Pen to Paper

It’s always struck me as strange that in art museums, great attention is given to the medium of the work.  It’s not enough to say, “This is a painting.” “That is a scupture.”  “Those are drawings.”  Somehow it has become very important to label the art with note cards bearing details such as “Oil paint on canvas,” “Graphite on paper,” “Woodcut, in Oregon Pine,” “Strained Pea Soup on Braided Blonde Hair.”  For a long time, I had trouble understanding why it mattered that THIS painting was oil based while THAT paint was acrylic.

I even thought it was unfair that art was entitled to very detailed divisions, while other creative works were generally given large and wide descriptors.  “He’s an actor.”  “She’s a dancer.” “She’s a writer.”  “He’s a singer.”  When was the last time you checked the back of a paperback and read, “Typewriter on cardstock, via printing press.”  It seemed like artists were given permission to become incredibly specialized, while other creators were required to be masters of all aspects of their trade.

Recently, though, I’ve come to see that the distinctions are always there for people who care about the medium.  The specific information about what materials went into an art piece is provided for viewers who are curious about what the artist used.  Fans of writing will appreciate the distinction between a novelist, a poet, a playwright, and a blogger.  If you watch a movie, a television show, a stage play, and a musical, you will see that each requires a different skill set from the actor.  I don’t know much about dancing, but I can tell you that ballet, tap, ballroom, swing, and line dancing all have different moves and require different strengths from the performer.

What does this mean?  I think all the ways that creators can specialize and pursue different mediums demonstrates the difficulty of producing high quality art.  If anything, it drives home just how talented those people are who can perform in multiple mediums.  If we have more respect for an artist who can paint, draw, and make sculpture, or a writer who produces books and screenplays, then how much more impressive is the woman or man who writes, directs, and stars in his or her movies?

Art isn’t easy.  But thinking about it like this, I realize that I’d rather see it as a challenge than an obstacle.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 7:20 pm and is filed under Art. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.