Robert Genn talks about quantity and productivity this week in his "twice weekly letter". This is something I've always kind of suspected so reading his article just affirms it. If I could summaraize the contents in one sentence I might say:
You will learn more from actually making art than you will by studying and talking about it.
Here is Robert's letter, copied with is permission, and below you will find a link where you can go to subscribe to the "Twice Weekly Letter". I have been a subscriber for many years and he is a common sense kind of guy with a great sense of humor; an artist and writer who is competent at both disciplines.
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Because this is a bit personal, I'm not using their real names. They're both about 40 years old.
"Jack"
got a BFA and then an MFA from a Midwestern University. He's visited
many of the major contemporary art museums and follows the work of
several "important" contemporary painters. He's written articles on
Philip Guston and others. He subscribes to several art magazines and is
"the most knowledgeable art-guy in any discussion." After university he
worked for a while in a commercial art gallery. He sometimes writes me
long, well-informed letters. He's painted eleven large paintings (two
unfinished) since leaving school. He's not represented by any gallery.
He thinks you need to move to New York and "get lucky" with a dealer who
"really represents you."
"Jill"
took two years of art school and then quit. She pays little attention
to other artists. She subscribes to no art magazines but has taken
several workshops. Her hobbies include bowling and travelling. At one
time she also worked in a commercial art gallery. On two or three
occasions she's written to me. She's painted "approximately two thousand
paintings" since leaving school. She's represented by four commercial
galleries in four, well-separated mid-sized cities.
There's a great story in David Bayles and Ted Orland's Art and Fear. Here it is:
"The
ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the
class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he
said, would be graded solely on the quantity of the work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality.
His procedure was simple: On the final day of class he would bring in
his bathroom scales and weigh the work in the "quantity" group: fifty
pounds of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B" and so on. Those being
graded on "quality," however, needed to produce only one pot--albeit a
perfect one--to get an "A". Well, came grading time and a curious fact
emerged: the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group
being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was
busy turning out piles of work--and learning from their mistakes--the
"quality" group had sat
theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for
their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay."
Best regards,
Robert
PS:
"Artists get better by sharpening their skills or by acquiring new
ones; they get better by learning to work, and by learning from their
work." (
David Bayles and Ted Orland)
Esoterica:
Both subscribers Jack and Jill are thoughtful and enthusiastic artists.
Art is central to their lives. And while success and "being able to
function as a full time artist" may not be important to some of us,
their current situations are quite different. Jack rents an apartment
and makes $2150 per month (plus tips and benefits) as an airport porter.
Jill works daily in her converted garage in a home she now owns. These
days she's averaging $18,000 per month. She has "no benefits."
Visit his site and read more:
Robert Genn's Twice Weekly Letters
