Abbey Sitterley interviews Michael Minkoff about the historical development and downfall of patronage. What does it mean for Porchlight and Renew the Arts to resurrect the idea of patronage now when its history seems so tied up in elitism? How do we avoid making the mistakes of the past?
Stay tuned at the end for a sneak peak at “The Sixth,” a track from the forthcoming record Wrestling, by Warbler.
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Thank you Michael and Abbey, for the podcast.
A couple moments stood out to me. One was the description of the patron as humble and acknowledging the artist’s superiority in an area. I relate to that because art and music feel like “magic” to me. I understand equations and where machines and movement come from, but I can’t understand how artists create. I also feel the pull of some art and can’t explain where that comes from either, at least in a way that let’s me feel I understand it the way I understand dynamics. I enjoy bumping up against that mystery and love when the artist is able to communicate a bit of how they see the world or how they create with me.
Secondly, I found your call to give full attention to art and then engage with the artist a tough challenge. It is easy to see the value of full attention and asking questions. The difficult part is having discernment, personally, to know what art I should choose to give my full attention. Time is such a scare resource, especially in some seasons of life. And there is so much that calls out for our attention: family, work, church, the needy, politics, etc. Where does art rank among those competing demands? And once one chooses to give some attention to art, there is so much art to choose from. So, gatekeepers would be better with discernment, but so would we all. I’d love to hear more thoughts on how to choose what art to pay attention to, or even whether to choose. The impression I got from the podcast was not to try hard to choose, but rather to engage with art that’s near you, in effect favoring the chance to interact with the artist over the qualities of the art to which you pay attention.
Thank you, Lisa, for listening and for these insightful comments.
1. To your first point, I feel the same! It was such a relief to me (and a joy) when I could just drop the pretense of already having gained refined tastes in art, and just learn to enjoy and explore it and submit myself to the superior capacities of talented artists and critics. I think that does start with the mysterious draw of certain pieces. I remember I used to vaguely dread going to art museums because they felt so overwhelming. So much to see! And it was all so “important.” And, when I was honest with myself, a lot of it just didn’t speak to me (and still doesn’t). But I started allowing myself to wander museums rather briskly until I saw something that drew me in. I would then stand and look closely and think and dig in. I would look up the piece later. I became more knowledgeable of just that one thing, trying to find out and explore exactly what drew me in about it in the first place. And, it was very much better than my old exhausting way of going to museums. I saw fewer pieces, but I enjoyed the experience more. And it encouraged me to keep returning to the museum.
There’s an embarrassment attached to not knowing something famous or not liking something all the critics say is amazing. And sometimes we let that embarrassment keep us from growing. Your willingness to overcome that embarrassment and start where you’re actually at is commendable. And, ironically, your willingness to accept what you don’t know yet will be the grounds for your increased knowledge. The secret many art snobs won’t tell you is that in their attempts to look like they already know, they can’t allow themselves to actually learn! I do believe that pride and insecurity is at the heart of much of the ignorance (and dread/fear) concerning the the arts in the church today. Thank you for doing the hard work of overcoming that in yourself and in your community.
2. This is a great question. And there are potential problems connected to this at every turn. If you do not have discernment already, then how can you tell if the art you are taking in (which will shape your taste) is worth anything? And, if you decide to trust a gate-keeper/taste-maker to make those choices for you, how can you know which institution has taste (if you yourself do not yet have it)? I think I can give you a few suggestions that have helped me to navigate this:
A. Enjoy what you enjoy already more deeply and repeatedly. All great art bears and rewards repeating. There’s no need to find new art all the time. It’s exhausting in the current “new content everyday” environment. Deploy your full attention again and again on revisiting pieces that have stood the test of time with others and with you. Your full attention will be rewarded again and again with new and fresh discoveries. Re-read your favorite novels. Listen again to your favorite albums. Revisit your favorite pieces at the museum. Introduce your favorite movies to your friends. Dig deep and learn more. Study the backgrounds and the influences. Listen to the director’s commentary. Your discernment will increase through these exercises. Further, if some art that you like can’t sustain multiple revisitations with undivided attention, it’s likely that the art you liked just wasn’t worth much attention in the first place. You can move on.
B. Set aside a fixed amount of time on a regular schedule to learn how to make art. Take a poetry workshop. Take piano or guitar lessons. Try your hand at drawing or painting or photography. You likely won’t be good at first, or maybe ever (though you never know), but you’ll at least start to be able to measure more accurately what it would take to be good. You’ll start to have a more intimate knowledge of the process, and that will increase your discernment considerably. If you love listening to music, and you learn how to play piano or guitar, it will immediately change how you listen to music. As soon as you start to figure out that you can play most Top 40 songs and most praise and worship songs within months of picking up an instrument, you’ll start to feel like maybe that music isn’t all that good. You’ll start looking for music that challenges you a bit, and you’ll start to find more and more music that completely surpasses even what you could imagine playing. The same process works well for most any art form.
C. As you mentioned, it would be good to focus locally on the self-labeled artists in your particular community as well. This could go along with my second suggestion. As an example, if there is a musician in your church or local community, ask that musician for music lessons and recommendations. Give that musician’s work your undivided attention. Ask him questions and attempt to understand what his purpose is. What does he want to accomplish with his work and calling? It may be that your attention helps these artists grow into what they could be. Or your attention might make it clear to you (and perhaps even to them) that they should choose a different way to serve God (if their work just simply does not bear the weight of undivided attention).
D. Don’t be anxious about getting an exhaustive understanding of the arts or even of one medium or genre. The world of art is nearly limitless, and no one knows it all. Budget your time and have regular times where you do all of the above. Make sure to fit it in your schedule or you probably won’t do it. But don’t feel like you need to put a huge amount of time in. Just thirty minutes of sustained and undivided attention a week would make a bigger difference than one Herculean marathon once a year. Schedule it into your calendar if you find the tyranny of the urgent pushing it out. It’s good for your soul.
E. Try something new on the recommendation of people who seem to know what they are talking about, and try to receive the piece the way they do. I have been doing this for years with Picasso. I can tell you I still do not appreciate his work enough to seek it out or prefer it, but I understand better why people think it’s so important. Pick something that you have had a hard time getting in to, and fit it into your “art time” occasionally. Like any taste, you can’t refine your taste in art without repeated tasting.
I hope those are helpful to you as they have been to me. We really appreciate your thoughtful comments and your support!
Michael