On comment books and the psychology of feedback
After a lovely run at the Art Festival Museum in Edmonds, Washington, Subjective is resting again for a few weeks, tucked away in its two studios until it’s time for it to come out again for the final stop of the tour at Portland’s Anka Gallery in July.
As usual when my collaborator and I take down the show, part of the fun is to read through the comments that were left for us by visitors. This time was no exception even though two of the reactions left both Becca and I scratching our heads.
There was this one:
I like all of the paintings. My favorite is the baby on the bench and the person doing yoga.
Most of it is easily understood..
Becca Bernstein’s Artist 2010
(full diptych)
...but Becca thinks that the “person doing yoga” is her portrait of me painting…
Becca Bernstein’s Partner 2010
(full diptych)
...and I am certain that it’s her portrait of my partner doing Tai Chi since some people tend to confuse one mind-body art with another.
This was the other one that left us wondering:
Your painting “Partner” is quite beautiful on several levels—portrait/abstract combo. Please stop putting that stuff on the surfaces, it only detracts from your skill as a painter.
After reading it, we both wished that the author had identified which painting she-he was referring to since four have the title Partner. Was it one of these two? Or one of these?
Also, we couldn’t agree on whose work the latter half of the comment was about. I was convinced that it was a critique of my distinct brushstrokes since that’s something I get a lot. For her part, Becca believed the comment was about her work since she had glued decorative molding onto some of her paintings (an example of that is here in her painting of her daughter sitting on a bench).
It’s fascinating to me that we both assumed that the comment was about our own work. After the fact, I’m inclined to agree with Becca since the commenter does say “on the surfaces,” but there’s still that niggling feeling that it’s one more person telling me that I should paint properly—meaning realistically—and quit making my marks. Tender spot for me? Yes, I think it is…!
I love comments. I love them all: the good, the bad, and the non-specific. Because even when I don’t know what the feedback means exactly, it still helps me to learn about myself.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- The artist’s self-esteem
- Audience participation
- Everybody’s a critic.
CATEGORIES: - Featuring artists - Practice - Subjective -
(2) Comments / Commentaires: On comment books and the psychology of feedback
Christel...
Funny story! I guess it is difficult to be objective about subjective comments
--- -- - --- - ---- - - --- ----- -- -