What to Do When People Criticize Your Art
One inescapable truth of the art world is that throughout your career all kinds of people will say all kinds of things about your art whether they tell you to your face, write about it, make videos about it, blog about it, post about it or gossip behind your back. Not only do you have to learn how to handle this continuous onslaught of thoughts, feelings, feedback, comments, criticisms, observations and impressions, but also how to evaluate and respond to them, and most importantly, how to not take them personally.
But first, a word to all you artists who have a habit of spontaneously asking people what they think of your art. The real question should be the one you ask yourself-- what do YOU think of your art?-- but let's save the answer to that question for later. For now, know that anytime you ask people what they think of your art, you instantly put them in awkward positions, especially if they don't really know you (why an artist would even ask someone who doesn't really know them or their art hardly makes any sense in the first place, but they go ahead and do it anyway).
Most people who find themselves in tricky situations like this will generally try to end the conversations as quickly and painlessly as possible, and you can
bet that in almost all cases what they'll tell you will not be what they think of your art, but rather what they think you'll want to hear-- which is usually that they like it. In other words, asking the question is basically pointless because you'll have no idea whether the answers you get will be honest or not, and no real way of finding that out. Unless you already have an established relationship with whomever you're asking, or you're in a setting where people are specifically critiquing various artists' work, there's rarely any upside to putting someone on the spot. If people feel like commenting, let them do it on their own; don't force the issue.
The good news is you never really have to ask because over time, plenty of people will volunteer every conceivable response to your art-- sometimes fantastic, other times not so good. No matter what they say, these are always excellent opportunities to learn how your work impacts others, but at the same time, you can't take absolutely everything you hear at face value. Way too many artists have a tendency to get overly sensitive or defensive the instant anyone gets the least bit critical, and often without even thinking about who the criticizer is.
By Alan Bamberger
Art Business:
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