Etiquetteer received some very interesting suggestions and comments from readers after the last column from the artist asking how to receive unsolicited negative criticism. There’s a lot of sympathy for artists out there!
From a connoisseur: Thank you for the posting on feedback to artists. Your response to the idiotic assertion to an artist that (presumably) she didn't create the work was just right. Don't engage, point to the door. I might tweak the response to the rude commenters. Rather than "Thank you" or "How interesting," which might be taken as positive by the critic, perhaps "I see" and walk away. Constructive criticism, or engagement, may be useful of course. But to someone who simply says "That's nasty," very little is owed, as you suggest. Artists, often sensitive souls, put themselves out before the public in a vulnerable way, to communicate what they believe are important messages; the least a critic can do is offer thoughtful, constructive criticism. [Emphasis Etiquetteer’s.] If they are not able to do so, then perhaps a murmured "how interesting" would be more perfectly proper.
From a gallerist: In both my current career and in my previous career in video, I have had to learn how to provide feedback gently in a constructive manner. I have also had to learn to take criticism of my own [work]. I confess my first reaction to criticism is often defensive. After all, I have lived with the product for a long time and I think it’s good. After I take a deep breath, I usually find that the critique is valuable and I am able to improve. It’s not always easy.
I believe that your advice it right on target. Sometimes, people provide feedback that they think is helpful. Sometimes, people express their feedback in ways that may be more brutal thank the artist would like. Sometimes people can be nasty.
Recently a woman came in the gallery and looked around, and said something to the effect that most of the work in my gallery couldn’t be considered art. I thanked her for coming in and said that the wonderful thing about [Insert Name of Art-Oriented Destination Here] is that there are so many galleries to explore. And one time I had a family member’s work up, much of which was blue in a handmade paper series. Someone came in the gallery and said, “I hate blue.” I confess I was temporarily rendered speechless, but I think I pointed out some artwork that was of a different color.
The nicer thing about galleries is that the audience, for the most part, is self-selective. They have to have a desire to experience art to want to come in, so they are predisposed to be open to new experiences. [Emphasis Etiquetteer’s.] I think that sometimes people can be inelegant in their feedback. They may think they are providing helpful feedback, but are saying it in a way that comes off as more offensive and not constructive.
Most often, I encounter a person who says, “Now, this is an artist that I really like,” implying that they don’t like the other artists. But art is also an area where people’s tastes evolve. So, someone may be challenged by abstract art now… and may return in a few years and have acquired a love of it.
From an artist: Good column, and necessary for some artists and critics to read. I’m happy to say that this is a problem I’ve only rarely encountered. In fact, I can only remember two instances, both of which have firmly lodged in my memory. One of my cousins, upon seeing a Raoul Dufy-themed mural I painted, thought it looked “too cartoony.” And a novelist who saw my caricature of her in [Insert Name of Publication Here] declared she would “have my cojones on a stick” because I revealed her age. Come to think of it, that wasn’t art criticism, but editorial.