I have a great fondness for serious art criticism. But I don’t think you get it by reading newspapers or magazines. What’s more, I tend to think that criticism takes time. You need to live with a piece of art for a long time. Otherwise, it is too easy to let your emotions distract you with flashy touches on a dull core.
I bring this up because I’m tired of hearing about George W. Bush’s paintings. There is a terrible tendency to look at this work and conclude that Bush is looking back on his presidency and telling us something. He isn’t. He is not a reflective man. He wasn’t at Yale, he wasn’t in the White House, and he isn’t in his new “weight room” studio. Just look at what he’s done now: a church, a dog, and two creepy self-portraits. The church and the dog are understandable: that’s who he is. The self-portraits I suspect represent the fact that he bought too much yellow and white paint and was looking for a way to get rid of it.
But I could deal with all the people stupidly hoping that Bush might reflect on his catastrophic legacy. I hope the same thing. What is far worst are the critics who have praised his work. The most prominent of these is Jerry Saltz, although there have been others. This is what he says of the painting at the top of this article:
Again with the psychologizing. And this from a big time art critic. Note that nothing is said about the technique. Could there be a reason for that?
I’m not an art critic. I think I have a decent eye, I’m open minded, and I have a good idea of what I know and don’t know. And what I can tell is that Bush’s art is not just amateur, it is bad amateur. This isn’t to say that he isn’t doing great for having painted for such a short period of time. And it isn’t to say that he won’t turn into a fine painter. But right now, his work really shouldn’t be shown outside the family. And art critics certainly shouldn’t be applauding such weak work.
Look: there are a lot of really great artists who have trouble getting any traction for their work. These are people who are far better than Bush will ever be. They would love it if someone like Jerry Saltz paid half the attention to their work that he has to Bush’s. And they need the attention. Bush does not. Bush will soon have his own one-man show, I’m sure. Why? Because he’s rich and well connected. No one will care that he paints very much like the beginning artist he is. And that’s fine. Let the rich fools have him.
But there is another even more important issue. Art critics trivialize what they do when they hold up subpar art as though it is good. It makes it look like the critics are just making things up. And sadly, that’s probably the case.
I’m not an art critic either, although I have been a dealer and I do know critics and professors and such. I’d be afraid to ask what they thought because that would be an admission that I’d looked at this slop and actually wondered if it might mean something or have value.
I will admit however, looking at the Kommander Guy in the shower, I immediately thought of Lady MacBeth trying to wash off the damned spot.
@Capt. Fogg – Good point. Although in Bush’s case, I’m afraid that a shower is just a shower. Bush doesn’t do metaphor!
True and you can’t wash off stupid. For what it’s worth Hitler was a better painter, and Eisenhower as well. You can’t tell much about either by looking at the paintings.
@Capt. Fogg – Absolutely! I’ve argued that Hitler was actually a rather good painter:
http://franklycurious.com/index.php?itemid=3942
And speaking of stupid, check out Jonathan Chait’s great article where he argues, yes, in fact, Bush wasn’t smart:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/04/bush-terrible-president-also-not-a-smart-man.html
It’s the best thing Chait’s done in a while.
Jerry Saltz has the double distinction of being a bully and a dishonest critic. He loves buzz directed his way, by posting outrage and scatological posts on this Instagram So daring. He is very Trumpian in that regard, considering his purported antipathy.towards him. I disagreed ( I am not a follower) with one of his posts, and he proceeded to rip my art from stretcher to stretcher on his site. I did not bother me, as unlike the quivering minions who wait for his crumbs, I did not give a rat’s ass. One time an artist DM’d on Instagram and told how he had been banned from his site for disagreeing with him, why anyone would be upset,I haven’t a clue. So in the spirit of great fun I posted on his site that he was no more than a glorified truck driver, ( which he had been) and do the art world a favor should return to delivering kumquats to Whole Foods. I then told him that he would be a zero if his wife wasn’t head art critic for the New York Times. Boy! He blocked me ASAP. T’was fun.
I’m glad you are having fun! But more important, your work is wonderful!
Hey everyone, check out this stuff: The Art of Sharon Knettell.