{"id":4293,"date":"2015-09-23T02:00:44","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T06:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=4293"},"modified":"2015-09-22T09:57:11","modified_gmt":"2015-09-22T13:57:11","slug":"rorschach-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/09\/rorschach-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Rorschach Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rorschach\"We\u2019re all artists now<\/a><\/p>\n

Quick. What’s your reaction to that sentence? This was the title of a September 2015 New York Times article that considered expanded definitions of and options for creativity and the increasingly participatory nature of culture (among other things).<\/p>\n

But my immediate interest here is with the range of reactions to that premise: We’re all artists now. What is your immediate response? While the options run on a continuum, there are basically three principal positions. One is, well, of course, everyone is creative and in some sense each person is an artist. This is probably the egalitarian argument. The other extreme is that the very notion that everyone is an artist is preposterous and demeans the notion of artist. This is unquestionably an elitist argument. The third data point is on the broad spectrum in between those two extremes\u2013ambivalence and the tiring awareness that both views have a point.<\/p>\n

It will probably surprise, if not shock, some readers to know that I’m a bit nonplussed by the question. While it is<\/em> absolutely true that there is creativity in everyone and we should encourage and support its development, there is also the question of what is meant by “an artist.” And, while I’m profoundly uncomfortable with the artcentric view that “true” artists are rare birds existing on another plane, I’m not altogether happy with my first thoughts about everyone<\/em> being an artist. My background and training create what I’m realizing as I write this is an unconscious response that artists are somehow “different” in a way that precludes everyone being one. Ouch.<\/p>\n

I guess the point of this is that one’s immediate response to the question provides some insight into a person’s most basic views about the arts, the community, and the relationship between the two. My own assignment here is to review what it is about my unexamined personal definition of “an artist” that gives me pause in this exercise. In the meantime, I’ll keep reminding myself that my work focuses on arts organizations and their sometimes profoundly troubling disconnection from their communities, not on artists and what they chose to do or not.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

Photo:\"Attribution\"\"Noncommercial\"\"No<\/a><\/span> Some rights reserved<\/a> by His Noodly Appendage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What does your immediate response to the sentence “We’re all artists now” say about your most deeply held feelings about art, artists, and the community?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Rorschach Test: What your response to \"We're all artists now\" says about your views of art, artists, and the community.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[53,12,13,47],"class_list":{"0":"post-4293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-principles","7":"tag-artcentricity","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-community-engagement","10":"tag-equity","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-17f","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2841,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/05\/i-blame-beethoven\/","url_meta":{"origin":4293,"position":0},"title":"I Blame Beethoven","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I spend a lot of time talking about the disconnect that has developed between the arts and the general public. If you consider that the arts began as an expression of community around the campfire, the fact that arts organizations now need to identify ways to connect more deeply with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beethoven","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Beethoven-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4545,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/05\/artists-and-relationship-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":4293,"position":1},"title":"Artists and Relationship Building","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Artists and Relationship Building: Laura Zabel on opportunities for artists","rel":"","context":"In "Customer-Client-Collaborator Series"","block_context":{"text":"Customer-Client-Collaborator Series","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/customer-client-collaborator-series\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ZabelHeadshot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ZabelHeadshot-e1462549992644.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2908,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/05\/more-on-artists-and-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":4293,"position":2},"title":"More on Artists and Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The principal focus of this blog is arts organizations, but occasionally issues related to individual artists come up. 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