this I tend to avoid whimsy when considering a drawing for purchase. I can do whimsy in my sleep. Cute character? Nice, do not need. I was raised looking at Robert Marble’s little red bird in every picture in our family room growing up. Actually, the family room, the kitchen, the guest room, a few hallways… you get the idea. So while I might find inspiration in what I see, I don’t tend to buy any of it anymore.

Photography

Photography is a hard one, especially in the digital age. But one of the reasons I usually ignore photography is not the skill needed, but often time it’s being in the right place at the right time. Waiting for the exact moment, or going through thousands of images until you find that perfect image. The photos we have in the house were shot by either Sue or me on some past Whimventure. The photos chronical where we’ve been. I think they look professional because of the way they’ve been cropped. I’m not one to go overboard on filters or Photoshopping - they are pretty much just as they came out of the camera.

A few photos I've taken while on Whimventures that I think might be...good?

Here’s the other thing about photography verses so many other art forms at art fairs… is it an original? The photographer takes a picture then makes a bazillion copies in various sizes and sells them- one image can pay for itself a hundred fold. This is still art because it takes skill and experience to determine all the bits that make a good image. Is it easier now with technology? Yes, but it still takes something more. I recall going to a photography workshop and being told the difference between an amateur and professional photographer- the professional only shows you their best pictures. Aunt Matilda makes you sit through every single photo of her vacation… every one.

So Much Stuff to Look at…

As for everything else I tended to focus on the unique and because I’ve tried (and failed) at painting I was still looking to see what I might want to hang above the mantle.

I did see one artist who had an image that caught my eye… until something changed when I heard more. I had actually stopped and admired this painting then I looked in the booth and saw another similar one, then another one almost exactly the same but in a slightly bluer tone. The person helping the artist made a comment that stopped me from going further. “He works off of a photo” and that was it… this was just a painting of the same image, almost to the brushstroke. Nothing too different or original except one was bluer and one was greener “to better work with the wall color.” as someone once said “Artwork doesn’t have to match the couch.” Why buy the painting? Why not spent less and just frame a print or a photo I had taken? You can buy prints that have a thick clear coating painted over them so they look like a real painting, or even have a photo printed on a canvas.

Hot weather brings out the art lovers to look at everything from A to Z which includes wooden alphabet puzzles.

A Question Comes to Mind

One thing that came to mind early on was I asked myself a question as I looked at the various pieces on display. Not “Who would buy something like this?” Because art is personal, it’s subjective. I instead tried to imagine the room that each piece would be put in as a focal piece. Not everything is made to be the focal piece in a room, but you don’t buy something so it won’t be noticed or commented on when someone sees it. This was a lot harder than I initially thought, because I really couldn’t figure out how some pieces would fit anywhere. This from a guy who had a wall of Rocketeer drawings from various artists- in his art studio. The same studio whose walls have original comic book pages.

One trend I noticed that made me a bit sad was the number of artists dealing with pop culture references… I guess that’s what sells. If you mash enough pop culture references into one image, it will have something for everyone! Not saying that art shouldn’t reflect the times in which it was created, but I’m not sure I can picture a place where many of the pieces belong- except maybe the basement home theatre. Then again- just because I scratch my head doesn’t mean it is bad. You be you, I’ll be me- I won’t judge you, really I won’t.

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One More Thing…

I’d like to bring up dealing with creative people, no matter what they do, whatever medium they work in, they put a little bit of themselves into their work. A small bit of their soul goes into the original piece. I can’t say that for prints or things made from molds, but that initial piece when (in my case) the pencil meets the paper is infused with a bit of me. For Sue with knitting and needlework it’s the same thing. You should appreciate the effort and that they parted with a piece of themselves. (Sue doesn’t understand why I have a hard time getting rid of the socks she makes for me. It’s silly but…) Which is why I won’t really say anything against anyone who create something. It is a deeply personal thing and to say something “isn’t art” is to say that the creator of it isn’t worth our effort. This is the problem I have with AI and taking the artist out of the art. Let computers deal with non-creative stuff, the dull repetitive stuff. Don’t make it so computers get to do the stuff that makes humans, human. I cringe at AI work that has copied a master artist, or even a general style- No you didn’t create something. I always try to treat any artist (even if I don’t personally like their work) with respect. I don’t go to a convention and try to talk down the price for original art… that’s saying you don’t value the artist and the part of themself that they put into the work.

Recently a client I’d been working with (I’d say friend, but, I’m not quite sure of that anymore) decided to rebrand their web presence and didn’t say a thing to me. When it launched they heard I was taken aback by it. I was confused that I had not even been consulted or asked to contribute. I had been doing all the design work up until then. Someone offered and they took them up on it. It was an easy business decision. However actions do have consequences. The look is nice “Professional” having designed websites in the past I could say a bit “Generic” (but that would be catty). The artist did a nice job, but everything I had been doing up until a week before the website launch was made null and void with this redesign. In a world where branding is everything… it was a gut punch. Especially since the artwork used reeks of AI (when a file name has “ChatGPT” in it, makes you question how much of the artist’s soul was put into the design). after our chat- Apology accepted, but Förlåt - men glöm aldrig. The silver lining- I now have a bit more time to do my own stuff.