Writing the “interpretive text” for an art museum’s exhibition is nowhere near as glamorous and creative a job as you might think. And whenever that’s my job du jour, the thesaurus gets a total workout.
Oh, sure, the dictionary sees a good bit of action, too —
- Should we capitalize Raku?
- How do you spell trompe… tromp l’o… trompe l’oeil?
- Is hand blown (as in glass art objects) properly set as one word, or two? Maybe it needs a hyphen.
But it’s the thesaurus that is begging for mercy by the end of the project.
Consider this:
Where do you go, to avoid repetition, when you’ve written at length about an artist’s body of work, and the particular pieces and works in this exhibit? Without getting all specific about the medium or form, I mean.
Sure, one can ramble on endlessly about sculptures, weavings, hangings, paintings and portraits, pots and bowls, quilts and collages and found-object art… But put them all together and what have we got?
Works of art.
It’s that same darned collective noun, again.
We need to have more words for work in this language, that’s all I’m saying.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Corey Freeman 08.23.08 at 6:08 pm
compositions, pieces, interpretations, approaches? When in doubt, break out the niche nouns, haha. I know that when I’m writing, I get stuck on the same words over and over. It’s amazing how many times I use the word ‘amazing.’
domestika 08.24.08 at 12:12 pm
Yep, I hear you! ‘Pieces’ gets put to work a good bit… because it works quite well
And don’t get me started on amazing adjectives!
Cheryl Antier 08.24.08 at 12:22 pm
I just got back from a 2 week vacation - we spent one week on the French/Spanish border, and took a drive to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim. One of my new favorite artists - Juan Munoz had this to say about works of art…”I would say that what interests me about the theater is that no reply is possible. When the curtain falls, you leave. All works of art should have the same quality of not admitting a reply…” Of course, that’s from the visitor’s perspective. For us, as the writers - you’re right - it’s a lot harder coming up with the right words…I’ve got my fingers crossed for you that your muse will whisper the right words in your ear - and they’ll be so perfect that there is nothing else left to be said.
gregorylent 08.24.08 at 4:36 pm
i am hoping for an evolution in the entire field of art criticism .. it is far too inbred, and is its own audience, has lost connection with a larger human context, and maybe now its only function is filling the space between ads in art magazines.
kayellen 08.30.08 at 12:15 am
Yes you are so right! I always have trouble writing…not repeating what I am trying to say!
My trusty Thesaurus is always on my desk:)
Have a wonderful weekend!
kayellen
Pinhole 08.30.08 at 12:35 pm
Instead of more words for work, how about we just eliminate the concept, entirely.
More words for play, that’s what we need.