This question has dogged me from the beginning.  I’ve done enough thinking about it over the past month to have gotten basically nowhere, but then I came across this article on PolicyMic by Kinsley Lane Sullivan that I love.  Sullivan empowers the viewer to respond to art by reminding us that “art is not a one-sided conversation.”  To Sullivan, art is not, by default, in the eye of the artist alone, but rather in the viewers’ experience as well.  We can and should join the conversation.

“If a piece of art genuinely moves only one person, it is still good art. If it moves many people, it might be great art. If it moves you only because you think that it ought to, then it is time to start thinking about why.” (Sullivan)

To me, this is radical.  The artist-as-god theme has played out long enough that I almost didn’t realize another way existed.  It’s why, though I enjoy art, I don’t feel qualified to call myself an artist, or even discuss it.  The art world is over there and I’m way out over here.  Obviously, I don’t belong.

“Art should not be bewildering or impenetrable. It is as universal as any individual Human experience, writ large. Art is a shared conversation, a conceptual public debate.  People should feel empowered to evaluate art and call it like they see it without fearing the claim of being unenlightened.” (Sullivan)

I’ve been helped to know that art, though subjective, is not completely so.  There are qualities we can define that can help us argue one way or the other.  And while I don’t know what all of those are yet, I can still respond to a painting or sculpture in a valid way.  And I suspect I’m not the only one.

Art Ordinaire is, at least in part, a response to my own notion that art is above me (or above anyone for that matter).  And if creating “good” art is above me now, it won’t be forever, at least if I don’t want it to.

So to anyone out there who feels they don’t have the ability to evaluate or create art, check out Sullivan’s article here.  As I do learn what objectively makes good art, I will share those insights at AO as I go along.