The Points of the Creative Artists’ Code: Seven - Never invalidate another artist’s constructive work…
November 5, 2007
In NDK Creative Artist’s seventh article on the Points of the Creative Artists’ Code, we learn that every artist’s work is valid - it’s sometimes just a matter of how well it communicates its intention.
Modern art, for instance, fails miserably at communicating anything, so while there is often valid meaning behind the work, the work is an inadequate way of communicating that meaning. Read on for more! - Joel Falconer, Editor-in-Chief
I hope you realize that this Code of a Creative Artist is a whole body of work, an integrated set of principles and that one may not exist without the others. We come now to point seven:
Never invalidate another artist’s constructive work, seek to understand the intention of the work and to improve its communication.
I have both done this and had it done to me. So I know what it is like to be on both ends and that is very important. To those who experienced my belittling of them or their work, my apologies, it was necessary to understand this and I hope you will appreciate why that occurred now that you read this.
Most artists probably only ever consider or experience the one side, the side of target of some sort of invalidative remarks calculated, or simply unthinking, or uncaring, uttered.
“When art is the honest expression of the human spirit…”
Invalidation means to belittle or diminish; to reduce the value of something, or someone; it is derived from the word invalid, meaning: of no value, and thus means: to make nothing of. When it comes to art and artists invalidation occurs in many ways subtle, blatant, overt and covert. When art is the honest expression of the human spirit then to render the work invalid is to render the spirit of that individual who created it invalid.
Invalidate the work and you invalidate the human being who created it. This is not a constructive endeavor or action; therefore it is not the behavior a Creative Artist subscribes to. Rather, one utilizes constructive criticism to help the artist improve their expression as covered in Code Point Article 4.
A Creative Artist seeks to help another artist achieve their goals and objectives for their career, and for their work. When it comes to their work, it means helping the artist to grok what the effect is that they are endeavoring to create.
This is accomplished by considering the work at length, and by asking questions of the creator of the work to ascertain what it is they were endeavoring to achieve.
The public frequently engage in this sort of behavior. People in the industry do it too,. after all “artists should be made to suffer for their art.” Well, ‘Pfft!’ to that.
“Use the effort to ’smash’ and ‘destroy’…to create something of value”
The best thing to do when this sort of thing happens is endeavor to turn it into something constructive. Use the effort to “smash” and “destroy” what is good to create something of value.
Those who do this sort of thing you have to either learn to manage, or move away from. Negativity is not conducive to creativity; suffering for your art does not work to create good art. That phrase is simply society’s way of endeavoring to collectively manage its guilt. Group-think, not really any sort of think at all.
“…a longer process…invaluable lessons”
Improving a communication is not necessarily about doing it yourself. It is about helping the artist to achieve the ability to do it themselves. The best way to do this is to direct attention to the places where improvement is needed and then do not tell the artist what is wrong but get them to find and identify the flaw. Having found it, have them correct it.
This is a longer process, but the lessons learned are invaluable, and they are never lost to the artist. If one chooses to do it for the artist then they will forever be coming back to you asking you to do it again, and the work and all involved lose their integrity and never progress.
The only other option is collaboration and that has its own set of conditions that need to be explicit if it is to work and produce good material and will be dealt with when we get to points 8, 15 and 16 of the Code of a Creative Artist. Though, as I said earlier, all these points work together and are a part of a whole.
Directing attention is a skill and it requires accurate observation of the work. You cannot help an artist improve a work if you have not closely observed that work, considered its intent, its function and the valuable final effect it seeks to create. It can take time and care to do this, but the time is well spent and the more you do it, the easier it becomes. The subsequent improvement in the ability of the artist to communicate is immensely satisfying for all concerned.
“Some horses don’t like water“
There are however, those who cannot be helped. They actively refuse help, in various ways, and one can do nothing with them, except leave them to their own devices. They will either come around, or not. The self-determination of an artist should always be respected. The journey such artists will take is an important one for them as individuals to take. Some horses don’t like water.
“wreak havoc…fuel even more military expenditure.”
What is a constructive work? Constructive works create positive effects upon every aspect of humanity and life. The opposite of constructive works are destructive works of art & entertainment. There are such things as destructive works of art & entertainment. Those works that glorify war and violence are destructive of civilized society.
The American art & entertainment industry, more than any other in the world glorifies and extols the virtues of being a soldier. This is part of the propaganda machine that enables the continued existence of an overblown military-industrial-mediaplex that wreaks havoc upon the world and its own nation.
The revenues that stream into America as a result of global distribution of American art & entertainment generate tremendous wealth, which is then taxed and goes into the military-industrial-mediaplex to fuel even more military expenditure. There is a long and well-documented relationship between Hollywood and the military.
Hollywood movies, much of them, are nothing more than propaganda that sustains the economic engine that delivers $648 Billion dollars a year at last count to fund the wars that keeps the American “super” power rolling. This too, is an argument for Creative Independence.
Hollywood often telegraphs the next wave of social marketing it will engage in, for example, the movie Wag the Dog preceded embedding the media and manufacturing stories that shape public opinion by just a few short years–long enough for global distribution to have run its course and prepared the world and Americans for what was to come.
Seeding minds with ideas that then eventuate requires time to work and allow the ideas to sink in and do their work; for us to ‘get comfortable’ with them. The reaction of audience and public to such movies can be easily gauged and used to determine the impact of real world campaigns modeled on the concept presented in a movie.
Now, I’m not saying that this is what happened, I’m simply demonstrating, using an example, that such things are possible and not beyond the realms of plausibility. I’m a Conspiracy Realist, not a Conspiracy Theorist. And as we all now know, America has perpetuated many conspiracies upon the world and its own people and is not beyond using fake news.
It is ideas that turn the world. Therefore we need to be careful about what ideas we are buying into, accepting, dismissing as irrelevant flights of fancy, and categorizing too lightly as mere illusion and entertainment. Goebbels, the Nazi Propaganda Minister of World War II shaped the opinions of an entire nation, to prepare them for the fact of the Holocaust, to which so many turned the blind eye of apathetic disbelief, that permitted such an atrocity to take root, first in the mind and then in the reality of human beings stuffed into trains whose final destination would deliver them to ovens.
This has something to do with Creative Artists for the realm of ideas, our skills and talents to communicate and shift the human perspective on any topic from one place to another, is ever sought and tempted by this and that symbol of power and status, and we simply have to stop putting our talent in the service of such manipulation of mankind.
The utilization of talent in such destructive endeavor creates what I call cultural crime. To utilize talent in the field of communication to accomplish worthy endeavor that helps humanity survive together and achieve more of the greatness we are capable of, is cultural enlightenment. So it is important we are aware of those whose ideas are destructive, and who seek the utilization of communication skill to sell things that are useless and wasteful of resources, or which enslave men and women economically or otherwise.
The opportunity and gift of communication should not be abused, or put in the service of those who would use it to abuse others and deny them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore, to reason with artists who have such gift and who are creating works that are destructive of those things that should not be destroyed, is an imperative and a culturally moral act.
Similarly, to support those whose endeavors are designed and intended to enhance society and civilization is a culturally moral act. However, our world and our societies are not yet at this point, though I do with determination hope that what we’re doing here at the Free Articulator and in Allforart will lead us in that direction.
It is important to become skilled in the critical evaluation of ideas, and it is by considering the resultant effect of communication that we achieve mastery of this idea and know which artist and work to invalidate and which to elevate.
As always, any questions and intelligent discussions are welcome. Leave your comments, I will get to them as I can.
Email this article to a friend - or a nemesis, it doesn't bother us.
Subscribe now to receive notification of new Free Articulator articles like this one.
[...] is always effective to have others work with you to constructively critique a work you have created, though watch out for the liabilities that arise when you involve others. [...]