Yes, but is it art? (and does that matter?)
Posted on | June 17, 2009 | No Comments
As a commercial illustrator, when I’m not working on pieces for clients, I work on pieces for my illustration portfolio. This second group of pieces can either be to try and attract more clients or to expand my palette as an artist… and therein lies the rub. A frequent comment from my agent about these pieces is that they’re too much art and not enough illustration.
So is illustration art, or is it something else?
The answer could be debated at length, and I don’t pretend to have anything more definitive than my own opinion in response, but I will say that to find the most wildly creative minds in the arts, take a look at advertising. Many of the top art directors, creative directors and copywriters in the industry are artists who at some point in their careers decided that earning a living was important.
Art: Raymond Savignac; photo: -nanio-
So is what they do art? Is what I do art? For centuries artists have relied upon patrons to keep their families fed and clothed. In some times and places this meant painting royal portraits—or scenes of well-fed peasants to ease the upper classes’ minds—while in others it means creating advertising material for corporations. Neither may be exactly what the artist wants to do, but if it keeps body & soul together then the artist is effectively earning a living plying their craft.
I hear the artists out there crying foul: “But it’s not fine art!” Perhaps, but other than leaving artistic feathers ruffled, does it matter? Personally, I feel the same sense of satisfaction whether for a piece of fine art or an illustration for American Express. If it’s well-done, it’s well-done, and if not, then not.
If this were Renaissance Europe I would be listening to the needs of the gentry, whereas now I’m listening to the needs of business. Is there really much difference? The same palette of subtlety, intensity, beauty and anything else one wishes to express as an artist is available; the difference being that you’re working for someone else, normally under immense time pressure.
Recently I went to an exhibit of early 20th Century Russian Constructivists at the Tate Modern, and scattered throughout the exhibit were posters created for the state. Similarly, one of my favourite artists, Raymond Savignac, was best known for the work he did selling Perrier and French tourism. I would love to see a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II painted by Savignac.
The challenge my agent reminds me of is that as an artist, since my ‘patron’ is the corporate world, I should always challenge myself to think with the mind of those who put bread and butter on my table. This is quite a challenge, and I love a good challenge, so I will keep refining the focus of this artist’s lenses on the needs of business.
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