tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052308.post1444957387237414412..comments2024-01-24T06:50:01.683-06:00Comments on Samizdat Blog: Modernism and the MarketArchambeauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17273511539172747550noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052308.post-1255017926621099572010-10-31T08:52:04.512-05:002010-10-31T08:52:04.512-05:00Dunno. Next time I'm around the book I'll...Dunno. Next time I'm around the book I'll try to remember to check. Could have been a typo.<br /><br />BobArchambeauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273511539172747550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052308.post-11247910155235317492010-10-31T00:34:39.545-05:002010-10-31T00:34:39.545-05:00What is CHO5? All I can find Googling around is an...What is CHO5? All I can find Googling around is an acronym in modern (too modern) biochem -- it doesn't seem to be the formula of any organic compound I can think of.Vance Maverickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07477306994564623348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052308.post-56445613147326581432010-10-29T16:21:32.725-05:002010-10-29T16:21:32.725-05:00"ate at" not "at at" -- sorry...."ate at" not "at at" -- sorry.Archambeauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273511539172747550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052308.post-56742320384439623182010-10-29T16:21:12.599-05:002010-10-29T16:21:12.599-05:00The whole question of art-for-itself and art-for-t...The whole question of art-for-itself and art-for-the-public really at at S.I.W., too. I was reading one of his Huxleyesque pieces this morning where he says "Since by means of 'free artistic creativity,' i.e., 'a little birdie singing on a branch,' I have been unable to do anything for society or for the nation, I have decided, as a series of experiments, to share with the public my views on narcotics, starting with the most commonplace, tobacco..." He's a grade-A weirdo, really, and I admire him for it. At some point I'll have to read his plays -- he cranked out a ton of them.<br /><br />BobArchambeauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273511539172747550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8052308.post-4803500119003326852010-10-29T14:45:19.518-05:002010-10-29T14:45:19.518-05:00I'm reminded of John Cage's story (it'...I'm reminded of John Cage's story (it's one of the stories in "Indeterminacy") of when an advertising group called him up and asked, "Mr. Cage, are you willing to prostitute your art?" Cage replied, "Certainly." Which led to a meeting at an executive office, a huddle of executives listening to Cage's percussion music, and in the end they decided to save him for another project. <br /><br />I made my living as a graphic designer, typographer, and commercial artist for over two decades, and I have to say, I find this sort of artistic/commercial questioning fascinating but not very relevant. I've never been a "pure" artist; I've always been willing to prostitute my art, should anyone want to buy it. (Mostly they don't seem to want to.) What I really like here is, as you say, the menu of options, which I find very accurate. Those are often the same sorts of options one must sort through as a working graphic artist trying to satisfy an art director for any given project. If you were to read the graphic design literature, you would see the same questions all the time, and a similar spectrum of options. <br /><br />Working as a commercial graphic artist your job is mainly to satisfy the desires of others. You can use your creativity but you might get to sign your name to it, and your ideas might get overruled. if you're going to survive in the graphic arts business, you learn quickly to let go of your attachment to your work, and to your ego about it. (My experience has been that academic critics are mostly unable to understand what it means to be an actual working artist. The sticking point is precisely on the issue of egolessness.) I basically have no ego about the art I make as a commercial artist. I always do my best work, but sometimes you can never give them what they want, mostly because they can't tell you what they want clearly enough. <br /><br />The amount of personal creativity you're allowed on any given project can depend more on the client and the art director's personalities than on the work itself. There are some art directors who give you a lot of autonomy, and only ask for changes if you've veered too far away from the original brief; there are other art directors who micro-manage to the point of driving you nuts. <br /><br />I've met more than one art director who really has no clue what it takes to complete a project, but MUST make one arbitrary change so that they can justify their existence, and paycheck. Okay, I'll change that block of color from red to blue for you. Once they've marked their territory, they move on.<br /><br />In poetry and music, I'm beholden to none. I can do what I want. I do get feedback from my artistic peers, some of whose advice I find more valuable than others'. <br /><br />I agree that Witkiewicz is trying to have his cake and eat it too. But, on the other hand, he has really clearly laid out the dilemma. This is a very accurate representation of the whole situation, in my experience.Art Durkeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463180236975988432noreply@blogger.com