A friend and colleague of mine, whose work I respect very much, is in the habit of posting on facebook pictures of her work as it develops. It is possible to see the emergence of her pictures from a very early stage in their conception to the finished product. I find that very impressive, but equally scary–and problematic. Really, I couldn’t bear to put my own work out to public scrutiny until I have a degree of confidence in it. Just to take as an illustration the last piece I have done: it was a long time into the process before I was sure that it was worth doing at all, and only during the last day of work on it did I come to believe that it could be worth exhibiting. Somehow it all seemed to come together at the last minute (and I still have a few sneaking doubts that it might be actually finished!) To paint with an audience strikes me as having certain similarities to making love with an audience. I know that there are people who actually get a kick out of that, but it certainly isn’t for me!
A related idea struck me earlier this evening, driving back from a preview at the South Square Centre, in Bradford. The artist exhibiting in the main gallery (there are three galleries in the centre) has presented a “site specific installation”. I have always had my doubts about installations, and tonight I realised why they are so risky. There is often no “dress rehearsal”. In effect, your audience are watching you trying it out for the first time. In the case I have in mind the artist has envisaged two effects, one visual and the other using the sense of smell, and for different reasons (at least in this context) although they are great ideas, they don’t actually work. This is a pity, because it is possible to see that she is very talented at drawing, and very imaginative. Thinking about it, the installation projects I have seen in the past that have worked well have only been presented to the public after studied “rehearsal”.
Of course, there is a view of art that stresses the importance of our understanding the process, and not just the finished product. A work of art is defined (in this view) by the work, and not just by the end result. OK: but I remain sure that the moral of this story is that you need to think very carefully before letting the public in on your practice runs. I continue to admire the work of my friend, who gives us a daily peep on facebook, but you won’t find me doing it.