Bad Art, We All Know It When We See It, Don't We?

Some people think graffiti is bad art, but some of it is very good, unless it's on your property and has devalued it, then it's very bad. But spidergoat has a good point, "bad art is usually very amateurish and derivative". But why can't I just define bad art as anything I don't like, regardless of how well done it might be?

 

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I think you'll have to take the liking part out of the equation. That's personal and you just cannot make any sweeping generalizations based on your personal preferences.

 

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You may call art bad, but that doesn't automatically make it part of the "bad art" genre.

 

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If I take 1000 pictures, about 100 will be pretty good. Of those 100 about 10 will be top notch - good pictures - and I have been taking professional grade photos for decades with high quality cameras.

The same thing goes for art of any other kind - most of it is hooey, some is pretty fair, a few pieces will be "good" art. There are a bunch of actual rules as to what constitutes "art", "fine art" and "bad art", but going into that always causes a ruckus - usually with folks lacking in education on the topic.

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In these times there will always be someone who says that education, technique, originality, materials and experience are all irrelevant and somehow not democratic

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, as though everyone is born at the top of any field that they say they are at the moment and any criteria used to judge what they actually do is somehow unfair. The old saw "everyone's a critic" has been replaced with "everyone's an artist".

 

"Bad art is usually very amateurish and derivative". Perhaps. But you got to be careful evaluating raw talent as bad art and amateurish. It's becoming more and more difficult in this new age melee to find one's niche—especially considering that art school and art sections are such bourgeois establishments.

 

I reviewed all the pictures at the museum of bad art and can't really understand why they chose the pictures they did. Yes it's mostly bad art but I've seen much worse.

http://museumofbadart.org/collection/recent.php

 

But who's to say that your education doesn't produce a bias that's only valid for those with a similar education? Just a thought.

 

Many years ago while walking across a college campus I noticed a pile of junk dumped on the pristine lawn. I thought, gee how odd. Come to find out, it was a work of art put there by the art department. I had to chuckle a bit. In the days to come, more junk was dumped around campus - more art.

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I enjoy photography, too. Maybe KJK would be willing to start a few photo contest threads. I'd do it but I'm trying to get back into the dating scene and I'm a little strapped for time.

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Junk or Trash Art - Not sure I'd call it art.

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Maybe your new female friends would like to be a part of the photo contest.

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But a serious photo contest would be very time consuming. If you could figure out a way that wouldn't be so time consuming, let us know.

 

'Art' is so incredibly subjective that I would hesitate to venture an opinion beyond whether I would hang it on my own walls, lol....

This is an 'interesting' piece, but it would never grace my home.

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I think trash art might be growing on me.

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Bad art...to me, should be art that's done with skill, but somehow gone horribly awry...

 

Hmm, in what way do you think it would be very time consuming to host one?
Someone could just start a photo contest thread and pick a topic, people can then post their photos. Of course a jury will be needed but I think that will be manageable.

Edit: I hope I'm wrong about this but, taking into consideration past experiences on this website, I don't think a lot of people would enter.

 

That is sort - of like saying that a cardiac surgeon would be better understood by another cardiac surgeon than a lay person when discussing cardiac angioplasty. To wit: yes, possessing an education in a topic would tend to make one "biased" within the confines of that topic. A slightly circular argument and maybe a mislabeling as well. This is precisely what I was referring to in my above statement - ignorant persons ascribe an educated opinion as "bias" rather than admit that the investment in said education may give the recipient an advantage in knowledge of the topic. I would ascribe the confusion between "bias" and "knowledge" to the ignorance of the person making the judgement call.

Example: one rule in the production of a "work of fine art" is that said work be fabricated by a human "artist".

As soon as that statement is made, "conceptual artists" will blow a gasket as many of those persons do not actually make "art". A person who labels themself as a "conceptual artist" dumped a large chunk of broken concrete he had taken from a highway bridge rebuild project on the lawn of the local art museum. He called that his "work of art" and got very angry when the public demanded it be removed. (it was)

While this was in the tradition of Marcel Duchamp's Russian army urinal refused exhibition in an art competition that claimed never to have refused any submission back in the 1920's, what Duchamp did was new, original, a social commentary and a joke - not a piece of fine art. Copying that commentary now merely shows a lack of originality and common sense. The man did not make what he chose to "exhibit", it was not his work.

If you want to be an artist, you gotta make "art" - even if it is "bad" art.

 

I remember when I went to an art show once many moons ago and the guy putting on the show said this was "high art". Now when I look at it, it seems like a child just went a little crazy during their art class. So who's to say, it's all subjective and whatever the buyer will buy for themselves is the going trend.

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Klee. While he has always been labeled a surrealist, I never thought he actually was one.

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I guess if you are high enough.........

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I'd frame it and hang it on the wall, but I don't know that I would call it "high art".

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You wouldn't hang a Mark Ryden in your house? You're nuts.