A mystique hovers around the art world. Those on the outs feel baffled by it all. Why do some artworks sell for astronomical amounts, while others are nearly worthless? Who pays millions of dollars for a few dollops of paint on a canvass stretched over boards, and why? Who attends NYC art events, and why? What is the meaning of visual art? What’s the deal with modern art, conceptual art, and performance art—are these people for real?
Get the Picture, by Bianca Bosker, contains the answers you crave. Bosker is a journalist who immersed herself in the NYC art world and wrote about her experiences in transitioning from an outsider to an insider.
She takes jobs as an art gallerist, an artist assistant, and a security guard in an art museum. She makes friends (and frenemies) in the NYC art world. She flies to Florida to sell art during Miami Art Week. She attends NYC modern art exhibitions and volunteers to participate in a bizarre performance art piece. By the end of her art world experience, she is able to unpack, for herself, the meaning of visual art, as well as the social and economic machinations of the art world.
What is the meaning of visual art? Idea #1: Aesthetic beauty
Visual art is often valued for being beautiful. And yet, beauty is not always the gold standard. In fact, it’s often scorned in the art world. Bosker writes:
“‘Colorful paintings’ was gallerist code for ‘easy money’ and, among a certain crowd, uttered with such dripping contempt that you needed to get out a mop.”
Hmm. Beautiful visual art might be nice to view and to decorate with. But maybe some of us want our visual art to make profound statements about life or the world, to express emotions and ideas other than bland comfort. Bosker is willing to explore this, though she also doesn’t want to give up entirely on beauty. However, she knows it is accurate to say that art need not be restricted to only the beautiful.
What is the meaning of visual art? Idea #2: Context
Bosker introduces us to a gallerist who explains that the context behind an artwork is its most important aspect. A stack of old appliances may not be aesthetically beautiful, but if you know that its creator is an immigrant who encountered such objects much later in life than most Americans, it is an art piece with a deep meaning. The art piece serves as a subtle commentary on globalism, modernity, consumerism, technology, immigration, and trash.
This type of art doesn’t make us gasp in awe at its lovely splendor; it makes us gasp in wonder at its insights and unique perspective.
Bosker understands this. She considers herself a learner with an open mind. It’s true that the appliance artwork makes one think about a variety of ideas if you know its backstory.
Still, she’s skeptical. What if you don’t know the context behind a piece of art? Can you still enjoy it as art?
What is the meaning of visual art? Idea #3: Social fads
Running through Get the Picture is the brutal truth that nothing in our economy is purely about art. It’s also, like most everything else in human society, about money. An artwork must be produced by a human who has not (at least as of yet) succumbed to starvation. It must be sold, for actual money, by a gallerist, to either a collector or a museum. Both the artist and the gallerist must be paid for their contributions to the art world in order to proceed in their line of work.
This means that the artwork must be marketed. It must be described in just the right language and art-speak lingo to entice buyers—and this goes for both printed words and words spoken in person. It must be shown in just the right architectural spaces. Events must be organized and advertised. Gallerists must wear just the right attire. There must be press coverage. The right people must show up, and the right people must buy and keep (and not sell) artwork similar to the pieces being currently shown, so that the pieces retain their value.
Also, clearly, art—even so-called “high art”—follows fads, just like fashion and music and everything else we social creatures engage in.
So can the meaning of visual art be reduced to mere social fads? Is it all about making the right impression on people wealthy enough to shell out the cash? Bosker notes that gallerists go to extraordinary lengths to maintain the proper image. For example, she writes:
“A gallerist confessed he’d just advertised a job opening at his gallery—not with the goal of hiring someone, but to make people think he was busy enough to need more help.”
And yet, Bosker does not think that social fads tell the whole story. Sure, marketing works. It’s important. But the product being marketed is also important, in and of itself.
What is the meaning of visual art? Idea #4: Expression, emotion, sociology, politics, perspective, and, yes, beauty
I sigh with relief when Bosker finally encounters people who are more passionate about the art itself than the trendy aura surrounding the art. It’s fascinating to hear directly from a painter (of “colorful paintings,” nonetheless) and a performance artist specializing in her own butt. Bosker asks them why they do what they do and what art means to them.
The artists’ answers make the whole art world charade seem eminently worthwhile. They love making art. For the artists, it’s all about seeing the world from a new perspective and then communicating that perspective in a stunning way. The new perspective often pertains to not only the visual realm, but also the realms of emotion and expression, sociology and politics, beauty and horror. Context is also often important.
The artists participate in marketing, social networking, and the art world economy, for sure. They have to, if they want their art to be seen and paid for. But they are principally concerned with the meaning of visual art that they, as artists, are trying to convey to any unsuspecting art consumer who happens across it.
By the end of her immersion in the art world, Bosker comes to understand the meaning of visual art for herself. Finally, she has seen enough modern art that she starts to decide for herself which pieces she likes best, which artworks strike a chord for her, personally.
In the end, this must be the true meaning of visual art: an artist, reaching out across the void of consciousness, and making an impression on another human being.
What, in your opinion, is the meaning of visual art? Which art world exhibits and events have you attended, or do you wish to attend?
