Very brief reflections on the relationship between an artist, art and “consumers” of art

 

Very brief reflections on the relationship between an artist, art

 and “consumers” of art

 

An artist may seek to convey a “message”, discuss a theme or draw attention to a concept by contriving a representation through poetic beauty, an engaging narrative or a striking image that captures the spirit of whatever truth or principle he/she has identified, and the “consumer” attempts to deconstruct this contrivance or artifice to elucidate the “message” contained within the artist’s work. Intelligibility may depend on several factors including the level of lucidity of the artifice and of course the level of perception on the part of the “consumer”.

Naturally, this deconstruction or analysis is open to personal interpretation and may involve ideas and concepts not originally intended by the artist whose work, essentially, takes on a provocative or evocative life of its own. The consumer is focused on the work of art before him, not on the ideas and concepts the artist originally tried to convey. The work of art may be viewed as an independent entity given birth by one but whose interpretation is developed or nurtured by another, therefore creating a “formula” of creator – product – interpreter.

An intriguing thought - can this principle be applied to all forms of communication? A poem, image, text, film, song, even a sentence, may be produced with one concept in mind but it may be interpreted by the consumer in a quite different way, dependent on the consumer’s background, frame of mind and powers of perception. If this is the case and a product is declared a work of genius, who deserves credit – the creator or the consumer? It is possible, after all, that the source of genius is in an interpretation not considered by the creator.

 

 

Stuart Fernie (stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk)

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