Thursday 20 October 2011

How can we deem a piece of art 'successful' or 'unsuccessful'?

Is it dependent on the tastes of the individual? Or are there subconscious, unwritten expectations that people develop upon entering a gallery environment? This is a very widely theorized area, yet there is not and cannot be any definitive answer.
 
Unfortunately I think this uncertainty has the potential to put the artist in quite an awkward position. 
When I am creating a piece of work I enter into a particularly selfish mode of thought. If I am happy with what I am producing, I continue, if the finished piece communicates emotionally to me in some way, I feel it is a 'success'. After all, is not the definition of 'success' - 'the achievement of something desired, planned or attempted'? Do we need to take others opinions into account? If I attempted to pick up a pencil and did, could I really call this a success? Just because I 'attempted' to do it and followed through with my urge to do so? What have I really achieved in picking up the pencil? 

This leads me to think that perhaps we can consider something a 'success' if a change has been made through the consciously attempted action. If the action has a purpose. Taking this idea and relating it back to art, it suggests that a piece of art should change something, the artist should have intentions or a purpose for the piece. Whether this be simply inspiring beauty or awe or even disgust in the viewer, whether it is by providing a space for thought, physically changing the surroundings or even to arouse ones awareness of something, there are endless ways a piece of art can change someone, whether this change is slight or more significant.

Thus for me, even if only a single person is effected, if a piece of art makes a change, provokes thought, it is significant, it has done its job and is consequently successful. Whether this provocation be the same or different to the artists intention with the piece, for me, is irrelevant. 
There is only one problem with this idea - how would we measure it?

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