As I wrote my last email about trying to understand rejection through the Dead Eyes podcast, I was also reading a book on French artist Rosa Bonheur (1825-1899). It is a great book, one I picked up at a used bookstore and is written by Dore Ashton and Denise Browne Hare. Three powerhouse women in one book: Yes, please. It also helped me to see why some artists succeed, and some never seem to take off. Let me explain.
The Bonheur book takes a deep dive into Rosa's upbringing and the dynamics and political leanings of her parents. Her childhood was largely shaped by her proximity to the political groups her father was committed to, including the Saint Simonians. The book went on to describe what was happening in France at the time with King Louis-Phillippe and the Second Republic and... yadda, yadda, yadda. It seemed like a lot of information that didn't have to do with Rosa Bonheur. But I'm glad I stuck with it because it all made sense several chapters in.
The book explains how leading up to this time the political climate was reflected in the dominant art movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Looking to Classical Antiquity to stand in for current ideologies and to tell stories that could teach through history was de rigueur, as was the drama of Romanticism that focused on feelings and imagination. Both were trends of placing the focus outside of contemporary realities. But a shift was taking shape in culture, politics, and religion as people started to become interested in real talk rather than metaphors.
Rosa Bonheur painted animals. She painted them realistically, mainly from life, and in ordinary scenes like munching the grass. She was a young artist while this shift was occurring where depicting common, everyday experiences started to come into style. Contemporary reality became prioritized over myth, fantasy, and history. The common person (or animal) became the teacher, hero, and protagonist.
Rosa's work was perfect for this moment. She painted cattle plowing fields, rabbits nibbling carrots, sheep grazing, and animals just being animals. She went on to make a painting called The Horse Fair showing an incredible display of horsey activity in artistic form. It was one of the most notable works of the time, and of her career.
Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair, 1852- 1855
The time frame scooped her up into international fame and fortune securing her position as a well-off working artist for the rest of her lifetime, which was incredibly unique for an unmarried woman at the time. But then fame moved on as interests changed again while she continued making the same type of work. While The Horse Fair was known all across Europe and wildly popular in the States in the mid-1800s, it's not even mentioned in my 1968 copy of Janson's History of Art.
Around this time I was also seeing the articles that fly around during art fairs (like this one) about the latest trends in the art world. I usually dismiss these articles and assume they are purely a marketing tool, but this year I paid more attention. I realized that some people–curators or others who look at a lot of art– might have something to tell me about what they are noticing.
Pointing out trends and things that are of particular interest at this moment has made me think less about art as timeless, and instead noticing art that is timely. Many artists are deeply engaged with the problems and joys of this moment and I can see why that would garner the support of institutions, galleries and the press. Collectors follow trends and even create them to increase the value of their collections. The quality of the work sometimes even becomes secondary to the message that is being sent by the artist or by the institutional machine behind it. This can be a hard pill to swallow, but it's just the way it is.
The reality is that the timing of an artist's contributions to the world can impact whether they are noticed or not.
As I help artists with their grant applications and artist statements, I see a lot of artists dealing with hyper-current issues. Some are tackling the frontier of AI, reacting to climate disasters and global conflicts, and revisiting the injustices of development of The West. I also see artists who are highlighting their BIPOC, female, and LGBTQ+ identity in a field where white men still dominate in economics and through positions of power. Then there are artists who make abstract paintings that are inspired by nature. While all this work may be great work, it's much harder (but not impossible) to make the case for the relevance of the abstract paintings inspired by nature.
The way I see it, there are a few options:
1) Hunker down and keep making your work. Maybe the world will come around and notice you later if now is not your time. You are Rosa Bonheur just waiting for your moment to shine.
2) You can change the work you make and try to find the trends and match them, or seek out something radically new and try and foresee what is coming next. You can see how this might be really hard and/or not what most artists want to do.
3) You can also talk about your work in terms that relate to today; find a way to explain how it is connected to this moment. This is a suggestion that relates more to framing than it does to timing.
For example, art critic John Ruskin thought that James McNeill Whistler made terrible work that did not reflect the values of the time. Whistler leveraged this negative commentary to emphasize why his work was significant. Whistler sued Ruskin and made the case for his work, probably getting more notoriety than if he had remained quiet. He also published a book with the complete back-and-forth he had with his naysayers arguing for the validity and relevance of his work. He framed it in a new light.
"The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" is next on my reading list.
For me, knowing what is going on in the world (or my world) right now and knowing how my work relates to it (or doesn't) can be helpful in how I present my work. It also can help me identify places that might be particularly interested in what I'm doing or if I am not a good fit. Not all of us can be lucky enough to be making the right work in the right moment like Rosa Bonheur, but I think figuring out how we are each a part of/intermingled with/surrounded by other things, ideas, and people helps to contextualize our work and make the case for its relevance.
In grant feedback sessions, one of the things I have been told is that I need to show how this is the time for me to get the grant. Why is it urgent? Is it only urgent because I need money? That probably won’t help me stand out. But if I can answer the question, "Why now?" in a way that shows my work is about more than just me, that it's part of a larger conversation (or dare I say trend), I will probably have a better shot.
Here's to relating to this moment,
Virginia
P.S. Thank you to everyone who has signed up for one of my subscriptions and is telling others about them. I want to create tools that are actually useful to artists and so your recommendations to others mean that I am doing something right. Thank you!
P.P.S. Related to the above, I also found trendy, zeitgeisty things that happen like all the paintings of the backs of young women with their hair tied back, in a bow or in braids. Please enjoy.
