Clockwise, from upper right:Rone,Loreal Prystaj,Miguel Chevalier,Sigalit Landau.
What does it take to make a great piece of art?
This seemingly simple, yet deeply complex, question has been debated throughout the history of art.
Clockwise, from upper right:Rone,Loreal Prystaj,Miguel Chevalier,Sigalit Landau.
Who decides what is good art and what is bad art?
Innovation, emotional connectivity, and a bit of luck were repeatedly mentioned no matter the medium.
The eternal quest for great art of course changes over time, ebbing and flowing with tastes and trends.
Li Hongbo. READ MORE:Astonishing Stretchable Paper Sculptures Appear to Be Made of Stone
So, let’s take a look at how these 21st-century artists respond when posed with this challenging question.
We asked 12 contemporary artists What does it take to make a great piece of art?
Here’s what they said…
Li Hongbo.
Rebecca Louise Law. READ MORE:Giant Installation of 150,000 Native Australian Blooms Displays the Power of Flowers
The busts became patient friends and mentors of mine.
To this day I will remember the time I spent sketching them.
My artistic creation has lots of themes.
Federico Babina. READ MORE:Powerful Architectural Illustrations Visually Interpret Mental Illnesses
However, they are all close to my thinking, my experience, and my life now.
Those themes, which have been expressed, are the material, which comes from my inner thinking.
When people look at a box, they think It’s a box.
Matt Shlian. READ MORE:Artist Uses Engineering to Fold Mesmerizing Geometric Paper Sculptures
But, actually, it can change into another thing.
The concise and harrowing phrase sums up the fragility of life and rockiness of fate.
Life is as pure as a piece of white paper when it is born.
Rone. READ MORE:Street Artist Creates Crumbling Portraits on Abandoned Buildings to Reveal the Fragility of Beauty
Life is vulnerable and transient; it is as fragile as paper.
I have found that focusing ahead is much more beneficial to my art practice than looking at the present.
Living in the moment can be distracting and often hinder the creative process.
Miguel Chevalier. READ MORE:Projection Mapping on King’s College Chapel Blends 16th-Century Gothic Architecture with Contemporary Art
The best work always comes from being challenged, whether in time, finances, materials or concept.
Its better to take risks than play safe.
There is, you have just to discover how to see it.
Sigalit Landau. READ MORE:Dress Submerged in Dead Sea Transforms Into Glimmering Salt-Covered Masterpiece
It is often hidden, fragmented, disorganized, and unassuming.
The challenge is to discover it, compose it, and order it.
We should observe things from a different point of view.
Omar Z. Robles. READ MORE:Dynamic Photos of Ballet Dancers in Motion on the Streets of Puerto Rico
There is no universal formula to create a piece of art.
Everyone has to find their own path.
Your traveling companions on this journey through these sensitive places are fARTasy, creARTivity, and invARTiveness.
Charles Pétillon. READ MORE:Cloud-Like Clusters of White Balloons Invade Ordinary Environments
It is like composing a song or a melody.
The notes already exist and they are seven.
Or it can be read as what makes a piece of art great?
Lauren Brevner.
Both are big questions.
Let me start with what makes a piece great:
A piece of art needs to connect.
It articulates something weve felt, and we connect to that thing in a way where words arent necessary.
Philippe Echaroux. READ MORE:Powerful Series Projects Faces of Indigenous People Onto the Amazon Rainforest.
A piece of art extends beyond its frame and becomes part of us.
I’ve made work for almost 20 years and Im made a ton of work in that time.
Some are ok, most meh, and a handful of good ones.
Loreal Prystaj. READ MORE:Surreal Portraits of the Human Form Hiding Behind Reflections of Nature
It’s equal parts mining for gold and standing in a field trying to get stuck by lighting.
Some days you dig and other days you look up and wait.
This leads back to the first questionWhat does it take to make a great piece?
These possibilities seemed unlimited and the transformations unending.
Digital art can explore new territory.
I believe that is really a new kind of aesthetic of the virtual that is emerging.
It is for me the art of the 21st century.
To consume a lot of music, love, and a little alcohol, of course.
(Note the plural).
Thats how you’re able to recognize, or rather distinguish, the artist from the layman.
Its the consistency in their work that separates them from just being a one hit wonder.
Another element is to be self-critical.
We all can produce a bad piece, even on our best days.
Finally, it takes essence/context for a work to be great.
That is, I guess, the hardest thing to assess.
It cant just be beautiful, or shocking for the sake of it.
Great artworks captivate you because you might, in one way or another, identify with it.
The only way you could move your audience is if your work is supported by context.
The look on a work is multiple.
That’s how I know it’s good.
I believe it comes down to a purity of the artist’s voice that you really can’t fake.
READ MORE:Powerful Series Projects Faces of Indigenous People Onto the Amazon Rainforest.
Philippe Echaroux
An emotion.
This is the first spark of every fire.
Emotions that are not necessarily positive ones, but this first feeling creates the art.
This is the only way that a new and unique point of view is found.
It is an easy trap for an artist to generate work she perceives her audience will like.
True, the viewer ultimately determines the greatness of an art piecegreat art impacts a vast spectrum of people.
Seeing the world through curious eyes leads to new discoveries.
