…It leaves me uncomfortable when I suspect that I’m ok with a piece simply because it’s safe… when everyone’s in agreement that it is what it’s supposed to be.
On the flip side, I’m suspect of my own tendency to be even more attracted to work that’s noticeably difficult, a train wreck of sorts. It’s become to be seen as an issue of autonomy. Difficult work creates room around it that allows a viewer (me) to feel what they feel and work through what that feeling is showing them. Much of the time that feeling is Curiosity … it’s frankly more interesting to puzzle out why an art work doesn’t work than it is to nod at a good work as you pass on by.
I believe a person serves to develop their own sense of taste by identifying what doesn’t work for them rather than looking towards what works for others. When we find ourselves making work that we feel pleased with, it’s should be suspect… are we pleased because it satisfies something inside us or are we looking for something that matches up with outside expectation.
Zygote Blum 