Art is Pretentious* | The Art Assignment | PBS Digital Studios

*and other things I learned about art from the internet.
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[@Saktoth]

Viwers: "Art is pretentious and art is only expensive because it's made by famous artists and it's a scam by the rich to make money." The Art Assignment: "Yes."

[@CMBBB]

id say its expensive because its usually a one of one, or its not easy to think up and create. however some art is not difficult to make, or creative. but as an artist/painter its extremely time consuming and to be good, you need to find you're own unique direction to go in. so if someone wants to pay 5000$ for one of my paintings, im ok with that. plus the gallery takes 50% so ..... tbh im working to make my painting go for 10,000$ so a months work can pay for my rent, materials, canvases, food and alcohol money

[@devourerofbabies]

There is much contemporary art that is in museums or galleries that deliberately takes no skill or time or originality to create, and which deliberately avoids any aesthetic or conceptual value. There isn't any artistic justification for why much of contemporary "art" gets any recognition at all. If you're trying to make money, you're better off trying to make friends with a famous art critic or gallery owner and selling white canvases as "art", or upending trash bins in museums and calling it an "installation". Or kill an animal and sell the carcass as "sculpture". All of these things have actually been done repeatedly by different people, so even the "originality" justification is bullshit.

[@mysteryme6655]

@@devourerofbabies the art world is so much bigger because of artists like ayako rokkaku and takashi murakami. American artists from the "Lowbrow" movement absolutely showed how contemporary art it can change. Artists like Jeremy Fish and Greg "Craola" Simkins, are prime examples of artists excelling with actual skill and newer concepts.

[@nsr5961]

Oscar Evans how is art pretentious though? Art is a luxury and for me, music on a canvas. It’s the reason why it’s at the height of importance because it combines the intelligent minds with creative will. Everything on earth is created. Art is an addition to creation and gives people an insight into the mind of the creator.

[@andrewlankford9634]

PBS is also a scam.

[@lidu6363]

I really respect you for praising people who politely disagree with you.

[@sonofzingo7]

I respect the sentiment but I have to disagree

[@ldm673]

I'm pleased with your polite way of disagreeing with me but I am wholeheartedly against your opinion

[@a_e_hilton]

Your perspective is valuable to me but I must discard it in favour of mine

[@hedgehog3180]

Hate to break the chain of jokes but I want to say that I really agree and I really hope we all learn to think like this. Just in general about all things, learning to accept that somethings we may not like but that doesn't mean it's worthless or that we should deride the people who do like it and sometimes it can matter to learn about why they do like it.

[@alexanderatticus647]

no disagree entirely not even a joke when she responds theirs a clear pretentious attitude

[@winterhaydn5640]

"Art is whatever you can get away with" -Marshall Mcluhan

[@man.6618]

@Wenceslao Futanaki mans didnt even watch the video

[@Watkinsstudio]

@Wenceslao Futanaki "Pretentious" is a fancy word for something created without the speaker's approval.

[@RomeoDeJuliette]

@@Watkinsstudio apparently someone didn't understand what pretentious means.

[@Watkinsstudio]

@@RomeoDeJuliette You're right, Wenceslao Futanaki doesn't.

[@senawaza]

Andy Warhol said that actually

[@stevenbottcher5564]

This video’s attempt to be self-aware about art being pretentious is so pretentious.......wait, this comment I just made about this video being pretentious came off as pretentious, didn’t it?.....dammit. OH SHIT! I just realized that my attempt to be witty on a KZbin comment section by saying that I’m self-aware about my pretentiousness is sooooooo pretentious. Sorry everyone. I’ll show myself out. Forget I was here.

[@kenshii7404]

that’s amazing 💀

[@kalakritistudios]

Reminds me of myself.

[@judithann7193]

Bwahahahahah

[@kamek7361]

This is pretentious

[@ada.3880]

Feedback loops. I hate those.

[@EuraR007]

i love that quote ‘the art market is not synonymous with art’ modern contemporary art has so many other avenues and is not limited to the ‘art market’ anymore

[@tiltiktekwani7562]

Dude(tte), I wish more people realize that. It freaks the shit out of me. They can only equate the value of art to its pricetag. Is sad :/

[@StealingCookiez]

Warhol would be all over the meme game

[@sprotte6665]

Here's an idea: Are memes pop-art?

[@johnappleseed8369]

erik idiot More of a realistic question would be "Are the things that memes steal from out of context, pop-art?"

[@lullabi3234]

erik idiot, absolutely memes are pop art. and john appleseed, that depends on the source. But once it is drawn from whatever its native context is and made into a meme, it becomes absolutely pop art. that's a cool notion y'all. I haven't looked at that til now. thanks!

[@noshankyouvm]

Venn Diagram: First circle, "Absolute Narcissism"; Second circle, "Crippling Self Doubt"; overlap area, "ART".

[@maggyfrog]

this is BS. art requires actual talent, not just mere feelings.

[@AEtherArts]

@@maggyfrog all talent is is an advantage to the craft. Craftmanship is painting and drawing what you see around you, but art is putting meaning into something. For example, I love portrait of nick wilder by David hockey, even though skill needed to paint it isn't much. But it's the fact that he painted this man who was well known in hollywood, on all the guests lists and living a rich and lavish life, alone in a pool pulled so far back you can't see he's features. He could've just made a regular portrait, it would've showed off his talent, but instead he made a comment about society in he's time, and that's what makes it art.

[@maggyfrog]

@@AEtherArts it doesn't refute my statement that ART requires talent.

[@cadenglass1387]

@@maggyfrog art requires nothing

[@maggyfrog]

@@cadenglass1387 to someone with no standard or taste, i'm sure

[@StephanieGonzalezStudio]

The most memorable thing I read in my art history textbook was that art historians agree that whenever a human manipulates something physical with the intention to change it, it is art. I like that a lot.

[@jake413]

So eating is art?

[@willybe6427]

what about physical assault?.. ;P

[@missnoneofyourbusiness]

@@willybe6427 ...seriously?

[@willybe6427]

@@missnoneofyourbusiness no it was a joke, take your feelings out your puckered up balloon knot

[@magnolia31611]

The reason I appreciate these videos, I now can have an intelligent, meaningful conversation with my amazing 90 year old artist grandmother, who has more than 70 years of her artistic career behind her. I’ve always marveled at the beautiful impressionist works she has created over the years, but as far as interest in others artworks go, I really could have cared less. My artistic tastes lean more towards the music world. That being said, I have really come to enjoy these videos, and being able to talk with my grandmother about these topics has been priceless to me.

[@420blackbirds8]

for me, art is addiction. I can't afford to buy it so i make it. I'm my favorite artist.

[@joez6235]

Imo the only difference between a drug and a hobby is whether you make it or consume it.

[@Gaitanvive]

Joe Z there are only artist, not art.

[@kalakritistudios]

I love you🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@wwirelesswwizard]

I love this comment. :')

[@jhhwild]

Look at it from the perspective of the average working class joe. I think the anger stems from a feeling that you are being looked down upon for not understanding it. Anger is an automatic defensive response to the embarrassment of not being able to get an artwork, they feel that because they don't understand it people will think they're "uncultured" and "ignorant" or too dumb to interpret its meaning. Most people want to see skill, they want to clearly see talent and effort on display. It feels unfair that a white square hung on the wall slightly askew can be sold for millions when you have to work your ass off living from paycheck to paycheck. Can you blame people for being a little angry?

[@larryphillipsjr.1607]

😂

[@flowerbin2425]

Not at all, I agree. But really, if your response was anything but ambivalent, the artwork was successful. Maybe the artist was trying to snub the working class.

[@JohnSmith-bw6pv]

Most art that you can't understand has no meaning at all the artist just likes to say a ton of nonsense of what it means and how they were inspired :/ ..pretentious

[@PedroRodriguez-bw2ow]

Why would you get angry at what other people have accomplished??? It's not like those artists made their first painting and suddenly sold it for millions, they have to work hard and make a name for themselves in order to sell those pieces. Also, everyone experiences art differently. I don't care if someone says I'm dumb for not liking abstract art, I just don't fucking like/understand it.

[@Glenbot3000]

Maybe you should focus your energy getting pissed at those paying the artist so much and you so little. And getting angry for being ignorant and remaining ignorant is just being a shit human - if you don't understand something, the means are available for you to gain an understanding.

[@witzelasper2821]

To me the most pretentious part of the art world is the alleged experts trying to tell people what's good and what's not what you should like or shouldn't. Any expert should know that it's all in the perspective of the viewer.

[@maggyfrog]

no, any expert should be knowledgeable about real talent. preference is personal, but talent is not based on something arbitrary like fame or audacity.

[@MrMadalien]

@@maggyfrog But the alleged artists are not pushing talented artists, they're pushing vapid post modern randomness, there is no clear hierarchy of "good" in this system. The market is self aware about this. So if a market is transparently arbitrary then there is no point in listening to experts because the word "expertise" implies a hierarchy of values.

[@callumsutherland2954]

We, as humans, have been studying the philosophy of aesthetics since the Scholastics in the 1100s; such towering theorists as Averroes, Addison, Kant, Nietzsche, Hume, Barthes, Dutton and Adorno have all chimed in, and written an incredible collective oeuvre analysing every aspect of art, aesthetics, and how we should think about art. This is to say that any expert would be able to look beyond such un-nuanced universals as 'it's all in the perspective of the viewer,' and to think about art with a more mature philosophy.

[@mrfudd13]

I have had my enjoyment and appreciation of art widened by the comments of people who have studied art and also clearly love art and seek to give fellow art lovers their perspectives. A very important part of experiencing art is the intention of the viewer (in the case of visual art, but it applies to all art) the more informed the intention the greater the power of art to elevate our existence. A viewer who's mind is closed to abstraction is missing the very beautiful, enriching experience of a DeKooning, or Pollack, and thus has a smaller intellectual space to exist in.

[@callumsutherland2954]

@@ubbdaubermensch1528 Too true -- that should be on a bloody billboard somewhere. I just don't know why people think their opinion on art is going to be as informed, as developed, and as insightful as art historians who've spent between six and eight years intensely studying and researching their field, or art critics, who've likely had a similar education, and have an extensive background in and knowledge of art. It's a baffling arrogance.

[@rahmkosmam9148]

The honesty and self reflection is refreshing

[@LordMarlle]

This made me doubt art (and myself), and then the last few minutes reassured me that art can be the truest conversation we'll ever have as humans

[@lorddouglas8454]

it's sad to think that because you haven't attained a certain level of fame or experience or notability, your work cannot be monetarily valued at a high price even if it is exquisite

[@oof-rr5nf]

Truly.

[@man.6618]

i mean that's pretty much how all artistic mediums work though, it's just that painters or visual artists have less hoops to jump through. a well-known, established director is going to get paid a lot more to make a movie then someone who is just starting out, even if their work is vastly inferior. a small, relatively unknown singer-songwriter isnt going to get the same kind of record deal a famous top 40 pop artist will. the only difference is that film and music are generally more accessible mediums for the public (most people are a lot more like to hit up a theatre or a concert on a free day then a museum)

[@Watkinsstudio]

@Wenceslao Futanaki No one has proven that money determines what gets created. Artists create what they want regardless of whether they think it will sell. Besides, it isn't possible to "take away" money from art. Art has sold without a break throughout it's entire history.

[@MrSwac31]

I disagree on the premise that artists are inherently pretentious. Simply releasing your art isn't pretentious, if anything it's a way to extract yourself from the piece, to share, to let go. What makes conceptual art unically pretentious is that the author's intentions are precedent over the piece itself. Communicating this intent is literally to "attempt to impress by affecting greater importance than is actually possessed".

[@Kasparoscar]

When your art is such an abstract piece of overpriced shit, releasing it does make him pretentious.

[@Patricia_Taxxon]

I don't understand what kind of joyless world you would have to live in to violently hate most contemporary art. Same with modern music, I don't know how you can refuse to explore a medium to the extent that all you hear is the oily top layer of commercialized pop. Not knocking top 40 by the way, most people just react to how much of a product it's become.

[@TASmith10]

To use music as an analogy... There's a lot to be said for modern music. By eschewing beauty in favor of drama, emotion, expression, modern composers have created incredible music that wonderfully describe the thoughts and feelings that lurk in our minds and hearts. It might not be "beautiful" but I absolutely love: Bartok: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWebhJ6wfMdpjdk Stravinsky: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4atgJR9fs16baM Prokofiev: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2W3qoRvbK-WqJI I could go on, you get the point. Even if this music isn't palatable to everyone, and has a smaller audience, for those with the patience to learn it, it's rewarding. In the world of pop music, there's something good in every genre, a range or lyrics and themes, and a wealth of knowledge and sentiment to learn from. Some of it's fluff, but it can still put you in a good mood, and sometimes you just need a loud ACDC jam to help relax. But... What do you do when you're faced with this? kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYC4pJWqiteLfs0 This is the kind of artwork I have to protest. And I can't stand when anyone puts it on equal footing with the greats.

[@bradterhune6439]

Adding to the music analogy, I'm 54 years old, and continue to seek out music that excites me, by reading, listening, and most of all, being open-minded. To say that the music of today sucks is a cop-out. I dedicate time to this; so many of my peers don't because it's not important to them. They are happy accepting what Top 40 offers. Just like contemporary art, there is great music being created every day in every genre. Two recent great bands, IMHO: Parquet Courts, and Protomartyr.

[@gsteward2688]

more on the footing with the grates (on the ear)

[@BelindaShort]

A lot of the issue is that some people are making art that is sometimes objectively bad but because they are famous, they are making hundreds of thousands of dollars on the work.

[@L5940]

I love contemporary art, especially when it's looked at in different ways. The medium is so deep and the attempts at understanding can be unending. There's actually a ovie that attempts to portray the struggles of a modern artist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGiXpHuaopxpjbc It's called: The Square (2017)

[@pocket83]

Art isn't pretentious. "Art" is pretentious. Both are self-indulgent, but the difference is that the nobler of the two isn't made for others. The artist can be content _without_ sharing his craft. Compulsion to create drives the artist. Compulsion to convince others that you create drives the pretentious. So, how is one considered nobler? Because one is genuine, and for the sake of discovery and improvement, while the other is as fake as a car salesman's smile. Each of us is a consumer of both types of art. As such, it is left to our discretion to determine the boundary between these two varieties. We certainly would not want to find ourselves in the embarrassed position of having supported some contrived attempt at the obscure, arcane, or esoteric, and to then be revealed as the ill-informed and limited creature that we truly are! Similarly, to deliberately consume "art" in an effort to impress others is as detestable an act as the intention to create it. Lucky for us all, our private motives belong only to us. Personally, I find those tacky black velvet paintings to be aesthetically pleasing (as long as it's not an Elvis). I also enjoy the fluid, brush-stroked grasses of a Van Gogh, despite its state of cliché. Escher continues to impress me with his geometric brilliance, even though the school of modern "art" would doubtless consider his skill to have been marginal at best. I guess what we consider 'subjective interpretation' is just a catch-all explanation for the fact that we have very complex reasons for why we feel so passionately about our unique causes. So while the presenter here may seem to be evading the issue in a _can't we all just get along_ sort of way, I think her position is both well-developed and mature. It's art's role to cause these visceral reactions. We *can't* know the motives or experiences of others: art makes us face this fact directly, and it drives us crazy. Good!

[@Cystlib]

Now this is a well thought out comment I completely agree with!

[@kalpbhavsar]

Awesome!

[@nonanbfernandez]

Dang, that is hands down one of the most eloquent comments I have seen on KZbin.👏

[@salomaogabriel5264]

God I whish I could treasure this comment in a chest

[@AmericasComic]

This isn’t an explicitly emotional video, but I had an incredibly rough day today in my creative life and I started to cry at the end after hearing someone validate that money isn’t the totality of Art

[@alexmcgaw]

"The Case for Kanye West" made me rethink everything I thought about the guy. I still think he's sometimes obnoxious, but at least now I view him as being obnoxious with artistic intent.

[@nsr5961]

William Kallemeyn Kanye’s an artist?

[@rustcohle3803]

I think cuz lot of young men envy him for marrying Kim kardashian, arguably one of the most sexist women in the world. Big nice butt n all.

[@graphite2786]

You have stated in 8 minutes and 40seconds what takes me a whole evening ! So glad i found this channel, subscribed :)

[@nakenmil]

1:21 - 1:55 This basically applies to the entertainment industry as well. And academia, of course. Imposter syndrome mixed with bouts of megalomania is just how it goes.

[@KateReadsBooks]

Thank you for making these videos.

[@zentouro]

so incredibly pleased that this video exists.

[@danielmcelroy4505]

Absolutely +++

[@L5940]

Please watch this movie: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGiXpHuaopxpjbc It's about the wonders and struggles of modern art in our Western society.

[@wolf7379]

I'm incredibly pleased these videos exist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3-kaYZ_lLCpp6s kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6TZn2qEnLmkarM kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoO6e5aoh7Rjfa8 Seriously, how many of those who commented here would pay to listen to music if singers and musicians were singing and playing discordant and noisy sounds? Would you buy pop, jazz or chill out music if musicians were too lazy to practise and master their instruments but instead played 'crap'? Would you rush to listen to singers who couldn't sing in America's Got Talent'? Like these wonderful artists, kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZC8k59mhtupm9U. Why not? And if you 'like' hearing Yoko Ono screaming her head off, does not mean it is 'good' art. It just means you like 'crap'. Liking somethng does not mean it is 'good'. If you 'like' beating up old women in the street, does not mean it is 'good'. If you 'liked' helping an old lady cross a busy street, then that is 'good'. Would you consider figure skaters great artists if they would fall down on the ice in a crumbled heap? No! 'Conceptual art is based on the notion that the essence of art is an idea, or concept, and may exist distinct from and in the absence of an object as its representation.' In that case, would you pay to see 'conceptual artistic figure skating' where a pair of figure skaters just stand there doing no skating at all but explain that their figure skating is in their 'idea' of skating.

[@SkullRyanStreamArchive]

exists, more like... doesn't... exists... am i right.

[@EulogyfortheAngels]

Paul Joseph Watson makes a very weak argument. He comes at it with literally no educated stance on the topic.

[@aidenwalkerart4588]

I appreciate that you admit that there is pretentiousness in the art world, but when people say art is pretentious, I don't think that they mean how a bunch of pigment smeared on a canvas is pretending to be an image. I generally think that they are referring to when art that is not visually interesting is bestowed with an arbitrary meaning that then carries the value of the work. Like how if I brought a pile of trash in to a critique, many of my professors would probably love it if I justified it conceptually.

[@pianostuff2731]

the concept of the thing is the point though, look at duchamp for example, you have a urinal, it is placed on its side, out of use, out of the cycle that it becomes a part of. There was a group of artists who decided to pee on a version of the urinal one time, and you can't usually say that piss into a urinal is art. So it adopts the concepts as an event, the funniness, the fact that they were kicked out for interacting with a piece of art as its basic function, is itself the cycle that art can avoid, doesn't avoid, or perceives unto itself. Look at something new and see its point, capabilities, what it signifies and where the signifiers are. Contemporary art is just pocketed life, but how the hell do you put that in your pocket you know.

[@skull8093]

Well, we artists _are_ a buncha liars, so.

[@AEtherArts]

Most professors would not honestly. I remember one time when my professor told us about a time he helped this bright girl with some professional critiques and she brought like 7 coke can that got progressively more destroyed. The first critic came in and asked her what it was, and she said her art spoke for herself. So the critic threw it away as without context it's what ever you see, so at that point the cans were just that; beat up cans that need to be thrown away. She took them out again and the second critic asked the same question and she answered the same way which led to the cans being dismissed again. My prof. told her to explain the concept and when she told the third that it's supposed to be a representation on how society drains and discards women after they've served their purpose, the critic nods and said it made sense. Tl;dr: it's not what you do it's why you did it, that makes it art.

[@pianostuff2731]

@@AEtherArts so art is recontextualised as long as the artist responds, shouldn't there already be numerous possible responses, constrained to signifiers but not present trace

[@CleverMonkeyArt]

The thing with the trash? That's been done. Brilliant.

[@JessicaSmith-gd1fu]

Once again, you made me think! Thanks so much. I sincerely appreciate these videos.

[@alexmcgaw]

Also I like the mentality some commenters are having with appreciating sorts of art that they don't like. I'm a follower of David Hume's view of aesthetics, that taste is immediate and cannot be disputed, unlike truth. Broadly speaking, you can think something is good while not liking it.

[@smilepop3123]

I really enjoy your videos! It's very nice to see people calmly taking in and walking through different comments, perspectives, and theories, especially when it's so much easier to just blow up about these kinds of things as we see so much in today's world. Thank you so much for your positivity and understanding, and please continue thinking and filming! :)

[@bigfishartwire4696]

Channels like this are making people care more about art. The more we know, the more we care. Thank you for helping us understand art.

[@sebastianlanducci]

I love this channel so much... I feel it has the genuine inclusive and loving approach that made me fall in love with Art to begin with.

[@Xenolilly]

I am so glad this channel is benefiting the world for four years now. My sister is opening an art and art supply store soon. I always pester her to watch this show, but she is too busy. Yet here I am a non-artist who just enjoys it so much. It succeeds in impressing me with its pretentiousness. ;)

[@AnnoyingAsianWitch]

+

[@lorenabpv]

is your sister perhaps a character in an indie romcom? that's such a lovely fictional scenario, someone owning an art supply shop. but in all seriousness, same, as a non artist i enjoy it very much too :)

[@Xenolilly]

She'd love the thought of that! Her store is called the Curious Cat. She'd already found her love though and has adopted four kids. Her family is featured in much of her art. One day, I hope she'll do the art assignment Meet in the Middle with me. This channel is so educational and endearing. Plus there are cool people to chat with in the comments. :)

[@lorenabpv]

aaah that's cute. much luck to her :)

[@amiraslifeusa2560]

The script of your art assignment documentaries is extremely well written... plus the content is amazing . Thank you so much for taking the time to make them.

[@linuszimmermann6120]

These videos are so so important to me, they gave me a way better overview over the artworld and introduced me to artists I have never heard before, but which I would now consider my favorites!

[@carlaafonso6194]

I really enjoy this video. I just don't understand how you don't have more subscribers. We need more of this kind of content on KZbin

[@stanleycoleman]

I wish there was a channel like this specifically for cinema, making the case for certain classics and art house films that the general public don't "get".

[@Namesarealwaysathing]

I think everyframe a painting and nerdwriter1 sometimes give credit to more unknown or more unknown aspects of a movie, as well as analysing popular stuff through a new lens which gives it some sort of deeper credit, as with the episode on Jackie Chang.

[@hannahtaylor2933]

stanleycoleman Have you watched Welcome to the Basement on the Blame Society channel? They watch a movie that Matt hasn't seen before ("might be good, might be bad") and talk about it. Even if it is a "bad" movie they offer it just as much time, and try to understand it. It's one of my favorite shows on KZbin. (Please note that they are 2 guys who are improv actors and perhaps not so much experts on cinema, aside from creating Chad Vader lol, as Mrs. Sarah Green is on art). Give them a watch! 😃

[@fitandhappy42]

Brows Held High is very good for this.

[@yitz7805]

Brows held high is definitely my first stop for that sort of outsider critique.

[@starrPrincess1]

Solomon Society is heaven for films! Check them out on youtube you'll love them

[@bee-ep9qz]

I love the way you narrate the videos on artists. I like the open and curious tone you take, it makes me want to listen even when I disagree. Also loved that you pointed out that art is more than a stuffy market. It means I can access more artwork from my own place in the world, and I can also share my own stuff with people who are like me and can't afford to pay all that money. Thank you for these videos!

[@AarmOZ84]

Thank-you so much for making these videos! My appreciation for art has greatly improved because of them.

[@SpinesAndSplines]

Just watched this again, and tried to “like” it again, after getting angry at someone on Facebook for posting derisively about that damn banana with a general statement that all modern art is terrible. Thank you for being excellent.

[@TheScourge007]

I love this video because it gets at two vital truths. First, that all significant fields of human endeavor have dark sides and legitimate criticisms that can be made about them. Second, that having flaws does NOT make something irredeemable or even a net bad thing. Art has been a part of every human society that is known about. It clearly drives both practitioner and viewer to find new ways of considering the world, or it entertains, or it just breeds controversy. When I was younger I mostly dismissed art and especially modern art, but experiencing more and more art has made me appreciate the way it facilitates different kinds of communication. So at this point, I'm fine with people disagreeing with my art tastes, but truly not caring just makes me a bit sad at what is being missed. Thanks for the videos, they're spectacular!

[@ChibaCityBlues]

Thank you for making these videos. Honestly. You are mostly talking about art I already love. But it is so amazing that you convince people.

[@KannikCat]

This is all the reasons why I love this channel... (aside: 4 years already?! Wow!) Engaging with and pulling in everyone, continuing the conversation, and honouring the art, artist, and art viewer. Great job, and I especially like how you expanded my view of how, in many ways, artists and art are indeed pretentious. Or, said another way, artists and art are courageous, meaningful, and engage with us in such powerful ways. Thank you. :)

[@naomimguzman9783]

Love this video thank you sincerely a painter who needed this emotionally

[@danielmcelroy4505]

With you!! My life and practice needed a jolt :)

[@DisDatK9]

Don’t worry about the naysayers :) your work deserves to be recognized alongside everyone else’s as an art in itself. I hope you continue painting!

[@kjcartmellsjourney9145]

As a writer, I loved what you had to say about the creative process, the lonely striving against anonymity. The music I loved growing up, Sting and U2 particularly, was often described as pretentious. This always frustrated me. I felt these songs weren't pretending to be great. They really were great! It was the critic who was pretending to be important. I should watch your Yoko Ono video now. You've piqued my interest.

[@TheFitchproductions]

Wonderful video, keep changing my mind. Thank you for all the work you've done here.

[@JesseNickelltheFourth]

These PBS art videos with this woman are still some of the best art videos on KZbin! I love them and wish you guys and her would make more content again! Thanks for all of your hard work to make all of this! I love sharing them with me students and thinking about them and all of the knowledge imbued within them!

[@MahlenMorris]

Sarah, I'm writing this from Marfa, Texas after a full day at the Chinati Foundation, and I'm only here because you made a video about it. My wife and I had an amazing time; thank you so, so much for letting your audience know about it.

[@theartassignment]

Woo hoo! So glad to hear it. I already want to go back.

[@andybearchan]

In Adam Ruins Everything they always do a takeaway. In that episode, he makes the argument that art is great and important. Real artist embraces lots of different art. Also, to make money as an artist you can make work for all kinds of fields, from book illustrations to movie concept art.

[@hannahkeogh1332]

This is why I love murals: they're free for everyone to see, and often represent the culture of the neighborhood. Philly has the best murals!

[@KierstenReadsALot]

AWESOME expression of the true artist spirit! Thank you for making this video.

[@pena_colada]

It’s baffling to see what people write, but impressive to know you guys can take comments like those and not have it deter the creative expressions you arduously provide to this audience. Thanks, and thank you for the work and time you put into theses videos. I really appreciate it.

[@Danny_Cruz]

Art is chasing the uncatchable... It's entertaining the space between. As beings we have found constant patterns, and this isn't to undermine what we've noticed, but those patterns are only constant with the very rules they've made for themselves. If reality is a randomness flowing, we are only tapping into a portion of whatever that is, and even to understand that is to only understand it in the way that we know. In other words, we only see what we see. Artists are the blips that we take for being insane, and I don't necessarily believe that measuring it at all or being self aware of it gets you any closer to whatever "The artistic process" is... Or if it even really matters enough to consider it from the outside. Because the artist sees the universe in his own way, from the inside, just as rigidly as we do... It's just aligned to a different length. That will speak for itself if it speaks for itself.

[@52bluey71]

I can't believe it's been almost four years! Back then I was about to go to high school and had no idea what to do with my life. Now, nearly four years later, I'm majoring in art history and art education - I started just this fall. The Art Assignment is one of the things that led me here.

[@ojiverdeconfleco]

Sarah, you are an inspiration. Thank you for showing us art.

[@bens4446]

Here's the thing. We'd all love to be artists and filmmakers. What a life! Artists are not those who "dare" to feel deep things, but rather those who have the time to do it because of trust funds or Theos or parents paying the rent for a flat in the Village, etc. Once in a while a true genius comes along, but a lot of spoiled brats get lionized in the meantime. Hence much of the disillusionment/frustration expressed in the comments. That said, I thank you for this wonderful series, which gives those of us in the non-trust fund, a.k.a. real, world a window on some real gems that we'd otherwise never have access too.

[@emalinel]

finally. someone who explains this objectively.

[@enkacon]

I feel so delighted after watching this video. Thank you so much!!!

[@MrMattyHoff]

thank you thank you thank you for being on youtube :) every video makes me so happy to be an artist... and a human

[@luaevablue]

Excellent point! I hate it when people base their opinions on art based on how much it is worth... specially if it wan't even created to be sold.

[@universityofyoutube6859]

For me "art is pretentious" comes directly in response to feeling like I'm not allowed to appreciate the art I do appreciate. I mean, yes, I do love Vermeer and Sargent and Thomas Cole. I like classical composition. I like pretty landscapes and people. And I am kind of like, I just watched 12 minutes of a woman folding laundry, and it was cool, so I guess I can get behind that being art. But anime? That's not art? That's commercial dreck? That's when I'm saying, you're pretentious if you can't let people love a beautiful, moving Kazuo Oga background, just because it comes from My Neighbor Totorro. It's pretentious when you imply that your favorite chewing gum collage has more meaning and emotion in it than my favorite Norman Rockwell. Art doesn't have to be about exclusion: this is art because that isn't art. Art is by definition a pursuit of subjective experience. My life experience leads me to love the order and beauty of a canvas because the real world is messy and painful. And your experience in a messy and painful world leads you to love messy, painful art. Neither is wrong. And really, neither is right. It just is. We like what we like.

[@mirandavasquez5588]

I have a lot of respect for those who dedicate there lives to art despite what type of art they are creating

[@notlikewater]

The Art Assignment videos bring me so much joy. I love their focus on contemporary art since I feel like it so often poorly represented and viewed by the majority of the population who consume it. This series/channel gives me hope that people do care about art more than they are willing to convey. As an art historian in the making, it gives joy to see so much care about a subject I want to dedicate my life to, albeit not focusing on contemporary art. While my interests as a scholar don't lie in contemporary art, I love how Sarah and these videos show me the complexity and the passion that others do have for this period of art we are currently living in. Thank you for all of your hard work!

[@radzo1675]

Non Artist - "I coulda done that!" Artist - "But you didn't."

[@starman7645]

But that's not the point normal people don't go out of their way to make garbage like that our garbage goes to the dump (dirty 3th world countries)

[@Watkinsstudio]

@@starman7645 "Normal people". Lol! Artists are better if for no other reason than they dare to create and the "normal people" don't.

[@starman7645]

@@Watkinsstudio but it's literally fūcķing trash and if you can see some of the shįt they make you'll say the same thing but your pretentious and pretend there's a higher meaning of garbage

[@apexone5502]

I'm an artist and I think a lot of it is pretentious garbage. The same folks in the art world will praise some hack for smearing his feces on a canvas and then turn around and trash the work of a skillful artist all because he/she makes art for a medium they consider beneath them.

[@davidstepanczuk]

...and you couldn't.

[@colep9215]

I’m even more depressed about my artwork than ever after watching this.

[@pillarsofcreationuk]

I can understand you if you're making art to get validation from others, but, if you're making art because you dig a certain style, or are on a deeper journey which your express through your artwork then its personal and no opinion of others should shape your view. It's like liking a TV show you enjoy watching - it doesn't matter if anyone else likes it if you get something from it. Not to say you are, but living to impress others is a road that leads to massive anxiety and is never ending. Love and light to you 🙏🏾

[@kalpbhavsar]

Rlly hadn't thought about the distinction between artists being pretentious and art being pretentious. That was rlly interesting and even a little humbling. As long as I've been involved with art, I seemed to be in constant struggle with pretentious art. In the same vein as some of the polite disagreements, I still don't think I completely get/am open to all art. I have a lot of provocative opinions about art that I think should get attention and art that I think deserves none (let alone the monetary aspects of it). But this video is a great start for me to think more complexly about it. Thanks.

[@ElioHaddad-Executive_Coaching]

Hi, your channel is a blessing. You give a clear concise and well educated explanation about art in all it's periods. You help me stay updated and well informed about the art market. Being an artist that live in - what you call - the outside world. Your channel keeps me well connected and inspired. Thank you

[@deadeaded]

Steven Pinker has, I think, an important insight on this topic. Here's a relevant quote from his TED talk (watch?v=CuQHSKLXu2c) "In fact, the arts are not in decline. [...] By any standard, they have never been flourishing to a greater extent. [...] The only grain of truth to this claim that the arts are in decline come from three spheres. One of them is in elite art since the nineteen-thirties [...] in literary criticism and analysis [...], and in the humanities and arts programs in the universities, which by many measures, indeed, are in decline. [...] Well, here's a diagnosis. They didn't ask me, but by their own admission they need all the help they can get. I would like to suggest that it's not a coincidence that this supposed decline in the elite arts and criticism occurred in the same point in history in which there was a widespread denial of human nature. [...] Beauty and pleasure in art, probably a human universal, began to be considered as saccharin, or kitsch, or commercial. [...] Indeed, in movements of modernism and postmodernism, there was visual art without beauty; literature without narrative and plot; poetry without meter and rhyme; architecture and planning without ornament, human scale, green space, natural light; music without melody and rhythm; and criticism without clarity, attention to aesthetics, and insight into the human condition." We all have an intrinsic appreciation of beauty, and historically that has been our motivation to make art. So it rubs me the wrong way when people treat the desire for beauty as unsophisticated or naive. "I don't think this is beautiful" is a perfectly good reason for not liking a piece of art, but if one expresses anything that even hints at this view, art snobs will pounce on you to claim that you "don't understand it", and that art has merit beyond a simple desire for beauty. The reputation for pretentiousness comes from people who would claim that their appreciation of art is more refined or sophisticated than yours. It feels insulting to be on the receiving end of that.

[@bakunaut6255]

deadeaded weird take

[@jjninja777]

1:02 the definition of pretentious - “...than is actually actually possessed.”

[@metanumia]

To me, *art* is *any* *physical* *thing* or *performance* that took *effort* and *creativity* to produce, and it stimulates an intellectual and or emotional effect in viewers. Art should also have intellectual or emotional value greater than the sum of its parts or material value. Great video, by my definition, it is art!

[@justindrakecroft]

Wow, I’m so grateful for this video. I’m not a visual artist (I write songs and poems), but you so completely described the process of making things. The drive to keep going no matter the results. That nailed it. Also, I love that minds are being opened to modern art in all genres. Thank you for these videos!

[@margaretguillory]

I squeal with delight every time I see an Art Assignment video in my subscription box. Never fails to enlighten, educate, or move me in some way.

[@spellbound111]

My wife squeals with delight every time I surprise her with a cuddle from behind :)

[@OneOfTheLostOnes]

Nicely done. Suscribed.

[@KateKrauss]

Love this video & have learned so much from all the Art Assignment videos. Keep going. We need art like oxygen.

[@user-jv7sz7vh5y]

the most important thing people always forget is that NOBODY forces you to spend your money and attention on art that you don't like. and those who want to buy it themselves will figure out how to spend of their own money, believe me.

[@FBNL]

Great video!

[@SkullRyanStreamArchive]

you're great! 🏢🏢I LOVE YOU

[@fatima_hussein]

This is very validating as an artist for all the times that I've tried too hard, but I feel like you can still make good art without being pretentious. You don't always have to act like it's anything more than it is, or try to impress someone with it.

[@MadWolfMike]

More Brilliant Work Here! Thank You for Making This Excellent Series!

[@Applepopess]

These videos are amazing! I scheduled a museum day with a visiting relative and now I'm even more excited to go. ^^

[@infraherald7449]

love this channel and all ther series! you guys should do like spotlight videos for certain months...black history month, pride month, women's history month...I want to make more of an effort to expose myself to more art by POC artists. just a suggestion!

[@AnnoyingAsianWitch]

This sounds superb! They've made two female artist highlights though. :)

[@NoahBodze]

The irony is this video attempts to defend critique, yet unintentionally reinforces the critique.

[@oof-rr5nf]

There is nothing ironic here, my friend. She agrees with the criticism on a certain level.

[@e-cuauhtemoc]

@@oof-rr5nf That's ironically pretentious.

[@JimBimBum]

@Wenceslao Futanaki modern art and contemporary art is different.

[@JimBimBum]

@Wenceslao Futanaki a contemporary artist is one that's alive. You literally called what I make a cheap cash grab yet I'm legally homeless and can't even afford good food.

[@JimBimBum]

@Wenceslao Futanaki obviously you don't understand percentages, also didn't van gogh die from a gun shot to the stomach? Also not all art has to be some significant piece that takes months to complete. What people label to be modern art is usually worse than a piss painting! Then problem with making something that takes years to finish is no one will buy it and you'll die poor like the other. Andy Warhol understood the Art of business and he wanted lots people to buy his art which is why he mass produced his and made sure they're different in many ways even though they're basically all the same. Cause you can never own a van gogh painting and that's what even I hate about art but it doesn't mean rich people should by uninspired trash. I can link some of the stuff I made if you want but I wouldn't guarantee it's any good.

[@son-of-truth5959]

So well done!! thank you for your graceful and intelligent expose.

[@SpinesAndSplines]

As a printmaker with an arguably excessive level of education, this video made my day. Thank you Sarah. :D

[@madmike1708]

Honestly, I am in an 'arts' degree of sorts, I am doing 3d animation, now this is either for video games, movies, tv shows, adverts or art house films. The course is kinda 'artistic' at times, but I will be flat out honest, I just care about how well the CRAFTSMANSHIP is. Yes film narrative I think is very important when generating an emotion. But when I see animation comps and Art house works....I really tune out, because a lot seems like shoddy work and people 'faked it till they made it'. I remember doing a fine arts course as well, I have dyspraxia, so my hand writing and drawing is TERRIBLE and may never really improve, but this arts degree felt like a course in story telling and manipulation as while I worked hard on my piece, it was not very good...But I talked my way into a A*...Then when I heard about how the art market is just an investment and sometimes a money laundering scheme...It really made me scoff at art with little to no skill. If anything it made me really enjoy concept art for film and video games because I knew that the artist was worked ragged to make that piece of art and they had a lot of drawing and painting talent to make it look as good as it did. Also there is one part of the fine arts scene which I....am not fond of at all, and it is the scene in general is....a melting pot of idealism when it comes to social class. From top to bottom I have seen artists talk and act in similar tones, no matter what their art style or their background...Once in a while I would like to hear a sharp, direct, blunt, curse filled artist who says things how they are, rather then using flowy language to explain what their art 'means'...I guess it is just a frustration from having a peek into the fine arts world, then going into a world such as animation where results are the only thing that matters.

[@hennerz93]

There are many artists out there that will fill they void for that relatability. Conceptual and contemporary art is about exploring new concepts, mainly within the viewers themselves, and if you’re having any emotive conversation with yourself about that kind of art; then it’s serving it’s purpose, because it doesn’t have to mean the same to you as it does the artist, no one will object to your interpretation because it’s your own connection to it, which you’ve already displayed! It doesn’t matter whether you connect to the artist themselves. The reason why they don’t focus on skill is because within the art is their own concept that, again, you’re free to interpret for yourself. And if it’s not for you then that’s fine, there’s plenty of other artworks that will be! Same with music and games and movies etc! But to scoff at a particular type of art is ultimately unfair because that would be like someone else scoffing at you for taking 3D animation (which I would never I find that kind of craft incredible!)

[@Beatypatrockks]

a logical human being would have defined "pretencious art" as an "object that is created to disguise itself as something with a deeper meaning where, in fact, it has none". But, hey, that's just me.

[@solortus]

Nah that's too rational

[@highstax_xylophones]

Beatypatrockks : who is anyone to say just what art is? I think it is a very dead topic. She wastes way too many words here to explain something so simple.

[@EulogyfortheAngels]

Because your definition is categorically nonsensical. Deeper meaning is created, further cultivated over time, and isn't exclusive to any one kind of 'thing'.

[@eventplanner461]

I like to compare art to literature(seeing that literature is a form of art). Sometimes when writers write fiction the readers tend to find different themes in the story. Sometimes different than what the writers themselves intended or even thought of. That still doesn't change the theme that the reader has come to find, that is if the reader can back it up with proof. Meanings can be found and change over time. Same thing goes for interpretations. My issue with this is that you can't really classify the art itself as pretentious only the artist. To classify the artist as pretentious is a debate in and of itself. I don't believe that everything and anything is art, but with a little tweeking it can be.

[@layla8830]

@@EulogyfortheAngels Yes I agree with your statement on deeper meaning but art is supposed to express this meaning to other people more or less well. We take for example the condom wrapper a girl friend of mine kept after her first time. This thing had tremendous and deep meaning to her, that meaning changed as she grew older and her perspective and what had happend changed. If you put the condom wrapper in a museum it's still just a condom wrapper to other people bc it fails to communicate the story behind it although one could learn a lot from it. (And of course she didn't create anything actively but that's no the point) You could of course put the story next to the wrapper but doesn't that defy the purpose of putting a condom wrapper in an art museum in the first place If it has to be explained through language? There is of course nothing wrong with having additional information to understand a piece (or literature) better but one should at least get a vague idea when looking at it. If we just have condom wrapper we know nothing. Is it about sexuality, rape and the patriarchy, broken hearts, a happy relationship or a one night stand, AIDS or HIV? A political, social or personal issue? Positive or negative associations? We can't tell without context and there aren't any clues either. For us it's just a condom wrapper. The condom might as well never have been used. Just blown up by 14 year old's into a balloon.

[@lucasoriel]

I'm soooo thankful this video exists! I wanted to download it so every day I could show it to someone else!

[@stephanie8009]

Started painting 2016 with no artistic background whatsoever-like a hobby. And this was just kind of floating out there and I know ive subscribed to it but never bothered to check it out. And now I'm glad that I did.

[@KyleZager]

My main gripe is how people don't think that collaborative things done on a corporate level can still be art. Movies, animations, video games, etc. I didn't like how in art college people rarely talked about these things in Art History classes. The only Movie they really mentioned in my modern art history class was Metropolis, and that was only really because it fit within the Bauhaus framework. I don't honestly see how that's any less of an artistic endeavor than some cruddy B movie pushed out just to rack up sales, and I would argue that it was way less influential on society than other movies. In this day of age, is "fine art" even really that relevant anymore? It seems almost like it's trying desperately to defy modern culture, honestly. Contemporary fine art seems to be less progressive than it once was - clinging to a past ideal. Also the classes I took didn't talk about African art or Asian art or Aboriginal art unless it was also related to some western artist (like Picasso getting influence from African masks). A lot to be desired.

[@ghostsoup1313]

I don't think art itself is pretentious. It's the people who comment & critique art who are pretentious. Instead of saying "I like this piece or artist & here's why" they promote themselves as if only they understand art. That's where the elitism comes in. Their comments are contrived, fake. Like people who taste wine & say it's whimsical & contains hints of rhubarb & dill. Art is supposed to be for everyone to enjoy & reflect on. But when critics & historians use pointless babble jargon it shuts people out. And that isn't just pretentious it's rude & hurtful.

[@sajanpatel4956]

Wine really does have complex and subtle flavor besides GRAPE, but I agree with you for the most part.

[@KhayJayArt]

So they're basically like fandom elitists?

[@williamharveyhayes-arttalk5887]

It is important to think about the art we view. It is also important to experience it and respect the different experiences of others. I like your videos and continue to learn and develop from them.

[@EnchantedSleepStories]

A delightful embrace of the difficult truths of the pretentious in art. You have given me the words that I have needed for some time. How to confidently acknowledge the truth that everyone can see but few on the inside ever have the courage to discuss. Thank you. Thanks too for finding a way to comfortably allow for perspectives that on the surface appear to be an affront to the direction that art has taken in the last 100 years or so. The greatest art is to find a way to live in the world with no enemies.

[@shawnbay2211]

I love the acceptance in this video. I even made a statement myself, (“I’m an artist, I deserve to be pretentious in my own right.”) since I was working in my math/social sci class. I found it hilarious so I’m just sharing it now.

[@TASmith10]

While I agree with the feelings you describe while making art, and that every great artist needs a higher than average ego to believe in herself... here's where I start to disagree: "You don't know if anything you've made is any good until you put it out there. And even still, it's hard to know." This may be true for a beginning student - a teenager or younger. But, if you've spent years learning your craft, and you've met enough good teachers, there is a basis for judging yourself, whether the work is quality. It's not that hard to know, you just have to learn what to look for. This is why I generally ignore any praise from non-artists. They're easy to impress, because they don't know quality when they see it (or at least beyond a certain point, and why it's of high quality). This is a very modern problem, created in major part by the modern-pomo establishment. Taste may be subjective, but it still has certain anchors that are objective. Stapleton Kearns said it best, "Taste is a quality that an artwork may possess. Taste is now terribly underestimated, but it was thought, until our grandfathers time, to be essential and a characteristic of the finest art that set it above the merely pretty or mundane. It was one of the things that separated the fine arts from the baser products of the ordinary world of commerce and illustration. "Taste is the integrity of aesthetics, the highest form of artistic ethics, the high road. Taste is cool, measured, quiet, dignified, and refined. It doesn’t shock or scream at you. Taste lives in the color, the proportions, the design, and every aspect of a painting. It is often a restraint of color and design, and a moderation of subject matter away from the extreme, the cloying, and the vulgar. It is neither cute nor morbid. It is never obscene, or just the newest incarnation of a tired idea we have all seen before. It is neither retreaded nor spiky. It is never sentimental, sensational, or cloyingly sweet. "Taste treats the viewer with the greatest possible respect. Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill spoke with taste. Taste places quality above commerciality. Its opposite to what I call “heightened cheese content”. It doesn’t make the most sellable art, but there are always clients who want it. Taste values workmanship, but neither flaunts it nor imagines technique the purpose of art, but merely its means. I often see well made art that fails because it lacks taste. "Tasteful art is powerful, not flashy. It is seldom the brightest thing in a show or gallery, but it is often the thing that speaks to you every time you see it, rather than expending its force like a firecracker, the first instant it is seen. It makes art that can be enjoyed for a lifetime, that will always appeal to the viewer, even as their knowledge and discernment increase. It strives for the eternal and eschews the suddenly fashionable. Taste is what often separates the good from the great, The best artists almost always have it."

[@TASmith10]

Continuing, as much as I enjoy hearing you speak, I take issue with a couple of the overlying arguments. First, you seem to imply that all artworks are pretentious, possibly equally pretentious. I see this as a false equivalency. Second, you seem to imply that this is okay. To me, the acceptance of an artist's pretensions should be based on the ratio of pretension to actual, intrinsic value.

[@mbg706]

I've never had a good rebuttal when people say they don't like art/looking at art because it's pretentious. This is a great way of handling that comment.

[@matthewcrawford8375]

Thank you so much for making this video. Its exactly what needed to be said.

[@vinayseth1114]

Nope. This is a mere twisting of words that art critics and marketers are notorious for. This video didn't really posit that art is pretentious, but rather reiterated the fact that an art object is functionless in the sense that it isn't part of infrastructure that maintains our daliy activities, and its use actually lies in eliciting wonder in the eyes/ears/mind of the beholder. It's actually when it fails to inspire that it is labelled 'pretentious' by onlookers/ listeners/ audience.

[@lullabi3234]

but her carefully sub-texted point stands in this view as well, that many spurious condemnations of a piece as "pretentious" by people who are unmoved by it, is related to their inability or unwillingness to understand the Context of the piece or artist. I mean, you aren't wrong. I just agree that a random joe saying "this is shit" is less of a reflection of the "value" of the art, Objectively, than it is a reflection of the individual's Subjective idea of "what is art".

[@EulogyfortheAngels]

You literally stated the video's perspective and don't realize that it supports the term pretentious as described? You probably just came to hear "lol contemporary art is shit, let's laugh and agree."

[@Mica_T]

Why does art need to inspire?

[@flowerbin2425]

Hey, what about functional objects that have rally great design? Like teapots and cool buildings. So many people take their environment for granted, so don't notice what probably took someone a lot of time to design. Yet these objects are part of our daily infrastructure. Does that status elevate it to being functional, or denigrate it for not being full of wonder?.

[@kk_bb_8949]

Then the indirect point of this video is meant to say "if you want to criticise something, criticise with thought put to it", instead of using a word that clearly does not, in essence, represent what you want to posit. Think for yourself instead of jumping onto a bandwagon of people clearly attacking different aspects of art with one anchor word.

[@howardowens]

The definition you use for pretentious includes the phrase, "attempting to ..." That's the key part of the definition and why some of us find some contemporary art pretentious. Not all artists who attempt to create great works of art (or usually, just attempt to create art and let others decide) are pretentious. A great artist made the attempt and succeeded, and in being successful, rose above any charge of pretention. Too much of what is promoted as great contemporary art receives notoriety not because of the quality of the work but because the artist happens to run in, or been accepted in, the right elite circles. If you happen to live in Kansas or North Dakota, you are much less likely to wind up in MOMA no matter how great your vision and technique. There is a degree of elitism in the contemporary art world that is meant, explicitly, to exclude the rest of us in the unwashed masses. The entire Abstract Expressionist movement in New York in the 1950s was consciously exclusionary, not just of people outside their sphere, but of women and people of color. Being part of the in-crowd seems to have never gone out of style in elite art circles. I'm not one to condemn all contemporary or abstract art. I would not deny space to Bridget Reilly (if I was some sort of czar of this sort of thing) on any gallery wall. There is evidence of imagination, creativity, and discipline of technique in her work and some of it is undeniably attractive. Her work makes a visual impact that is hard to deny that rises it above any seemingly necessary condition to convey meaning. Yet, whenever I pick up an art book that purports to show us the great contemporary works, or some of the work I find in the few galleries I've been able to visit, I find work that floors me in its callow conception and execution. The prestige of this work seems to rest entirely on reputation. Once the right elite champions a work, the rest of the lemmings follow along. Exhibit A in any such discussion is Jackson Pollack. In contrast to Reilly, his work lacks imagination or discipline of technique. Truly, anybody can drip paint on a canvas. The best I can say of Pollack is that his work reflects the randomness of life, but if that's all there is to, there isn't much thought behind it. Yet, he outshines in public awareness a truly great artist of his era in Edward Hopper, whose vision is whole and complete and provides works of art that penetrate deep into the modern human condition. How is it that Pollack is more celebrated than Hopper (not that Hopper is ignored by any means) other than the pretensions of the art elite who continue to promote, celebrate, and lionize his juvenile drippings?

[@theartassignment]

Thanks for your thoughtful response. There is definitely elitism in art, and I likely go too far in my defense. However, I'd definitely challenge your Exhibit A: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4aUaomFe5mknNU

[@howardowens]

Thanks for pointing me to that. I finally had some time to watch it. I'm not sold. I'm not denying that some of Pollack's works don't make attractive wall hangings, but I'm not convinced they are gallery-worthy works. Aspects of the bio you included seem to me to rather confirm he was elevated not because of his work but because the right, elite, well-placed gatekeepers of the era anointed him as their discovery. So anointed, who is anybody else to disagree? I love your channel, though, and will be watching more videos.

[@andrewanderson4555]

Excellent video! Love all the content you make, keep up the good work!

[@airwatersun]

Just outstanding! Thank you..Every episode is an opportunity for significant learning.

[@nischalprajapati6157]

yep, most modern art is pretentious. both in terms of the meaning YOU used and the meaning people ACTUALLY use

[@mpilosov]

I always refer people to the Kanye as Artist video. It totally changed my opinion on him and has convinced several of my friends to give him a shot as well. Now he's one of my favorite modern musicians.

[@AnnoyingAsianWitch]

+

[@CansuKayan]

same

[@TheCarrots101]

Say what you will about his public image, but I have yet to meet one person who has explored his work as a pop figure and not become enamored with him to some degree.

[@ozi__izo]

this content is so valuable for people who are considering making art or even people who have been doing it for a while but are not Ai Weiwei-famous (yet). thank you!

[@DavidPuckArtist]

Great video, love the ending remarks, really nice and constructive way of looking at it!