Artistic Snobbery

I can understand why some people would be put off by art because of the way it is sometimes talked about. I mean, come on, it is annoying, right? And it gives us artists a bad rep: Most of the times when people talk about art, they fall into the trap of trying to sound as profound and intellectual as possible to prove that they ‘get it’. Because that’s what is most important, right? (There must be a profound and hidden message in this work of art, what is the point of it otherwise anyway, and I don’t want to look like a numpty, so I’d rather use big words and a lot of hoity toity – blahblah instead, just to prove that I am in-crowd)

Artists themselves sometimes have this tendency too. But it is obvious to me that the ones who are very good, usually are the modest ones.
Well, sometimes it is hard or even impossible to ‘get’ a specific work of art. No need to look down on it, but no need to pretend either. I don’t even always completely understand my own work. But it doesn’t matter. Information. isn’t. everything. Art is also about what we cannot put into words, right?

‘This doen’t mean anything. Can you handle that?’, acrylics on paper, A4

For me personally, I could even go further and say that understanding everything sometimes takes away a bit of the magic and the potential of what it perhaps could mean. Or to add your own imagination to it.

What lacks in most conversations about art is a sincere interest in the artwork and the artist, that would get the person looking at art a lot further. With a different attitude, perhaps more would be seen, or felt and better questions would be asked. Let’s cut the haughty bullshit and get real. Artists, that goes for us too. We don’t know everything either. We just do because we have to.

Eva Mout, Ursus Art