Anne Hunt on wed 7 apr 99
Bill---appreciated your post today---haven't seen "fulsome" in years. Agree
that artists' statements largely seem peripatetic; however, they're
relatively benign compared to the pejorative judgements pedantically heaped
on the peccancy (not to be confused with peccary or pessary)-ridden jonathan
kaplan.
To paraphrase, there are some things they didn't tell me about when I
signed on with this outfit. Apparently, there's an arcane, esoteric
requirement for one group of folks to be "better than" another group, who're
by definition "less than". (Dammit, i just spent the last 17 years of my
like trying to get out of that mind-set).
I'm sure that the folks who are better/less thanning aren't sour grapes
over watching the person the next booth over raking in the money...they're
more expansive than that. I wasn't, 'til I was hit by the revelation that
this was The Natural Order of Things---
Money-making-wise, production potters/mass producers etc etc were going
to make much more lucre than I was at most art fairs (thank god for the
co-op!), so I could either work up a lather at "those" people (insert
whatever nomenclature/suitable substitute is appropos') and develope an
oogie-insides-promoting case of "better-than-itis" to salve my ego, or I
could break out and review my notes from Belly Up to the Bar 101 and Suck It
Up 303, and be happy. And mebbe Like some of "those" people; and mebbe even
Learn something from them. And mebbe be happy for their good fortune.
'Course, the latter has been rhetorical, since I'm sure that the folks
lobbing salvos at Mr. Kaplan and his ilk are simply taking it upon
themselves to either establish or maintain professional standards for our
art, er, craft, er... statements.
How 'bout if the ilk-bashers and lobb-ees take a day or two off from
writing better-than and standards-setting ( for whom?!) posts..
There are gonna be dishonest folks in every profession---either 'cause
they're sleazy, lazy, or ignorant. My responsibility is to be as honest as
I can and let God/the Universe take care of the rest. (This is a variant of
"kill 'em all, let God sort out the good from the bad".)
My other responsibility is and has always been client/customer
education; 'sides which, folks usually love hearing about how a piece is
made, and they adore the picture of me singeing my eyebrows off; some of the
"other" people can't do that.
I'm not responsible for potters' motives in selling or consumers'
motives in buying; those are out of my control/unknown and, as a recovering
controlling bitch, I reeally try to stay away from that---none of my
business.
So, Bill, this was all a ploy to get your mind off of your back---how'd
I do?
P. S. Have just re-read the gentle post from Liz Willoughby--concur
wholeheartedly, 'tho I tend to be more acerbic...
Cheers! anne & the cats, one of whom (Sophie the Bayou Kitty) is a flower
garden lurker whose targets of choice are hummers and butterflies---she's
in the bullpen, warming up--boo/hiss!
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