Content vs. Pretty

Is angst necessary for good art? Or even just serious content? I wonder sometimes.

I’m not so thrilled when my Mom calls my work cute, CUTE!, but understand the source and tolerate it with good spirits. But do I want other people calling my work cute? Definitive no. But still, sometimes the work comes out pretty, if not necessarily cute. What to do, what to do?

Keep making art, me thinks.

Yep, sometimes it will be pretty and sometimes it will have social content and sometimes it’ll be in between. I don’t want to sensor myself or I’ll freeze up in a nanosecond. Just keep working. Pen to paper, brush to canvas, insert here whatever mediums or materials apply. Just keep working. In the end, it’ll all be okay. And if not, toss it out.

Here is a “serious” one, based on stoning as capital punishment in Iran, among other places. It is about Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s conviction of adultery (ah, the Scarlet Letter appears again in my work. Tessie lurks in the back of my mind.) and murder.

Do you feel a cute one coming on? To be continued…