How important is communication to an artist?
I can say with some certainty that if you are making a living as an artist, then you are definitely communicating. The art you produce, no matter its form, is delivering a message to an audience. If the message is understood and enjoyed, then you will be rewarded.
Joan Miró, La Leçon de Ski, 1966, Sofia Imber Contemporary Art Museum of Caracas, Venezuela
One of my favorite painters is the Spanish artist Joan Miró. I can’t really explain what he is communicating, but his work has a rhythm and design sense that has always made me happy. For me it is a communication at an emotional level.
If an artist’s message is difficult to understand, or unpleasant to view, hear or read then it may be more difficult to find an audience. Of course this may not always be true. For instance, I personally find Quentin Tarantino’s movies deeply disturbing, yet he has a passionate following. And he is undoubtedly an artist; his film making is extraordinary.
Does anyone have a theory to explain this?
You are assuming that QT’s movies are unpleasant to view. The truth is just that they are unpleasant to view FOR YOU. That’s how I explain it. Different things indicate to different people in different ways. It may be that you have experiences that the movies remind you of, and that makes them unpleasant. Or it may be that you have NO experiences similar to his movies, and that makes some of the scenes unnecessarily disturbing whereas a person who has a similar experience might find it meaningful, helpful, beautiful, or cathartic. Maybe.
Hmmm. I did say that QT’s movies were disturbing, so quite likely there is some experiential something in them that resonates. But the lopping of heads and limbs, violent death, rape and so forth are below a certain level of survival, nonetheless.
When I watch his movies, despite myself I find them fascinating and beautifully done. But at the same time I always have a sense of loss that his purpose is not more aligned with mine, and that of my daughter’s (when it comes to film making) In other words, that a film should uplift. Probably makes no sense, but there you have it.