Art contest judges have to pick at least one “winner” just to keep the competition going and the truth is that success for artists doesn’t come from participating in petty competitions against your peers.
Trying to destroy the Mona Lisa [many have tried] to get your name in the papers may not seem on a par with shooting John Lennon but inevitably, cultural artefacts of all types are seen as soft targets and a way to instant fame, however short-lived.
As a working artist I’m continually faced with the need to find space to exhibit – and I’m not alone. Shortly the Adelaide Fringe will launch its 2021 program of which the visual arts section is an integral part. Last year was difficult but as with the South Australian Living Artists festival in August, anything up to 1500 artists will be looking for space.
So where to the artist? There are more art practitioners today than ever before with a burgeoning online market set up to sell their works, but the designation ‘artist’ is of ultimately no more value than yesterday’s newspaper, now rebadged as fish wrapping.
Artists left to survive on their own, art students with nowhere to go and policy makers ignoring the need for a concerted nation-wide policy in the arts, all point to a return to a time when Australian artists had no choice but to head overseas.
If the artist’s work features many strange markings, it is a sign of carelessness and inexperience.