Comments on: The Spirit of Weeds http://fredhatt.com/blog/2009/11/17/the-spirit-of-weeds/ by Fred Hatt Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:31:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: fred http://fredhatt.com/blog/2009/11/17/the-spirit-of-weeds/comment-page-1/#comment-1242 fred Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:45:00 +0000 http://fredhatt.com/blog/?p=850#comment-1242 Andrew, last week I saw the new restored version of Michael Powell's classic film "The Red Shoes". That was a perfect depiction of the concept of the artist (in this case, performing artists) as hothouse flowers, for whom normal life equals death. This attitude is a manifestation of the disconnect between the large numbers of creatively motivated individuals and the tiny number of artists the society is willing to recognize, as I discussed in the post "<a href="http://fredhatt.com/blog/2009/09/01/why-art-doesnt-pay/" rel="nofollow">Why Art Doesn't Pay</a>." Andrew, last week I saw the new restored version of Michael Powell’s classic film “The Red Shoes”. That was a perfect depiction of the concept of the artist (in this case, performing artists) as hothouse flowers, for whom normal life equals death. This attitude is a manifestation of the disconnect between the large numbers of creatively motivated individuals and the tiny number of artists the society is willing to recognize, as I discussed in the post “Why Art Doesn’t Pay.”

]]> By: fred http://fredhatt.com/blog/2009/11/17/the-spirit-of-weeds/comment-page-1/#comment-1241 fred Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:31:31 +0000 http://fredhatt.com/blog/?p=850#comment-1241 Lori, probably I "identify with weeds" because my work has been consistently rejected by the art establishment, but I just keep doing it anyway. The internet is a good place to grow weeds! Lori, probably I “identify with weeds” because my work has been consistently rejected by the art establishment, but I just keep doing it anyway. The internet is a good place to grow weeds!

]]> By: Late November « museworthy http://fredhatt.com/blog/2009/11/17/the-spirit-of-weeds/comment-page-1/#comment-1240 Late November « museworthy Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:18:37 +0000 http://fredhatt.com/blog/?p=850#comment-1240 [...] tribute to my dear friend Fred Hatt, who recently published an exquisite, life-affirming blog post about weeds. If you haven’t seen it, you must! Here’s my photographic tribute to weeds. I think [...] [...] tribute to my dear friend Fred Hatt, who recently published an exquisite, life-affirming blog post about weeds. If you haven’t seen it, you must! Here’s my photographic tribute to weeds. I think [...]

]]> By: Andrew http://fredhatt.com/blog/2009/11/17/the-spirit-of-weeds/comment-page-1/#comment-1239 Andrew Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:07:08 +0000 http://fredhatt.com/blog/?p=850#comment-1239 "...and that led to the thought that many of the famous artists of the past are like hothouse flowers, highly cultivated, eccentric and fragile, existing only in a rarefied environment." Fred, I really think you are on to something with this comparison. It's like maintaining green grass yards in the arid southwestern United States. Imitating the natural beauty of Ireland is unsustainable (fragile) in a desert without lots of effort and expense. So why suppress native beauty, such as manzanita and cactus? It boils down to imitation vs. authenticity. This reminds me of something I heard in an art class recently: "Art historians know what they are supposed to like." It's a slightly different topic, but the same basic idea. “…and that led to the thought that many of the famous artists of the past are like hothouse flowers, highly cultivated, eccentric and fragile, existing only in a rarefied environment.”

Fred, I really think you are on to something with this comparison. It’s like maintaining green grass yards in the arid southwestern United States. Imitating the natural beauty of Ireland is unsustainable (fragile) in a desert without lots of effort and expense. So why suppress native beauty, such as manzanita and cactus?

It boils down to imitation vs. authenticity. This reminds me of something I heard in an art class recently: “Art historians know what they are supposed to like.” It’s a slightly different topic, but the same basic idea.

]]> By: Lori http://fredhatt.com/blog/2009/11/17/the-spirit-of-weeds/comment-page-1/#comment-1238 Lori Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:45:38 +0000 http://fredhatt.com/blog/?p=850#comment-1238 Fred, your online galleries are so well thought out, they are like exhibitions themselves. :) And this post in particular has made me stop to look at weeds with a healthier interest (rather than gotcha! yank). Thanks for your larger explanation -- I think everyone who drives by your site might be interested in knowing your M.O. too. Fred, your online galleries are so well thought out, they are like exhibitions themselves. :) And this post in particular has made me stop to look at weeds with a healthier interest (rather than gotcha! yank). Thanks for your larger explanation — I think everyone who drives by your site might be interested in knowing your M.O. too.

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