About Me — ART/IST
There’s only one person behind ART/IST, an artist trying to make sense of the art world and the world while also sharing some knowledge about art.
You will find the above sentence at the end of every one of my stories. You will also find the text below at the end of a few of my stories;
The series ‘The Artist & The Art World’ is about me navigating the art world. This writing is a way for me to comprehend what creation is, what the ‘artist’ is, to make it through the chaos of the art world and the world, in order for me to be able to stay sane. What I write is subjective; I jot down my observations, and I let my thoughts flow. Some of these may be unconnected, arguments may be incoherent, and I may change my mind and disagree with them later.
I am what they call a visual or fine artist. I usually make things or objects, but I also found out, about three years ago, that I also need to write. I found out that I need to write when I was going through a hard time and, the things and objects that I was making were no longer enough. It was writing, and it still is writing, that helps me sort out the chaos in my mind, helps me to process and often solve stuff.
I never studied writing and never wrote professionally but if writing does to me what I just described above and, as far as I understand, it is why writers become writers, then I guess I have a good enough reason to put some of my writing out there for you to read.
I was also emboldened to share my writing here because I have already put my writing in public, in a solo art show about two years ago, in which I criticised the art world, specifically the corruption within the local art scene and the wider political landscape in the country where I am from. Needless to say, a few people who are part of the system were pissed off at what I said. The public who saw the show, on the other hand, loved it, and not only because I called out the corruption. To my surprise, I saw that my writing made people emotional.
It is less because of the above reason and more because I am still insecure about my writing, that I am not disclosing my real name here. I am also a bit of a coward or, it’s because I simply need to pay my bills, that I do not want to reveal my writing to the art world, specifically the galleries. They prefer us, the artists they work with, not to write, in case we say something that gets them in trouble. I will eventually get over this and reveal who I am because “one should always bite the hands that feeds them, but not too hard,” the video artist Nam June Paik replied when asked about whether an artist should bite the hand that feeds them.
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I decided to open a Medium profile and later a Substack profile, before waiting to become ‘perfect’ at writing. I have seen too many artists mulling over great ideas and leaving them in their heads, never getting them out there for whatever reason. I didn’t want to make this mistake. This is why I am introducing myself again here, after two years since opening my Medium profile, because I didn’t want to wait to feel ready to write. I’ve been figuring everything out as I go along, which is why you may find it difficult to figure out what ART/IST is about. Expect this introduction to be updated again.
What I have figured these past two years is that I am doing two things on ART/IST;
- I write about others’ works, be it about the life of an artist, or one art show or one art work. I also write about the technical elements of art such as colour, vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines. I write about these because I used to teach and I miss it.
- I write about me navigating the art world in order to sort things out in my mind and in order to stay sane. I group these stories under The Artist & the Art World, which has become a series now, immediately recognised by the logo / image below.
I’ll end with some facts about me; I have an undergraduate degree in western art history from one country and a post-graduate degree in fine arts from another country. I am now living in a third country. All countries I have lived and studied in are in Europe. I have taught art history and fine arts both full-time and part-time and, I have been making things and objects for over ten years now.
As I write at the end of every story, I appreciate that despite all the chaos of the modern world pulling your attention, you take your time to read my writing as I figure it out. I promise you that I try my best to do my best.
I would also like to say that I only use AI for basic research, to make sure that I do not miss important sources of information. The rest is written by me, a human being, which is what I believe we need to be more than ever before.
There’s only one person behind ART/IST, an artist trying to make sense of the art world and the world while also sharing some knowledge about art. I hope you get something out of my writing. Your comments are always welcome.
I often post photos of exhibitions and artworks on Instagram. Follow me there.
