What Distinguishes a Good Artist from a Bad One? [Dedicated to @opheliafu]

This post is dedicated to @opheliafu, whose artworks give me joy and optimism every time I come in contact with them. Recently I wrote her about my comprehension of her art creations and got her response.

Wonderful! Thank you, @opheliafu! You know, in your works I really like the combination of simplicity and life itself. They are deep and meaningful, although sometimes quite simple in form. That's my perception ;)

And @opheliafu replied me this way:

You perceive well. I'm a trained artist, the first part of my education involved hours of still life and life drawing and accurate colour mixing, etc, etc. The second part - 'now forget all that' , draw what you see, focus on showing the feeling that you feel in that place at that time. What has always stuck with me when I'm spending too long on trying to get the details accurate rather than putting myself into that moment are the words of one of my tutors ' why are you trying to copy it, use a camera for that.' I try to show my soul in my work, not what a camera could show you.

So this event inspired me to write the post dedicated to @opheliafu and my understanding of art.

How can people live without art?

How can we feel pleasure without beauty? Art is a striving for beauty. There is a beauty of form, beauty of sound, beauty of motion and taste. Beauty creates art − painting, music, dance, cooking, etc. How do we appreciate art? Everybody knows that tastes differ. Each person concepts beauty differently.

Not long ago, my wife took interest in oil painting. She had graduated from the school of painting before, but she did not practice painting a long time after graduation. At that time, she was not among the best artists in her school. Those were the opinions of her teachers and classmates. According to these opinions, she has formed her own notion of her skills and art in whole.

What to start with..?

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
― Pablo Picasso

You know, I am not fond of ballet. When I am watching these perfect and precise movements, it seems to me that I am watching the robots. I apologize, if my attitude to ballet is quite different from yours, but it is the way I see it. Ballet seems to me an inanimate robot dance. Not always, but mostly. In 9 out of 10 cases it seems to me so. However, somebody calls it “art” and considers it beautiful. Why?

In this dance, the form is present and it is nearly perfect. However, the content is absent. (Once more, this is only my personal view, please don't take it to heart).

The content is a message to our subconscious mind. The form is the message to our conscious.

“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.”
― Vincent van Gogh

You might know that when a person gives a speech before the audience, people perceive his movements, gestures, intonation and appearance subconsciously. Everything that is perceived subconsciously is much more important, than the logical information contained in the speech. He may speak correctly about important things, but if his intonation, gestures or appearance seem unpleasant to the listeners, they may consider the performance a failure. Nobody will pay attention to the information contained in speech, even if it is of great importance.

In other words, the inner part (the content) of the performance consists of emotions, which may show in gestures, body movements and intonation. The outer part (the form) is the logical information transmitted to the audience through speech. The content is a message to our subconscious mind. The form is the message to our conscious.

The same process is involved in contacting of the viewer with artworks.

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
― Pablo Picasso

When an artist paints a picture, he subconsciously puts his emotions in it. The subconscious is what a person perceives unconsciously. When a person looks at the picture, he feels a range of emotions. These emotions are evoked not by the form of the picture, which the conscious perceives, but by its content, which is hidden from the conscious perception. The form may be imperfect, but the content can be rich and pleasant for subconscious reception.

Once, I found out that people sold the drawings of small children for great sums of money. It seemed strange and was beyond my understanding. These drawings are surely far from realism and their forms are incorrect. However, looking at the works of art, we want to perceive emotions. It is more important to feel, than to understand. Therefore, the content is more important in art than the form. A masterpiece is not the production, which is perfect in form, but the one, which is perfect in content. A perfect form can be achieved by making it according to certain rules.

Rules of perfect form.

“Art is the only serious thing in the world. And the artist is the only person who is never serious.”
― Oscar Wilde

In ballet there are rules of proper movements. In painting there are rules of composition, color, and proportions. In music there are rules of rhythm and harmony. The more carefully the artist observes the rules, the better the form of his artwork will be.

However, the content cannot be created by simply following the rules. You probably felt the same way when you listened to the singer, who sang very correctly, but he did not catch your attention. He sang according to the rules, but it sounded bad for you. His singing did not touch your soul. Or, when you see the painted portrait that looks the same as a photo. It has correct lines and is perfect in its form. Nevertheless, this picture does not arrow any pleasant emotions in your soul. Or, when you are watching the dance by the rules. I have already mentioned about my attitude to ballet. It looks perfect in its form, but it is empty in the content. Such dance is not interesting to watch. It is soulless.

Touching the object of art, we consciously can feel its form. At the subconscious level, we interact with the content. The subconscious level is more important, because our emotions live in the subconsciousness. Art is a form of expression of emotions.

Breaking the right forms.

“Creativity takes courage.”
― Henri Matisse

I remember one conversation with @stellabelle, in which she said that she had always been focused on the subconscious. It is a sign of a true artist. The true art is hidden from conscious. It appears as a miracle. True art is a miracle because it has no rules, according to which you create a content artwork. The content is created by inspiration, by the impulse of the soul, but not by following the rules. That is why, many works of truly talented artists lack the proper forms, but can seem really touching for the viewers. Therefore, in order to help the content reach the hearts, it is sometimes necessary to break the right forms.

Thank you for reading this!
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