David Levine– Thomas Hoving
To appreciate a work of art, is it okay to like what you like, and the heck with the art critics and experts? Absolutely.
–Thomas Hoving
I came across this quote from the late Thomas Hoving and thought it would be a good opportunity to show off an illustration of him done by the late David Levine, the famed illustrator/artist whose distinct caricatures adorned the New York Review of Books for many years, along with many other publications. The original drawing now hangs in a corner of my studio, obtained from the estate of Thomas Buechner who was friend to both Levine and Hoving.
Thomas Hoving wore a number of hats but was primarily a museum director. Now that sounds pretty blasé on its surface but he was a rock star among his peers, writing bestselling books and using his flamboyant showman skills to usher the Metropolitan Museum into a renaissance of sorts as its director. He was big personality in what is often a low-key position.
His words above definitely ring true as good advice to anyone who has ever felt anxious about purchasing or even sharing their opinion on a piece of art. Feel free to buy and admire work that speaks to you, regardless of what critics might say. Art is based on an emotional elicitation, and nobody can dictate how anyone should respond to any one piece of work. A critic may have a response to a work of art and write effusively about that work, perhaps even making cogent points about the validity of the work. But if I don’t feel that same emotional response, all the eloquence in the world telling me why I should like it cannot make me suddenly adore that work.
In short, we like what we like.
I’ve seen people in high powered positions, people who normally ooze confidence, suddenly turn to jelly when trying to decide whether they should buy a piece of art. Art is such a nebulous and subjective thing that many of these folks feel a bit lost and out of their depth. They are afraid of making a mistake and lose all trust in their own opinion. They forget that they should simply like what they like and trust that feeling.
So, if you see something you like sometime, don’t be shy about showing your admiration for it. Maybe that means purchasing it or maybe it’s just letting the artist know that it moves you somehow.
Both are appreciated by every artist I have ever known.
There is a lot on my plate this morning so I am reposting the above from several years back. Being an artist working in my own idiosyncratic niche, I have often run up against this distrust of one’s own response to a piece of art. We all want to judge things against other things and a piece of art that doesn’t pose an easy comparison can be vexing.
So, trust your feelings when you look at art. If you like something, don’t be afraid to admit it. It’s art– there is no absolute right or wrong.
For this week’s Sunday Morning Music let’s go with a song that speak directly to this– I Like It Like That. The problem is that there are two (actually probably more than two) songs with that title. The two here are very different but very distinct in their appeal. The first is a 1967 tune from the late Bronx-based bandleader Pete Rodriguez whose genre they put in the category of Latin Boogaloo. I never heard that term before. But it’s a great tune and one you may have heard before since it’s been in a lot of movies and has been covered many times.
The same can be said for the second song from New Orleans-based R&B singer/songwriter Chris Kenner in 1961. You might recognize one or the other immediately. Or not. Doesn’t matter–I think both are good tunes.
I like them and am not afraid to say it.
Redtree Times 