A Call to Committed Artists of All Kinds

[WS]

Call To Committed Artists of All Kinds Looking for a Support Group

(Note - I've added an example of how the group might work below this description in the same box.)

 

                                                                

The Bloomsbury Group  (according to Wikipedia) was a group of writers, intellectuals and artists who held informal discussions in Bloomsbury throughout the 20th century. Likewise the Algonquin Roundtable was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits  [whose]…Daily association with each other, ... inspired members of the Circle to collaborate creatively.

 

                             

We would like to create a place for thinking artists to work, meet, exchange ideas and critiques.  Let us help one another through the tough work of creation! If you are an artist or a creative person, willing
to commit time, thought and energy to
art, we want you to be part of this group.

We offer:  Congenial support; a small intimate forum for thinking through ideas and discussing them; gentle pressure (and support) to actually work
through the creative process (to...well...create);  constructive criticism
and regular critiques of your work by other creative people; and a venue to
post your work, both in progress and finished, for all to see, admire and
marvel at.  All of this
in a private, moderated atmosphere of mutual respect and courtesy.  

What you offer:  A commitment to work and to interact intellectually on group discussed and/or guided projects and to post the results for the rest of the
group to see/hear, critique, and draw inspiration from; Constructive and
respectful criticism of others' works; and a commitment to an atmosphere (but
not a humorless one) of professionalism, respect and enthusiasm.

What we hope to accomplish together:  Art.  (Recognizing that art requires intent, an audience and therefore an intellectual and not purely visceral
dimension, we would like tangible proof of our diligence and dedication in
the form of posts about the process and of completed or works in progress.) 

Interested?  Send either WS or Animak a brief PM stating what you want to do, how much time you would be willing to commit to the group, a description of your art, how sensitive you are to criticism, and why you think this is the place for you.  Your PM will not be posted publicly. We would like to organize small Algonquin Round Table groups of 11 or so varied artists interested in working together towards these goals.   

(If you are not "friends" with either of us, you can email us by sending a friends' request to us and then we will friend you and you can email your replies.) I don't know why the font is messed up here - sorry tried fixing it several times!!)

ADDENDUM:  How this Might Work!

 I want the group to set up the structure, but the way this might work getting a group of  about 11 or 12 people with half the group critiquing the other half at two to four week intervals.
 
Let's say there were ten people.  We would set out a theme and then a due date for a draft or version of the work. The theme might be <b>strength</b> or the color<b> red</b> or <b>Jacob</b> (whatever the group chose to focus on.)  Then each "artist" would work for two week and the first critique would occur:

People ABCD and E would be critiqued by FGHI and J. Two weeks later FGHI and J would be critiqued by ABCD and E.  Discussions would occur in a public (or private if the group prefers) list about the way artists are conceiving the process, issues, approaches, problems etc.  Next month FGHI and J would be the first to be critiqued (although I would suggest mixing it up so that next week it be GHIJ and A critiquing BCDE and F etc.

 Anyone in the group would be allowed to add critique, but groups would be set so that each artist would have a guarantee of at least (in this case) 5 critiques to look at and use to modify the work or use in his/her continuing process.  The discussions would be the place for people to decide whether they wanted to continue with that work and theme or choose a new theme for the following month etc.  (I think I'll add this to the main description.)

[animak]

To elaborate somewhat: We want to make a place where you can pursue your artistic endeavors within a group of intereseted and interesting people to lend moral support and encouragement. That encouragement can take the form of a pat on the back and a well done, or a gentle criticism, or a more serious critique if that is what you would like.

We want a safe place where your work can be seen--within the group at first before you release it to an unsuspecting world.

And we want gentle pressure to help you stay motivated and working toward deadline--even if that deadline is your own self-imposed deadline.

And one more thing--working artist means that you are working at your craft and seriously trying to get better at it. We don't care if you are actually making money at it or not.

Finally, we want to explore the possibility of cross-fertilization, I guess. How can an animator and filmmaker like myself collaborate with and help a writer, or a painter, or a...what...performance artist achieve his or her goal of making meaningful, expressive art? And how can what you do help and inspire me? And can we actually collaborate, or does that help simply mean to bounce ideas off one another and help clarify the thought process?

Ideas? This is an ongoing process that will be shaped largely by what you bring to it. So, talk to us!

[WS]

Good points, Animak!

We do need a bit of information though about what you do and what you think about art - because we will be talking about art and we do need a commitment of time - you have to work at what you are doing and engage in the discussions to help people work through their ideas. So working does not mean getting paid, but it does mean committing to the project.

[DannyO]

I'm not sure that what I do is considered art by anyone other than me.

[WS]

Just came back from an artist presentation that talked about process. I think being aware of our process and setting goals is very important and this is something we want to address in this group.

[ZenDog]

Productive! HOGWASH!

True art can only be realized within a state of no.mind and it is, as I'm sure all will attest, a state which I have myself perfected with the utmost of diligence . . .

[ZenDog]

oo HEAVENS!!

[WS]

Well, I think there is probably some art in there somewhere!

[WS]

Hi, KA,

I think that is part of the point of the group. Like you, I let my job preempt my time and thus I don't spend time processing what i need to or want to do in my private creative life. I was hoping if we could find a small group of people to commit to spending time supporting each other and discussing our intents, goals and processes that this would drive us to be more responsible to ourselves (our artistic integrity) because we are responsible to the people in the group. Without deadlines and responsibilities to others I find I set my private work on the back burner to my public work. I need others to be responsible to in order to keep me going, I think.

[WS]

We may not REALLY get going until next Fall! (laughing). We have to find just the right group with the right commitment and energy! But seriously, I would like to find an optimal number and then close the group so that we have some stability!

[WS]

Looks cool - but overwhelming! I'll have to browse a bit!

[Mother Sanity (JackieRodzinski)]

As an Artist, the word 'working' (on something besides my art) needs a bit of clarification. Your not talking about the "J" word..., are you? A 'job' (distasteful grimace), implies so many unpleasantries ...I can only liken it to the word 'cooties' or "eebeegeebees" or "OB/Gyn Apt".

Could you kindly elaborate? Mother Sanity

[WS]

Hi, Jackie, No I'm not talking about professionally - but I am talking about committing to work on projects and thinking about process. I was trying to emphasize that this would be a group that has a responsibility to commit some time and effort to discussion, analysis, critiques, process and thinking.