Letter to the editor

Hello all. My apologies for the delay in entries, my legd have been really painful. I wrote a letter to the editor of the Artist magazine to make a few points and ask one or two things. I thought I'd share it with you:

The Artists' Publishing Company Ltd.
Caxton House
63-65 High Street
Tenterden
Kent TN30 6BD
United Kingdom

Monday 14^th October

 

                                                     

Dear Dr Bulgin

                                                                              It seems that very few subjects (excepting religion and politics) is as divisive, socially dangerous and confusing in its beliefs. I am personally a traditionalist with a love of fine art, rather than modern or interpretive. I was recently in an art group on facebook , an idea that I thought was a wonderful method for exchanging views and ideas. We even had subject days, such as ‘words, ‘ colours’ etc. It did the job wonderfully for about three weeks and then exploded. I made a remark on my not being a fan of modern art and was immediately attacked as being arrogant and in making generalisations. First of all it is true, I am not a fan, but I know of no prescriptive authority that I must like it. A generalisation? Perhaps, but as I have seen nothing I like, it is a truth. On the other hand I can spend ages looking at a painting in a gallery, by the likes of John Martin.  So that party was brought to an end when I was asked to leave or stop being aggressive (For aggressive please read; I failed to agree or be bullied by them).

 

Students are not being trained to paint or draw but to express themselves.  I  think employers are interested in results rather than the angst of the artist....

 

I read your magazine regularly and am bemused by a current ongoing dispute over ‘non-professionals’ being the only ones allowed to sell their work. I’m a freelance journalist, though I did not study journalism. Selling your story depends on individual talent, timing, finding the right place and a reasonable smattering of luck, but there is no black market. Surely professional s still means carrying out work for money. So if someone sells a piece they are, at least temporarily professional. What do the professionals have to fear? If they are so much better then they are more likely to sell their material  anyway? The system to me (as a novice) comes over to me as a draconian form of trade unionism.

Yours sincerely

Anthony Joisce