Critique and Christian Art
I have alluded to the idea in the past that I believe one of the main reasons that the creative efforts of artists of faith fail to reach their full potential is that they are not challenged to grow as artists by the Church. I've been wondering lately if our current methods for critiquing artists are actually contributing to the problem.
We've all seen, heard and read critique of artistic expression our entire lives. It is usually done by having one person, with a seeming understanding of the artistic medium, listen to, view, read or experience the artistic expression of a person that they do not know. The critic is then expected to translate their experience into communication that is meant to inform more people as to the artistic merit of the recording, movie, gallery show, novel or performance that was taken in.
It is a detached method that really has more to do with commerce than it does the betterment of artists. The critic may think that they are doing the artist a favor by giving them tips on things they could have done better, but it is often done in such a detached, non-relational and sometimes mean-spirited, self-congratulatory fashion that the critique holds little in the way of meaningful feedback that really helps the artist progress in their craft.
Another method for critique that we see more and more on iTunes, Amazon and similar sites is the buyer review. In this type of setting, people can comment on pretty much any artist, album, movie... and put in their two cents alongside professional reviews. The difficulty with this type of review is that the reviewer is not held to any ideal of professionalism that might restrain the publication reviewer which can often lead to harsher, more ego-driven reviews when they don't like a particular artist or piece of work.
On the other hand, it can also lead to the removal of any critical filter as buyers chime in to praise their favorite artists' latest efforts without any regard to the actual merit of the work in terms of creativity, artistry or excellence.
The whole issue of critique is a difficult one to begin with, but is made even more difficult when ministry enters the scene. I find myself reluctant to speak my mind in conversations about particular artists because I know that God has used them to minister to people, even though their art may have been lacking in quality and creativity from my perspective. Sometimes my critique has more to do with personal tastes or pet artistic values than it does with the complete qualities of the art that is offered. Because I recognize this, only a select few get to hear what I really think.
The unfortunate consequence of our "niceness" in failing to find more effective means to critically assess artists of faith is that we create a culture in which subpar art is not only accepted, but is celebrated. Artists that are critically panned sell painting after painting of basically the same scene, same mood, same palette without ever having to deviate from the blueprint. Movies are sold and advertised heavily in Christian bookstores that are poorly shot and are written in a heavy handed fashion and somehow find homes on DVD shelves.
Instead of encouraging and challenging artists, we often coddle them and trust to record labels, movie distributors, publishers and other commerce driven entities to weed out our artists for us. This leads not only to disposable art, but disposable artists as well.
That leads me back to wondering whether our current systems of critique and commerce can ever help us produce better art, or if they will simply continue to lead us down a road where artists have to seek the solace of independent status or the less polite approach of a secular environment to allow them to flourish creatively.
We've all seen, heard and read critique of artistic expression our entire lives. It is usually done by having one person, with a seeming understanding of the artistic medium, listen to, view, read or experience the artistic expression of a person that they do not know. The critic is then expected to translate their experience into communication that is meant to inform more people as to the artistic merit of the recording, movie, gallery show, novel or performance that was taken in.
It is a detached method that really has more to do with commerce than it does the betterment of artists. The critic may think that they are doing the artist a favor by giving them tips on things they could have done better, but it is often done in such a detached, non-relational and sometimes mean-spirited, self-congratulatory fashion that the critique holds little in the way of meaningful feedback that really helps the artist progress in their craft.
Another method for critique that we see more and more on iTunes, Amazon and similar sites is the buyer review. In this type of setting, people can comment on pretty much any artist, album, movie... and put in their two cents alongside professional reviews. The difficulty with this type of review is that the reviewer is not held to any ideal of professionalism that might restrain the publication reviewer which can often lead to harsher, more ego-driven reviews when they don't like a particular artist or piece of work.
On the other hand, it can also lead to the removal of any critical filter as buyers chime in to praise their favorite artists' latest efforts without any regard to the actual merit of the work in terms of creativity, artistry or excellence.
The whole issue of critique is a difficult one to begin with, but is made even more difficult when ministry enters the scene. I find myself reluctant to speak my mind in conversations about particular artists because I know that God has used them to minister to people, even though their art may have been lacking in quality and creativity from my perspective. Sometimes my critique has more to do with personal tastes or pet artistic values than it does with the complete qualities of the art that is offered. Because I recognize this, only a select few get to hear what I really think.
The unfortunate consequence of our "niceness" in failing to find more effective means to critically assess artists of faith is that we create a culture in which subpar art is not only accepted, but is celebrated. Artists that are critically panned sell painting after painting of basically the same scene, same mood, same palette without ever having to deviate from the blueprint. Movies are sold and advertised heavily in Christian bookstores that are poorly shot and are written in a heavy handed fashion and somehow find homes on DVD shelves.
Instead of encouraging and challenging artists, we often coddle them and trust to record labels, movie distributors, publishers and other commerce driven entities to weed out our artists for us. This leads not only to disposable art, but disposable artists as well.
That leads me back to wondering whether our current systems of critique and commerce can ever help us produce better art, or if they will simply continue to lead us down a road where artists have to seek the solace of independent status or the less polite approach of a secular environment to allow them to flourish creatively.
posted by notsilent1 at
6:48 AM
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