by Angela Mcfall

Created on: October 13, 2009

The Idea of Art

We love the idea of art. Art as innovation, art as a creative force, the sacred art object. The limitless possibilities of creativity. You can buy art on Etsy.You can buy a painting for 100 dollars, you can even choose the colours yourself. When I first discovered Etsy I was very excited to see such a gathering of talented makers united in one place, forging an online community. I was delighted by the word 'craftivism' and the idea of a 'handmade movemen't. Unique, handmade goods from all over the world. However the deeper I get into it, the less I like it. On the good side there are some great items, but on the negative side, how are people going to stop from copying each other? Copying is a huge temptaion, you see it in any art class.One student innovates and several students copy, they say copying is the highest compliment but strangely enough on Etsy it seems like everything just starts looking the same. Thus taking away from the unique factor, one of the most alluring elements of art, art objects and handmade goods.

I have noticed that the latest Etsy trend is to do a single painting on multiple canvases. This is a great idea, but when you see the same painting created by many different artists you wonder who was the innovator and who is the copier. Is it possible they all simultaneously had the same idea? And how will it be proven that someone copied someone else? Can you prove that someone looked at your work ? Strangely enough copying is really hard to resist and sometimes you just can't help it. In art school I copied someone's colours, I couldn't resist, it was a cool smoky blue colour, I fell in love with it and some part of me just had to know how to make it. My copying was not intentional, so much as obsessional. I had to understand why I loved that colour and effect so much. Once I understood it, I moved on. Perhaps the same will be true on Etsy, There will be trends, but individual artists will maintain some unique- ness in their work.

In art in general, in any given period, there are predominant styles, or looks. An innovation becomes a trend a manifesto is written, a new art movement or 'ism' is born. Cubism was the fracturing of the picture plane, impressionism the trend of painting in natural light, fauvism the use of bold, raw colours. Perhaps the idea of art, the innovative, the unique and sacred art object is a myth in itself. We are born into culture's where the idea of art is frimly in place. We learn to paint, to draw, to see, and to critique within the frame of what is accepted as art, in that particular culture. Our idea of art is something we learn, and if we go on to become artists we accept the traditions, or rebel against them. Perhaps the negative aspects of art on Etsy, is just the nature of the medium in which the work is being presented. Do the works look the same because people are copying each other, or are there a limited number of combinations and permutations of figurative/non figuartive/oil/watercolour etc in the creative process. Perhaps it is the fact that when such a large number of works are viewed in the same place, patterns will begin to evolve, bringing me back to the original polemic, does the art look the same because of copying or is there a limit to innovative solutions within the available materials of art. And so yes, you can buy art on Etsy, but that all depends on what your idea of art is.

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