I love what you did here because of the way you contextualized vidding within art history -- making the connection not just with readymades (which I wouldn't have thought of but now see is obvious), but with current work in video art. The fact that you've embedded examples is great. It supports your points but it also turned me on to a lot of great artists I wasn't familiar with. Nifty!
It's also great to get your personal take on "vidding as art". Most vidders wouldn't approach the subject at all, and any of us who would is likely to have had a different take on it. I appreciated reading about the way you think about art as well as the way you approach vidding as an artist.
For myself, I love vids that are about pure aesthetics but I don't have an "art for art's sake" approach to my own work -- I always have something to say (usually several things, too many for one vid but I try to cram them all in anyway). I have noticed a shift, though, since becoming exposed to work like yours; I've definitely been paying a lot more attention to aesthetics and less attention to lyrics and narrative than when I started out. From my corner of fandom it feels like vidding in general is shifting that way, due to a number of cultural and technological factors. I'm curious whether you see that happening too.
One thing that occurs to me is how the cultures of fine arts and vidding communities are different. What got me on this whole "but is it art?" kick in the first place was the differing attitudes toward criticism: discussing the work, who's part of that discussion, who benefits from that discussion, who's allowed to participate, and especially what kinds of things are we "allowed" to say within the frameworks of each culture.
I feel like in the art world there's a lot more freedom to criticize work publicly, and an understanding that such criticism isn't intended for the artist. But the criticism does tend to be restricted to "Art Critics", academics, and the like where fandom is more egalitarian.
I think, too, that fandom lays certain expectations on vidders that fine artists, especially modern artists, don't necessarily have to deal with. I mean, over the centuries there have been lots of people who very passionately tried to define and restrict what "Art" was, but from my POV (admittedly outside that world), that seems to be over. In contrast, I think there's a lot of anxiety in some corners of fandom about what vidding is, how it should be defined and limited, that mostly has to do with people not wanting to lose the things they like. And it feels a lot more personal.
Personally, I'd love to see us adopt more of the fine arts perspective on (not) defining or limiting the work, and on how criticism works, without losing what makes us special. But in order to do that, do we have to get more fans to view vidding as art?
In addition to the obstacles to that that you've identified, I think there's a lot of resistance to viewing fannish "hobbies" as making art because of the way women have always been sidelined (the old "art" vs. "craft" argument -- like painting vs. quilting) but also the way we sideline ourselves: as women, as fans. We're somehow less important than Artists. The true Artists are the people who are paid to make TV shows, and we're lower in the hierarchy. Our work couldn't possibly be art, it's just little doodles in the margins. I hate that attitude but I can't think of an effective way to challenge it.
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Okay, finally a real response!
Date: 2010-03-14 05:42 pm (UTC)It's also great to get your personal take on "vidding as art". Most vidders wouldn't approach the subject at all, and any of us who would is likely to have had a different take on it. I appreciated reading about the way you think about art as well as the way you approach vidding as an artist.
For myself, I love vids that are about pure aesthetics but I don't have an "art for art's sake" approach to my own work -- I always have something to say (usually several things, too many for one vid but I try to cram them all in anyway). I have noticed a shift, though, since becoming exposed to work like yours; I've definitely been paying a lot more attention to aesthetics and less attention to lyrics and narrative than when I started out. From my corner of fandom it feels like vidding in general is shifting that way, due to a number of cultural and technological factors. I'm curious whether you see that happening too.
One thing that occurs to me is how the cultures of fine arts and vidding communities are different. What got me on this whole "but is it art?" kick in the first place was the differing attitudes toward criticism: discussing the work, who's part of that discussion, who benefits from that discussion, who's allowed to participate, and especially what kinds of things are we "allowed" to say within the frameworks of each culture.
I feel like in the art world there's a lot more freedom to criticize work publicly, and an understanding that such criticism isn't intended for the artist. But the criticism does tend to be restricted to "Art Critics", academics, and the like where fandom is more egalitarian.
I think, too, that fandom lays certain expectations on vidders that fine artists, especially modern artists, don't necessarily have to deal with. I mean, over the centuries there have been lots of people who very passionately tried to define and restrict what "Art" was, but from my POV (admittedly outside that world), that seems to be over. In contrast, I think there's a lot of anxiety in some corners of fandom about what vidding is, how it should be defined and limited, that mostly has to do with people not wanting to lose the things they like. And it feels a lot more personal.
Personally, I'd love to see us adopt more of the fine arts perspective on (not) defining or limiting the work, and on how criticism works, without losing what makes us special. But in order to do that, do we have to get more fans to view vidding as art?
In addition to the obstacles to that that you've identified, I think there's a lot of resistance to viewing fannish "hobbies" as making art because of the way women have always been sidelined (the old "art" vs. "craft" argument -- like painting vs. quilting) but also the way we sideline ourselves: as women, as fans. We're somehow less important than Artists. The true Artists are the people who are paid to make TV shows, and we're lower in the hierarchy. Our work couldn't possibly be art, it's just little doodles in the margins. I hate that attitude but I can't think of an effective way to challenge it.