Hey! Let's Write About Some Art! With Vicki Amorose

Vicki Amorose is a performance artist, writer, educator and expert discussioner. Active in the local art community in Eugene, and author of the book "Art-Write: The Writing Guide for Visual Artists," she got her start in the post-punk scene in San Francisco in the 1980’s and admonishes us to remember what artist Nayland Blake has said in conversation with the brilliant Sharon Louden: "The magic of that era is that we threw the parties we wanted to go to.” Lest we forget!

A fun fact about Vicki, is that she was part of the Church of the SubGenius and was featured in the documentary “J.R. 'Bob' Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius,” which premiered at this year’s SXSW in Austin, TX. Agnese happened to be there and was able to go to a screening so we had a moment talking about that.

Eugene Contemporary Art wants to encourage art criticism about the significant amount of contemporary work that is being made in our region. Yet, the writing we see here is largely journalistic and promotional, summaries of art events and shows that don’t go deeper into the discourse. To change this, Vicki will be leading the workshop “Write About Visual Art" presented by Eugene Contemporary Art in partnership with City of Eugene Cultural Services, promoting a departure from the old paradigm of criticism as judgement to open up new forms, inviting writers of all kinds to turn their focus to visual art. Vicki wants to change the connotations of the word “critical” which in Eugene, and probably in many other places around the country, is taken to suggest severely judgmental and mean. The problem with the “It’s all good” attitude is that you don’t go any deeper than what meets the eye, and sometimes you don’t even get that far, unknowingly perpetuating norms dictated by an abstracted academy or art market.

We discuss Darren Jones’ essay “Art in America: The Critical Dustbowl,” recently published by the New Art Examiner, and made possible by the Arts Writers Grant Program from Creative Capital and the Andy Warhol Foundation, that supports the work of writers specifically. Which of course leads us to the ever-relevant topic of money and artist compensation. Courtney was quoted in Jones' article, and it takes up the place and impact of critical art writing outside New York and L.A. Art writing tends to neglect small towns in favor of urban centers. What is written about is what makes art history, so what stories will not get told? If the art is not written about, does it even exist? Who should benefit from art writing? What can it do for artists?

Does art criticism have to be academic and theory-laden? Vicki explains the difference between critical writing and descriptive writing. As a writer, you should consider your audience and not just write for the internet. Who are you writing for? The off-putting language of much art writing acts as a shield, deflecting interest rather than drawing people in. Referencing Gilda Williams, Vicki says that bad art writing comes from fear and lack of understanding, rather than malicious intent. She describes the artist statement as a bridge, shares strategies for compelling art writing and says hallelujah and hurray for editors.

Links:
Darren Jones’ essay “Art in America: The Critical Dustbowl” published by the New Art Examiner: http://www.newartexaminer.net/art-in-america-the-critical-dustbowl/
Arts Writers Grant Program, Creative Capital & The Andy Warhol Foundation: https://www.artswriters.org/
An Paenhuysen, Instructor, "Art Writing and Criticism” NODE Curatorial Studies Online: https://nodecenter.net/
Gilda Williams, author, “How To Write About Contemporary Art”: https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-About-Contemporary-Art/dp/0500291578
Nayland Blake in conversation with Sharon Louden, New York Academy of Art professional practice lecture series: https://vimeo.com/333369230
BRIDGE Exhibitions, Eugene, Oregon: https://www.eugene-or.gov/3927/BRIDGE-Exhibitions
Mayor’s Art Show, Eugene, Oregon: https://www.eugene-or.gov/3868/Mayors-Art-Show
"Art-Write: The Writing Guide for Visual Artists", author Vicki Krohn Amorose: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Write-Writing-Guide-Visual-Artists/dp/1937303128/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DH6JED98J3KY7GBWQFZY#customerReviews
W.A.G.E.: https://wageforwork.com/home#top